Category Manager Full Time NEW

Location: Ottawa, Canada

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow’s possible.

For decades, Ottawa has been a global technology leader. Today, Canada’s capital holds one of the brightest and most diverse technological ecosystems in North America. Voted as Canada’s best place to live 2017 by Maclean’s, Ottawa offers a low cost of living with a high quality of life. The Thales Ottawa office has been a major supplier and long-term trusted partner to DND, enabling the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard to achieve mission success.

Category Manager

Ottawa, Ontario, Halifax, NS and Mill Bay, BC- Hybrid

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

All applicants must be able to obtain a Canadian NATO Secret clearance and meet the eligibility requirements outlined in the Canadian Controlled Goods Registration Program and ITAR.

Position Summary

The Category Manager is responsible for the management of assigned suppliers supporting strategic projects and Business Lines. Suppliers may be developing and delivering complex, high risk, high value services typically under specific long-term subcontract agreements and associated terms and conditions.  The Category Manager is responsible for the lifecycle of the assigned suppliers, and will ensure that the supplier executes to the requirements in accordance with the contract. Primary activities include managing compliance against contractual requirements, identifying and addressing areas of risk, and acting as a point of escalation as required.

Key Areas of Responsibility  

The Category Manager (CM) may support one or several procurement categories.

• The CM is accountable for end to end performance of the acquisition process via the management of the RFI &/or RFP’s until the PVet 5 based on some Regions).

• The CM is expected to lead major / business critical supplier selection exercises to support business needs.

• The CM ensures the deployment, implementation and monitoring of agreed category strategies.

Furthermore, the CM is responsible for supplier relationship management and continuous improvement of suppliers within their category (with the support of Supplier Performance Management Team if needed) and the management of suppliers performance including, but not limited to, quality, cost, delivery, contractual performance and innovation.
 

Accountable for ensuring the most up-to-date knowledge of their supplier market, including new innovations and key emerging technologies relevant to their category.

An essential element of this role is to ensure that the suppliers provide the competitiveness required to support the business and to introduce optimal supply base changes to support business winning capability.

In addition to this their main tasks are:

Strategy:

• Provide input into worldwide category strategies for short, medium and long term needs

• Ensure the relevant players have a good knowledge of Thales need and support the category strategy so that the business secures targeted projects and customer competitive advantage.

• Ensure that clear and measurable savings targets are identified and delivered by category and endorsed by business / project.

• Ensure category commitment and spend compliance tracking is well reported.

Procurement Competitiveness Capture:

• Monitor category markets on an on-going basis to identify and understand key players, newcomers, economic evolutions, market or regulation constraints, innovations and technology in order to support the development of the most up to date category strategies for the businesses.

• Based on the above provide insights as to how products / projects could be more competitive via the adoption of different suppliers / methodologies / technology etc.

• In conjunction with the Procurement Product, Bids and Project Managers (PPM) and cross functional teams, the CM supports the preparation of Make / Buy decisions (lead by the PPM) in order to optimize business performance.

Governance, Leadership and Performance Management:

• Ensure THALES governance is applied using KPI’s and root cause corrective actions

Supplier / Acquisition Management:

• Performance management of the supply base in line with the standards set out by the Global Category Manager.

• Ensure that supplier competitions follow the governance process and are balanced and fair in order to improve business and customer performance.

• Ensure that the supplier contracts and framework agreements are negotiated when required in line with the category strategies.

• Ensure that global contracts / framework agreements are adopted and utilized.

• Ensure that specific legal compliance government or special customer requirements are taken into account during conception / implementation of category strategies.

• Ensure that Thales e-Acquisition and all THALES procurement tools are properly fully used according to governance procurement work packages at global level.

• Ensure that the risks, opportunities and Tier supply chain mapping is understood and managed in order to optimize business performance.

• Based on the performance management of the supply base identify the suppliers who require focused development actions and ensure that the Supplier Development Team have the required support / leverage to conduct successfully these actions.

Minimum Qualifications  

• Bachelor degree or diploma in a relevant field of study from a recognized University or College or, in lieu of a degree, 6 years of relevant combination of experience and/ or education as equivalency

• At least 7 years of sourcing activity, tactical purchasing, process & tool management, and category management

• Prior experience in procurement /supply chain developing strategy and creating work packages

• At least 2 years of experience working with cross functional teams across multiple disciplines within a matrixed organization

• Track record of success in a similar role in a relevant business or market;

• Excellent organization skills;

• Ability to prioritize tasks while meeting deadlines in a high-pressure environment;

• Leadership skills with the ability to influence in order to deliver business results;

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience within the Canadian Defence industry, preferably Maritime

• Familiarity with Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC);

The reference Total Target Compensation (TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between Total Target Cash (TTC) $100,000- 130,000 CAD Annual.

This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including – but not limited to – the employee’s career path history, competencies, skills and performance, as well as the company’s annual salary budget, the customer’s program requirements, and the company’s internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s status protected by local, state, or federal law.

We use artificial intelligence–enabled tools as part of our recruitment process to support activities such as candidate discovery, résumé matching, and interview scheduling. These tools may help screen and assess applications and recommend potential matches based on the requirements within the job description.  All hiring decisions, including candidate evaluation, selection, and disposition, are made by human recruiters. Artificial intelligence does not make hiring decisions on our behalf.

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Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following: 

• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.

• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.

• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave. 

• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.

• Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.

Thales is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Thales is committed to providing accommodations in all parts of the interview process. Applicants selected for an interview who require accommodation are asked to advise accordingly upon the invitation for an interview. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.

This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List, the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, the Canadian Industrial Security Program, the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access including eligibility to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and able to obtain a Canadian NATO Secret clearance.