Category Specialist, Indirect Procurement

ALBS is an Air Liquide entity in Kuala Lumpur, regrouping for the APAC scope its Business Service Centers (Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai) as well as the two Global Functions (IT, Digital and Procurement). Designed to derive optimal value by better leveraging technology, people and competencies, the ultimate goal is to boost efficiency and deliver outstanding and sustainable performance while keeping a strong focus on customer centricity. This Organization is striving for excellence, adopting the Best in Class models to deliver value through simplification and standardization of processes, while adhering to Internal controls and compliance requirements.

We are searching for a motivated and strategic Category Specialist to join our centralized Indirect Procurement team in the APAC region. This is a critical role that supports our Category Managers in multiple indirect categories and drives organizational and functional change management. Where necessary and deemed fit, the Category Specialist may be tasked to independently lead and manage a category / categories.

Supporting activities include:

• support strategic category management to ensure the organization matches market benchmark in terms of best practices and technologies and as such become a critical business partner to AL's internal business lines .
• support and partially own the coordination of all external procurement activities for categories across APAC, including supporting the development and implementation of category strategies (short, mid and long term) and plans to support designated APAC-wide strategic objectives.
• help to promote internal collaboration, knowledge sharing, compliance with best practices and established category management processes.

Key responsibilities:

• Where the independent management of a category / categories is assigned : To conduct analysis of spend and operations to identify patterns/gaps; identify opportunities for commercial / operational improvements; develop supply chain category models, strategies & implementation plans, convince stakeholders; implement strategies and review performances
• Support Category Managers as well as Local Procurement Teams to understand business needs, develop and execute APAC Category Strategies to maximize the value delivery to AL Business
• Support the change of the way of working between Procurement and internal stakeholders to deliver business objectives together
• Support the management of APAC wide projects in business case development, selection of solutions, internal and external negotiation and contracting
• Collaborate and develop suppliers and maintain relationships with external resources who contribute to the group's success
• Support Category Managers to develop and execute Procurement Policies to enhance compliance as well as standardize the processes to reduce complexity and maximize the efficiency
• Develop the expertise in global procurement spend categories through rigorous factbase analytics (ie. service characteristics, internal needs, external supply market dynamics, supply chain and risk management)
• Ensure all projects are delivered using standard tools and processes to meet the requirements outlined in Air Liquide's group policies, standards and guidelines.

• A minimum of 3 years of successful working experience in Category Management or Strategic Sourcing, preferably within a Multinational Corporation (MNC) environment.
• Proven experience leading and conducting contract negotiation across technical, commercial, and legal areas.
• Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and demonstrable Project Management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication, coupled with superior interpersonal skills.
• A "can-do" attitude, high learning agility, and the ability to operate as an unsupervised self-starter.
• Familiarity with procurement management systems like Coupa.
• Bachelor's Degree in a related field (e.g., Business Administration, Supply Chain Management).

About Air Liquide

A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 78 countries with approximately 64,500 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide's scientific territory and have been at the core of the company's activities since its creation in 1902.

Our Differences make our Performance

At Air Liquide, we are committed to build a diverse and inclusive workplace that embraces the diversity of our employees, our customers, patients, community stakeholders and cultures across the world.

We welcome and consider applications from all qualified applicants, regardless of their background. We strongly believe a diverse organization opens up opportunities for people to express their talent, both individually and collectively and it helps foster our ability to innovate by living our fundamentals, acting for our success and creating an engaging environment in a changing world.