Category Manager Etihad Airways

Business Planning & Forecasting

• Work with the business to develop an annual procurement plan
• Maintain up-to-date contracts register to show all active contracts

Category Strategy Development & Execution

• Formulate and continuously refine comprehensive Category Strategies aligned with organizational and business objectives.
• Conduct robust demand and supply market analysis, benchmarking, and risk assessments.
• Identify innovation and cost reduction opportunities while ensuring competitive advantage and sustainability.
• Integrate Local Content targets and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into category strategies.
• Define and deliver clear value targets including savings, efficiency gains, and supplier performance improvement.

Demand Planning & Forecasting

• Develop and manage category and sub-category demand plans across business units in collaboration with internal stakeholders.
• Forecast procurement requirements and track upcoming expirations, renewals, and pipeline of new needs.
• Continuously update demand plans to support accurate sourcing, budgeting, and risk mitigation.

Sourcing Strategy & Execution

• Lead all sourcing approvals, and the end-to-end sourcing process for assigned categories, ensuring full alignment with corporate policy and governance.
• Define optimal sourcing approaches (e.g., tenders, direct negotiations, framework agreements).
• Conduct competitive analyses and apply advanced procurement levers such as TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), LCC (Life Cycle Costing), and scenario planning.
• Drive local supplier development and inclusion in sourcing strategies in line with Local Content goals.

Negotiation & Commercial Management

• Design and execute negotiation strategies that achieve best value-for-money outcomes while maintaining supplier relationships.
• Leverage market dynamics, cost structures, and analytical data to optimize pricing and contractual terms.
• Ensure negotiations address performance, warranty, service level, and cost-efficiency requirements.

Contracting & Documentation

• Draft all approvals and contract documentation to ensure all work scopes, deliverables, and commercial terms are accurately captured.
• Ensure compliance with company standards, governance policies, and legal requirements.
• Maintain accurate and timely contract records in procurement systems.

Contract & Supplier Performance Management

• Work with the Contract Owners to assist with contract management activities for strategic suppliers to ensure delivery against SLAs, KPIs, and contract obligations.
• Support and coach internal stakeholders in effective contract management and issue resolution.
• Monitor supplier performance and risk exposure, initiating improvement or remediation actions when required.

Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)

• Support the Head of Procurement in supplier relationship governance forums, preparing performance data, risk summaries, and strategic insights.
• Drive collaboration and innovation initiatives with key suppliers to deliver continuous improvement and cost optimization.

Category Spend Ownership

• Accountable for all spend within designated categories encompassing tactical, operational, and strategic procurement activities.
• Ensure spend visibility, cost optimization, and budget alignment through proactive spend analysis and reporting.