Procurement Category Manager

We're reimagining the way Australians live, work, and play. We own and manage some of the most recognisable and loved retail destinations across Australia.

 
We’re evolving our portfolio into destinations that offer a broad selection of retail, residential, and office spaces. Through our diverse portfolio, data-led decision-making, and nationwide development pipeline, we do things differently.

We are Vicinity.

Role purposeThe key purpose of the Procurement Category Manager is to develop and execute procurement category strategies to deliver cost savings and ensure value for money. This role is responsible for ensuring compliant, sustainable business outcomes across Vicinity’s national shopping centre portfolio . The Procurement Category Manager drives end-to-end procurement processes, builds strong supplier relationships, and partners with internal stakeholders to meet strategic business objectives. Additionally, this role involves conducting market analysis, mitigating supply chain risks, and driving continuous improvement in procurement practices to achieve the best possible commercial outcomes. Be a part of a major transformation of Vicinity's Procurement Function, in this newly created role

Key Accountabilities

Strategy & Procurement Management    

• Develop and implement strategic procurement plans for assigned categories, including facilities management, operations, marketing and corporate services.
• Conduct spend analysis and market research to identify opportunities for cost savings, innovation and process improvement.
• Align category strategies with the company’s overall business goals and operational needs.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with the supply chain and procurement processes.
• Ensure all procurement activities comply with company policies, procedures, and relevant regulations.
• Drive continuous improvement in procurement practices to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

Supplier & Stakeholder Management    

• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers, ensuring they meet performance standards and comply with company policies.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to understand their needs and ensure procurement strategies align with business objectives.
• Act as a trusted advisor to business units providing guidance on procurement policies, supplier performance and market trends.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers to drive performance quality and innovation.

Contract & Financial Management    

• Lead supplier selection, RFP and negotiation processes to secure optimal terms and conditions.
• Deliver cost savings and value for money outcomes.
• Track and report on category performance metrics and supplier performance.
• Monitor and manage category spend, ensuring cost-effective procurement of goods and services.
• Prepare periodic reports on total spend, cost analyses, and savings for the assigned categories.

Key Role Relationships

• Procurement Management & Team
• Legal Team
• Suppliers
• External Consultants

Experience & Capabilities

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE (what you have done)    

• Experience in procurement and supply chain management, including developing and executing category strategies is desired.
• Proven track record in managing supplier relationships, negotiating contracts, and ensuring supplier performance.
• Experience in conducting market research and analysis to inform procurement decisions and strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with internal stakeholders to align procurement activities with business objectives.
• Experience in identifying and mitigating risks associated with the supply chain and procurement processes.

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE (what you need to know)    

• Understanding how to create and implement effective category strategies to optimise procurement processes and achieve cost savings.
• Understanding in identifying and mitigating risks associated with the supply chain and procurement processes.
• Proficient in managing category spend and achieving cost savings.

CAPABILITIES (what you can do)    

• Ability to develop and implement effective category strategies.
• Ability to conduct market research and analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with an ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to identify and mitigate supply chain risks.
• Strong understanding of compliance and an ability to ensure all activities comply with relevant policies and regulations.
• Ability to manage category spend and achieve cost savings.
• Ability to track and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of procurement activities.
• Ability to drive continuous improvement in procurement practices.
• Strong negotiation skills to secure favourable terms with suppliers.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES (who you are)    
You consistently demonstrate and role model the behaviours that bring the Vicinity values to life: 

Respect: 

• We listen to and acknowledge each other's views 
• We have difficult conversations with care 

Integrity: 

• We back our words with the right actions
• We do the right thing, no matter the situation 

Customer Focus: 

• We nurture a genuine connection with our customers 
• We consider customer needs when making decisions 

Collaboration: 

• We invite the right people to the table 
• We balance consensus with decisive actions 

Excellence: 

• We always strive to improve
• We share our challenges and celebrate the wins

Why Vicinity?

Our benefits program focuses on creating an awesome place to work in which our people are rewarded and recognised. This includes:

• Flexible working options 
• Birthday leave & purchased additional leave
• $1,000 worth of VCX securities rewarded for eligible team members
• Internal mentoring program
• Generous Parental Leave

We live and work by our values of Respect, Integrity, Customer Focus, Collaboration and Excellence.  They are the foundation to everything we do and provide us a north star with which we can shape meaningful places where communities connect.

At Vicinity we embrace and celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment where we attract, retain and develop our people regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and age. Applications are encouraged from all sectors of the community and we strongly encourage applications from the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community.

Our people and our Employee Advocacy Groups (Gender Balance, Cultural Diversity, Disability & Access and Pride & Allies) actively build community and provide allyship within Vicinity. If you’d like to speak to someone to understand what it’s like firsthand to work here, please reach out to our Talent Acquisition team.

We are aware of current limitations with our website accessibility and are working towards improving this. Should you experience any issues accessing information in this job advertisement or the application form, and require this in an alternate format, please contact our Talent Acquisition Team. Similarly, if you would like to discuss workplace accessibility, any reasonable adjustments we can make to better support you during the recruitment process, or your potential future role please reach out to our Talent Acquisition team:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +61 3 7001 4000 (request to speak to our Talent Acquisition team)

Note: To be eligible to apply for this position, you must have existing, relevant Australian work rights. At the later stages of the recruitment process the shortlisted candidate/candidates will be required to undergo a Criminal History Background/Police Check as a mandatory part of the process. Additional qualification checks may also be required dependant on role and level.