Procurement Business Partner

**Procurement Business Partner**:
**POSITION SNAPSHOT**:

- JobReq ID: 54268
- Type of work: On site
- Type of contract: Open-ended/permanent
- Full/Part Time: Full time
- Location: Brits, ZA

**ABOUT US**:
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and Bridgestone Europe, Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, operate collectively as a “Bridgestone West” strategic region. This region services the strategic business needs of teams across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. BSAM and BSEMEA are subsidiaries of Bridgestone Corporation, globally headquartered in Japan. Bridgestone and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand products and solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers and industries.

**ABOUT THE ROLE**:
**Job Purpose**
Responsible for the Business Partner relationship with Brits plant under the supervision of the Indirect Procurement Director. Creating the bridge between the business stakeholders and procurement, adapting EMEA central sourcing strategies to the local business needs. Speak the language & understand requirements of the Brits plant. Effectively engage in cross functional activities to guide and direct execution of key sourcing projects and communicate sourcing constraints, supply risks and mitigation strategies.**Responsibilities**:

- Understand key objectives for Brits Plant and Bridgestone, align people to objectives and set priorities and direction
- Influence teams and individuals positively, leading by example and establishing confident relationships with increasingly senior people
- Develop business stakeholder relationships and be the link between regional and/or local Management team and the extended procurement organization responsible for executing under your (the procurement business partner’s) leadership
- Act as a thought leader and trusted advisor in Brits plant, by being the procurement primary point of contact orchestrating procurement needs for core categories.
- Understand the strategy, challenges and requirements for procurement, leverage category expertise to advise on specs, innovation and policies to optimize TCO
- Coordinate the activities to establish a common agreed category strategy and sourcing wave plan
- Contribute to budget definition with the business, Finance in collaboration with the extended procurement organization
- Confirm and ensure business objectives, challenges, projects, requirements and expectations are shared with the extended procurement organization and aligned with the strategic framework and procurement roadmap for which you (the Procurement Business Partner) remain accountable. Lead and coordinate the right procurement support to execute the sourcing strategies at business level. Manage relationships with other Procurement staff remotely.
- For specific initiatives, actively participate in negotiation of strategic deals and supplier performance review meetings
- Validate supplier selection with Business stakeholders and ensure new contracts/suppliers are suitable for business purposes
- Influence the balance sheet of Bridgestone through development and robust implementation of best procurement practices
- Follow up on procurement savings realization
- Direct, own and implement procurement short and long-term goals, strategic plans, policies, and procedures for Brits Plant
- Ensure Procurement policies and purchasing processes are being communicated, understood and applied locally including proper use of procurement tools

**Qualifications & Experience Required**

**Education, Master, other certification**:

- Bachelor’s Degree (Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or a related field)
- Relevant professional certification (i.e. CIPS, etc.), advantageous

**Experience (years)**:

- 8 to 12 years
- Experience in working in an international environment
- Experience in working with cross-functional teams (procurement, business, finance)
- Supply market knowledge and experience in TCE

**Technical Skills**:

- Experience in category management and strategic sourcing process
- Mastering level of procurement activities and methodology
- Fluent in English; additional languages are a plus
- Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
- Good negotiation skills and ability to form and grow own network
- Solid stakeholders’ management skills
- Business acumen, capacity to understand and translate business requirements and needs into actionable decisions
- Proven decision making/problem solving
- Results oriented with proven record in terms delivering results
- Ability to work independently to identify and research relevant market, industry/peer company, and supplier information
- Ability to challenge, understand different point of views and lead to a common conclusion
- SAP and ARIBA system experience and new procurement AI tools

**WHAT WE OFFER**:
At Bridgestone