Category Manager (m/f/d) - Agricultural Machinery

Field of Work: Procurement

Location:

Berlin, BE, DE

Legal Entity: KWS Berlin GmbH

Contract Type: Regular

Is Full Time?:

Onsite/ Remote: Hybrid Working Within Country

Job ID: 16848

Are you ready to make a global impact?

As our new Category Manager - Agricultural Machinery (m/f/d) , you will be responsible for developing and implementing global procurement strategies while acting as the subject matter expert for agricultural machinery categories across the KWS Group.

Working in a dynamic, multicultural environment, you will collaborate with international stakeholders and strategic suppliers to deliver innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions that create long-term value and support the company’s growth ambitions

This is a permanent position to be filled full-time.

The place of work is at KWS Berlin GmbH in Berlin, Germany.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

Strategic Category Management

• Develop and execute global category strategies for agricultural machinery, farm equipment, spare parts, maintenance services, and related operational technologies
• Create spend transparency and identify opportunities for cost optimization, supplier consolidation, and value creation
• Lead the complete Source-to-Contract (S2C) process, including market analysis, RFx processes, supplier negotiations, contract management, and implementation
• Drive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) approaches across the category portfolio
• Ensure compliance with legal, ESG, and internal procurement standards

Stakeholder & Supplier Management

• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders across Business Units and Global Functions
• Develop strategic partnerships with key machinery manufacturers, distributors, service providers, and aftermarket suppliers
• Lead cross-functional sourcing projects in a complex global matrix organization
• Present sourcing strategies, business cases, and procurement recommendations to senior management and executive stakeholders

Procurement Excellence

• Guide and support tactical buyers in sourcing activities, negotiations, spend analysis, and supplier management
• Train and onboard procurement team members on category-specific knowledge and procurement tools
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives and procurement digitalization
• Lead procurement-related projects and change management initiatives

Profile & Skillset:

• University degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Economics, or comparable
• Several years of professional experience in strategic procurement or, category management, or sourcing
• Proven experience in procurement of machinery, ideally of heavy mobile machinery
• Strong understanding of machinery lifecycle management, maintenance requirements, and equipment investment processes.
• Experience in negotiating complex global supply agreements and managing strategic supplier relationships.
• Experience working in international and matrix organizations
• Knowledge of SAP, procurement suites, supplier management tools, and MS Office
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to liaise with cross-departmental and cross-functional stakeholders on different managerial levels
• Strong communication and presentation skills with different target groups
• Passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and sustainable business development
• Excellent command of English; German language skills are highly desirable

Offer:

• Interesting and varied job in a diverse international environment with the opportunity to contribute innovative ideas
• As a family business, we are guided by the values of closeness, reliability, vision and independence; this culture is lived in practice and ensures an open and friendly working atmosphere from day one
• Excellent work equipment and free car and bicycle parking spaces in our modern office in the heart of Berlin-Schöneberg
• We create the appropriate framework conditions for you: capital-forming benefits, Christmas and holiday pay, childcare allowance, 30d holidays, flexible working hours, holiday and Christmas bonuses, company pension scheme, JobRad and/or Jobticket
• True to our motto "Make yourself grow", we support the professional and personal development of our employees

We are looking forward to receiving your application using our online application system SuccessFactors! Please click the “Apply” button which you can find in the online ad.

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About KWS

KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies and employs around 5,000 employees in more than 70 countries. With the tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for more than 170 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seeds for sugarbeet, corn, cereals, vegetables, oilseed rape and sunflowers. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods and invests a significant amount in research and development.
At KWS, diversity is not just a value; it is an essential part of our success. Breeding resilient crops requires diversity; likewise, our strength comes from the diversity of our teams. Whatever your background or identity is, we invite you to join us.
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