Category Manager for HVAC Components

Expected Contributions of the Position to Organizational Results:

The Global Category Manager – HVAC (F7) plays a critical role in shaping and executing the procurement strategy for HVAC components used in data center cooling solutions within the Secure Power – Cooling Line of Business. This position brings deep expertise in HVAC market, and is recognized across the Procurement community for leadership in Offer lifecycle management and Brand Labelling.

• Strategic Impact:

• Category Leadership: Own and manage a global spend of ~$100M–$200M, supporting manufacturing plants worldwide.

• Global Strategy Execution: Develop and implement a comprehensive HVAC category strategy aligned with business goals, ensuring cost competitiveness, quality, and supply continuity.

• Supplier Relationship Management: Lead strategic supplier partnerships to drive innovation, performance, and long-term value creation.

• Market Intelligence: Conduct in-depth market analysis and benchmarking to inform sourcing decisions and mitigate risks.

• Innovation Enablement: Foster early supplier involvement and co-development to accelerate innovation and enhance product competitiveness.

• Operational Excellence:

• End-to-End Procurement: Oversee the full procurement lifecycle—from supplier selection and contract negotiation to performance management.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Align sourcing strategies with engineering, manufacturing, and regional procurement teams to support both existing operations and new product introductions (OLM)

• Performance Monitoring: Track and report on key category performance indicators, including cost savings, supplier performance, and delivery metrics.

• Productivity & Cost Optimization:

• Negotiation Excellence: Champion Everyday negotiation and deliver on cost reduction targets (QVE and COS) in collaboration with BU Procurement regional teams.

• Technical Productivity: Lead the global technical productivity pipeline and organize PPD/MPD events to enhance product competitiveness.

• Budgeting & Planning: Drive global productivity planning and budgeting for the Secure Power Cooling division.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Successful implementation of HVAC Supplier SOC globally.

• Execution of best-cost country sourcing strategies.

• Achievement of product target costs and time-to-market goals.

• Supplier-driven innovation and co-development

• Strengthened supplier partnerships and multi-sourcing strategies.

• Year-over-year negotiation savings and QVE/COS productivity gains.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, MBA in Procurement, Supply Chain, or other related function from a top University

• 10+ years of experience managing procurement in various domain (Category, Operations, Offer Creation)

• Experience in HVAC Industry preferred in Datacenter cooling business

Proven success in managing distributed, global teams

Key success factors

• Customer-orientation, but also willing and able to challenge stakeholders.

• Seasoned leader to develop high performance culture.

• Strong Strategic Vision

• Excellent Negotiating skills and experience working in a strategic environment.

• Analytical background and interest

• Demonstrated ability to challenge the status quo.

• Superior communication skills, with the ability to not only clearly communicate verbally and in written form, but also to listen well to others to genuinely understand their viewpoints and take them into consideration of sourcing strategy and Supplier selection