R10098322 Category Specialist- Co Op (Open)

Location:

Houston, TX (HO) - Procurement - Hub

World leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with approximately 66,000 employees and serves more than 3,6 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen have been at the core of the company’s activities since its creation in 1902. Air Liquide’s ambition is to be the leader in its industry, delivering long-term performance and acting responsibly.

How will you CONTRIBUTE and GROW?

Critical member of the Category Management team responsible for proactively managing spend,
including strategic sourcing, contract negotiation and management, commercial negotiations, supplier relationship
management support, demand planning, and customer interface. Assists manager and team members in the
development and deployment of Category Management strategies.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Strategy Development and Execution:
● Develop and present business plans to key stakeholders for assigned spend categories
● Generate and execute Category strategies and Supplier Relationship Management programs consistent with
the Air Liquide approved framework
● Collaborate with Global Procurement on initiatives as needed
● Support emergency preparedness and response situations to promote safety and business continuity
● Implement multiple strategies leveraging Total Cost of Ownership, Lease vs. Buy, and other models
Sourcing and Contracting:
● Lead Strategic Sourcing events for assigned categories, following the “Blue Book” sourcing methodology.
● Manage the end-to-end sourcing and contracting process for assigned commodities and services
● Assist with contract start-up functions involving appropriate department managers
● Negotiate commercial terms and conditions for significant or aggregated project-based spend associated
with managed categories
● Demonstrate competency in negotiating legal terms and conditions
● Manage contract life-cycle for all agreements (Frame Agreements, PO terms, Service Agreements) within
area of responsibility
● Utilize all Supply Chain technologies for Contract Management, SRM, and Spend Analysis
● Monitor, assess, and adjust sourcing strategies based on supplier and market intelligence
Stakeholder and Supplier Relationship Management:
● Establish network with stakeholders in the business to remain connected on key issues
● Meet with key customers routinely and proactively identify sourcing and contract value opportunities
● Develop relationships with key customers to understand their service and commodity needs and implement
strategies to maximize savings in the Capital Maintenance Plan, Expense Plan, and for emerging projects
● Work collaboratively within Supply Chain Operations Support, Purchasing Services, Strategic Initiatives,
Key Stakeholders, Americas Clusters, industry experts, and Global Procurement team
● Participate in identifying emerging opportunities within the supply community
● Build consistent, repeatable series of key performance indicators to gauge supplier performance and create
actionable improvement plans
● Facilitate periodic business reviews with key suppliers and facilitate action items
Analysis and Compliance:
● Evaluate existing contract relationships to identify savings, new savings opportunities, risk mitigation
strategies, and other commercial terms enhancements
● Leverage market intelligence to anticipate and act upon various supply chain challenges
● Understand the Athena code structure and quantify managed vs. unmanaged spend
● Responsible for ensuring compliance with internal processes, including contract filing, bidding, and value
creation reporting processes
● Partner with Legal to ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, policies, and
procedures, both internal and external, to Air Liquide
Reporting and Project Management:

● Coordinate and drive activities related to the annual planning process, working across various Procurement
organizations and Operations.
● Provide various reports as requested by manager.
● Demonstrate strong project management, communication, and problem solving skills

__________________

Are you a MATCH?

CORE COMPETENCIES:
● Organizational Commitment
● Flexibility
● Customer Service Orientation
● Communicating Effectively

● Teamwork and Cooperation
● Managing Competing priorities
● Solution Focused Decision Making
● Entrepreneurial thinking

KEY COMPETENCIES (abbr.)
● Listening and Responding
● Analytical Thinking (AT)
● Information Seeking (INF)
● Concern for Order and Quality (CO)
● Team Leadership (TL)
● Impact and Influence (IMP)
● Self Confidence (SCF)
MARGINAL OR PERIODIC FUNCTIONS:
● Other duties as required.
SUPERVISION:
● Received: Category Manager/Director
● Given: As identified by the Category Manager/Director
EDUCATION:
● Required: Pursuing Bachelor's degree in supply chain, finance, accounting, or other business related fields.
● Preferred: Pursuing Bachelor's degree in supply chain, finance, accounting, or other business related fields
and conducted internship with Air Liquide
WORK CONDITIONS: Office Environment.

Our Differences make our Performance

At Air Liquide, we are committed to build a diverse and inclusive workplace that embraces the diversity of our employees, our customers, patients, community stakeholders and cultures across the world.

We welcome and consider applications from all qualified applicants, regardless of their background. We strongly believe a diverse organization opens up opportunities for people to express their talent, both individually and collectively and it helps foster our ability to innovate by living our fundamentals, acting for our success and creating an engaging environment in a changing world.