Category Manager: Media, Agencies and Ad Production

Dreaming big is in our DNA. It's who we are as a company. It's our culture. It's our heritage. And more than ever, it's our future. A future where we're always looking forward. Always serving up new ways to meet life's moments. A future where we keep dreaming bigger. We look for people with passion, talent, and curiosity, and provide them with the teammates, resources and opportunities to unleash their full potential. The power we create together – when we combine your strengths with ours – is unstoppable. Are you ready to join a team that dreams as big as you do?

The key purpose of this role is to support the development and successful execution of Category Strategies within the Agencies, Media & Production Category, which is overseen by the Regional Procurement Office (RPO), across all 11 markets in the Africa Zone. It also involves providing regional support for categories managed centrally by the Global Procurement Office (GPO), recommending and embedding effective ways of working for procurement interactions with stakeholders, and offering commercial advice to implement best practices and procurement principles throughout the region. Additionally, the role requires managing stakeholder relationships across various functions to drive value through centrally negotiated agreements, as well as overseeing supplier relationships and resolving disputes in collaboration with functional counterparts.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

Strategic Category Sourcing

• Ownership of Simple Packages for the RPO through data analytics related to the Categories and plan for execution.

• Definition and execution of Categories Strategies; This includes mitigation of risks within the Category and creating value through identified opportunities.

• Analyse spend and user specific requirements for all sub-packages within the Category.

• Conduct market research to assess Zone dynamics related to the Category and use research outcomes for future planning and value generation in line with company strategy.

• Develop, in conjunction with GPO/Zone counterparts, Category Strategies for each sub-package, as guiding documents for value generation within the Category.

• Manage supplier relationships and internal & external collaborations across the Agencies, Media & Production scope.

Support Sourcing Strategy Execution

• Ensure readiness across both zone and country for strategy execution.

• Resolve and escalate supplier performance issues where necessary.

• Support Collaborative Optimization activities where applicable.

• Handle second level escalations with suppliers/internal stakeholders to resolve performance issues.

• Collaborate with supplier and internal stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of Category Manager sourcing outputs / agreements.

• Ensure suppliers are correctly enabled through the PSS.

• Ensure contractual terms & conditions are effectively "operationalised" within business.

• Support collection and analysis of Zone ZBB, WAPT, eAuction analytics and driving Champions initiatives across all sub-packages within scope.

• Accountable for monthly reporting as per the KPIs within the Commercial Indirects Procurement scope.

• Drive collaboration between RPO, PSS, GPO, FP&A, and other parties involved in daily Category activities.

• Track sourcing events and projects to ensure delivery of targets and support business operations.

• Enhance and develop ways of working with Country, RPO, and GPO counterparts.

Continuous Improvement

• Execute regional and country big bet initiatives in line with the Champions methodology.

• Execute regional value engineering projects across the Category.

• Define and executive innovation and sustainability strategies within sub-packages in scope.

• Drive supplier development initiatives with supporting functions within the company.

Risk management

• Optimize the Category to drive value for the business by being responsive to business and customer needs – e.g., budget spend control, best practice implementation, benchmarking and use of KPIs to drive monthly business performance visibility.

• Identify and manage risks in the business within scope.

• Ensure appropriate mitigation plans are in place and that risks are communicated appropriately within business through appropriate channels (i.e., R&O and T&M monthly routines).

Finance

• Drive and deliver effective budgets as agreed with key stakeholders.

• Track and report on initiatives monthly.

• Monitor and report on monthly spend and Latest Estimate (LE) forecast for the Category.

Key Attributes and Competencies:

• Strong people, leadership and presentation skills

• Strong analytical skills

• Sound contracts knowledge

• Sound technical skills and technical understanding

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Finance, Economics, or a related field.

• At least 2 years of management experience in procurement, category management, or a related function.

• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to coordinate across multiple stakeholders and teams

• Strong commercial and contract negotiation skills

• Basic knowledge of finance and accounting allowing the ability to run/read analysis P&L and balance sheet

• Communicating effectively by conveying information and ideas in a clear, meaningful, and timely manner, providing information to ensure understanding across different levels in the company

• Pan African / Regional or Global Category management experience.

• Sound knowledge and understanding of Procurement strategic sourcing methodologies

• Good knowledge, understanding and use of Microsoft Office tools

• Sound knowledge of Procurement systems such as Ariba

• Knowledge of SAP is an advantage prospective candidate

Additional Information:

• Band: VI

SAB/ABInBev is an equal opportunity employer, and all appointments will be made in-line with SAB/ABInBev employment equity plan and talent requirements. We are a company that promotes gender equality. Internal applicants require Line manager approval. Please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted.