Category Manager - Cargo Operations/ Freight Forwarding

Job Description

Working Hours: This role operates on a shift basis and requires flexibility.

Candidates must be flexible to work either:

• Shift A (ASPAC/EU): 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM MYT, or
• Shift B (ASPAC/US): 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM MYT.

Role Synopsis

The Freight Forwarding and Cargo Operations Logistics Senior Advisor provides category leadership for their global category of spend.

They undertake category management and global supplier relationship management, driving end-to-end spend management to mitigate supply chain risk and maximize value delivery, including sustainability, within their category. They do this through collaborating across and beyond procurement, including with regional, business, and FB&T resources.

They know their categories intimately and support development of innovative strategies which deliver business objectives and strong category guidance which ensures efficient end to end category execution. They work with regional and FBT resources for optimal, compliant, and competitive procurement outcomes, collaborating across and beyond procurement.

Problem solvers with good commercial acumen, they create solutions to category challenges, they cultivate senior stakeholder relationships and work with businesses to understand their evolving needs alongside developing deep insights into supply markets, including disruptors and technological advances.

They create value through orchestrating development of transformational strategies in support of bp's strategy, collaborating cross-functionally to realize identified value and working with delivery teams to ensure that their global strategies are executed locally.

Key Accountabilities

Category Strategy leadership: Collaborate to develop competitive category strategies that address business needs, both globally and regionally, supply chain risk and sustainability. Analyze market factors to inform strategy excellence, remaining attuned to market dynamics, balancing needs with proactive transformational strategies.

Category excellence: Data led management of end-to-end category performance by working with the organization to understand demand and ensure strategies that can be executed effectively in partnership with business and other procurement teams.

• Skillfully navigates bp's multifaceted operational frameworks, guaranteeing consistent strategy delivery and uninterrupted supply flow to make procurement easier for suppliers and stakeholders to work with.
• Consider regional factors like laws, taxes, and market conditions in category management planning.
• Cultivates purpose-driven partnerships and robust supplier relationships to navigate business challenges and unlock triple bottom line (people, profit & planet) value

Transformation and Change Management: Implement transformation initiatives, which deliver incremental business value. Ensure supplier performance, in a dynamic business environment, and implement change across diverse stakeholder landscapes.

• Leverage digital solutions to drive innovation, enhancing efficiency, effectiveness and value creation
• Partner with internal discipline teams to drive category excellence
• Use influencing, storytelling and communication to encourage adoption

Team integration: Work within a team of category managers, embracing culture of collaboration, excellence, and continuous improvement. Acts as an SME and advocate for their category, sharing category knowledge across teams to ensure business needs are met.

• Builds category knowledge across the wider procurement organization to ensure strategy execution
• Develops their technical capabilities in order to deliver category operational excellence
• Embraces accelerator skills; curiosity in external markets, innovation and technological disruption, digital fluency, data-driven insights, and strong collaboration with both suppliers and stakeholders
• Embraces an environment of psychological safety as a foundation for collaborative learning, ideation and innovation

Supplier & Stakeholder Management: Uses storytelling to communicate with stakeholders and external partners, respectfully challenging to achieve the right outcomes, resolving conflict and focusing on priorities.

• Leads and influences through complexity and ambiguity, managing virtual relationships with stakeholders in multi-discipline, multi-cultural environments
• Unites diverse stakeholders, ensuring both advantageous supply avenues and collaborative solutions to business challenges
• Builds stakeholder relationships, bringing market insights and championing supplier value whilst taking time to understand business needs. Becomes a trusted advisor and critical partner to stakeholders
• Prepares documentation and relevant stakeholder communication to enable key decision forums

Essential Education:

• Degree educated - something related to Procurement preferred - or equivalent relevant professional experience
• Post graduate qualification related to procurement desirable

Essential Experience and Job Requirements:

Functional knowledge: Knowledge of category management principles and experience in procurement processes and developing and executing category strategies.

• An understanding and practice of ensuring strategies flow through to execution in the businesses / assets
• Demonstrated experience of working on freight forwarding, customs brokerage, cargo operations, inbound logistics or international transportation categories.

Business expertise: Stakeholder management and influencing skills in order to develop a deep understanding of the supported businesses / regions / assets and their priorities, including long term objectives.

• An ability to quickly develop an understanding of the supported businesses / regions / assets and its objectives, to apply insight and identify trends to develop new offers and strategies and drive performance and delivery with pace and urgency.
• Knowledge of procurement within a complex multinational business
• Knowledge in relevant procurement categories with an understanding of the market's dynamics and its influence on procurement strategies

Leadership: An SME in the relevant category, who shares knowledge with the wider team and executes the strategy. Collaborates across procurement, the businesses, suppliers and beyond to achieve their categories goals.

• Experience in leading initiatives internationally, recognizing cultural nuances, analyzing data-driven trends & insights, and employing agile/flexible approaches
• An advocate for our code, they incorporate the Operating Management System (OMS) and our safety leadership principles into strategies and everyday work

Problem solving: The role requires analytical thinking to develop and evaluate solutions, as well as judgement to translate business requirements into actionable plans.

• Embraces industry challenges and technological disruption, pioneers innovative solutions whilst managing risk
• Foster strong supplier relationships, bringing multiple parties together to collaboratively solve complex business problems
• Translates business requirements into a strategic category plan
• Uses critical thinking to make informed strategic decision

Interpersonal skills: Strong interpersonal skills are essential for collaborating with the category team, engaging with global, diverse stakeholders, communicating impactfully across organizational levels and managing change effectively.

• Stakeholder networking and influencing skills to ensure buy in and adoption
• Regular interaction with external suppliers and representing bp externally
• Effective change management
• Persevering through organizational complexity and resistance to change

Desirable criteria

Prefered: Demonstrable ownership of $100M+ annual spend or equivalent network impact.

• Deep analytical expertise, leveraging data led insights and market analysis to drive Total Cost category strategy opportunities aligned to business strategy
• Ability to translate business strategy and knowledge of customer needs into strategic and operational 3:1 category plans with clear commercial targets and specific measures driving margin improvement and category growth.
• Experience unbundling, analysing and strategically sourcing logistics requirements within major projects, turnarounds (TARs) and maintenance programmes to increase spend transparency, improve supplier competition and deliver lower total cost of ownership

At bp, we provide the following environment and benefits to you:

• A company culture where we respect our diverse and unified teams, where we are proud of our achievements and where fun and the demeanor of giving back to our environment are highly valued
• Possibility to join our social communities and networks
• Learning opportunities and other development opportunities to craft your career path
• Life and health insurance, medical care package
• And many other benefits.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform crucial job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment