Procurement Business Manager at British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Procurement Business Manager – Commercial to join our team in Nairobi on a fixed term contract (between 6 to 12 months).

Our new colleague will:

• Act as the interface with local budget holders at end market level ensuring the delivery of both their service requirements and those of procurement.
• Undertake sourcing activities for a number of categories that are managed at end market level (i.e. not globally or geographically managed).
• Manages the relationship with stakeholders of procurement to ensure their procurement needs are fulfilled and balanced with the needs of the business.

Principal Accountabilities:

Business:

• To manage the customer relationship and all aspects of procurement related customer service for Commercial and Oral Tobacco.
• To understand customer/business unit requirements including their business goals, targets, initiatives, directions and supplier performance requirements for their appointed end market.
• To manage the local customer relationship for those categories being managed at end market level, shaping demand and compliance where appropriate.
• To deliver end market contracts in conjunction with Legal
• To ensure all contracts are agreed with the relevant business owner.
• To collate all relevant end market business unit procurement requirements, providing the necessary information to ensure robust planning, budget and target setting.

Leadership:

• To own the relationship between procurement and its Commercial & Oral Tobacco customers at end market level.
• To challenge demand and requirements and manage customer expectations to ensure compliance and drive continuous improvement.
• To communicate appropriate supply chain and procurement messages regarding strategies, process and policies to customers, to ensure compliance and engender a common understanding of each others goals and targets.
• Responsible for approving supplier selection for categories managed at an end market level.

Management:

• Responsible for implementing global and geographic category strategies and sourcing plans at end market level.
• To ensure the business is compliant with procurement policy and actively manage any compliance issues.
• To use a consistent approach using the agreed global policies, standards and platforms in all day to day tasks. This may include developing internal SLA’s and monitoring against this performance.
• To mitigate BAT’s exposure to service delivery and commercial risk through the delivery of robust end-market contracts and the management of the business relationship.
• To identify the correct route for the resolution of contractual performance issues and manages their resolution.

Relationship:

• To build strong multi-level business relationships with Commercial Functions & Oral Tobacco customers. To know who their key customer stakeholders are, and to ensure an appropriate plan and approach is in place for each area/function.
• To manage any conflicting requirements between customer and procurement at end market level escalating any issues as appropriate.

Innovation:

• To determine the scope, scale and impact of any new products or services required by the customer. To communicate these requirements to the relevant Category Manager where appropriate or to amend end market strategies and contracts as required to meet the customer needs.
• To communicate to the customer any new and innovative developments highlighted through Procurement stakeholders and relay any feedback on the use or development of these new products or services back to procurement for further action.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Procurement or equivalent in a relevant business discipline
• Fluency in English
• 3-5 years of experience in sourcing and/or account management
• Good influencing and facilitation skills to act as the interface between end market stakeholders and procurement balancing the optimum delivery of customer requirements with the need to adhere to a global approach
• Understanding of financial evaluation and interpretation of supplier’s records and their key cost and business drivers.
• Experience in managing projects, especially to execute category and sourcing strategies at end market level.
• Knowledge of the procurement processes, platforms and policies