Category Manager, Construction Category, Global Procurement Organization

Are you ready to shape the future of Amazon's construction procurement landscape in Europe? Amazon's Global Procurement Organization (GPO) is seeking a Category Manager to lead strategic construction procurement activities across our diverse portfolio of multi-million-dollar real estate projects.

As a key member of our Construction Category Procurement Pillar, you'll have the opportunity to make a significant impact on Amazon's growth and innovation in Europe. The ideal candidate will bring deep understanding of construction trades including civil and architectural works, interior fit-out, MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) systems, and fire protection.

We're looking for a dynamic leader who thrives in our fast-paced, results-driven environment. This role offers unique opportunities to influence major construction projects, drive sustainable procurement practices, and collaborate with world-class professionals across Europe. If you're a self-starter who excels in complex, challenging environments and has a passion for construction procurement, this role could be your next career milestone.

This role offers exceptional visibility with senior leadership and the chance to make lasting improvements to Amazon's construction procurement ecosystem. Your success will directly contribute to Amazon's ambitious growth plans, competitiveness and environmental commitments across Europe.

Key job responsibilities
- Develop and execute construction category sourcing strategies across different supply chain tiers (General Contractors, Subcontractors, Suppliers, OEMs) and trades (including civil, architectural, MEP, fire protection, and fit-out) across Europe
- Take responsibility for increasing Amazon's competitiveness and maintain continuity of supply and mitigate risks across geographical and business unit boundaries, defining opportunities to suit the particular needs of Amazon business
- Focus on deep diving construction categories and regions to add value to the overall procurement process by identifying synergies, benchmarking, innovation, eliminating waste and identifying economies of scale, thus increasing our competitive advantage
- Drive cost optimization through negotiation, standardization, value engineering, and supply chain improvements
- Build effective internal and external relationships with colleagues, suppliers and partners that enables effective collaborative working and a positive and productive working environment own strategic supplier relationships
- Negotiate, execute and manage framework agreements
- Support sustainability initiatives aligned with Amazon's Climate Pledge
- Provide market intelligence and strategic insights to key stakeholders and procurement leadership to inform decision making
- Own the individual targets and goals identified across the construction category scope as well as identifying and delivering incremental value and process improvements
- Innovate within the procurement space, automating and improving tools and processes to better support the Procurement Life-cycle


A day in the life
- Lead procurement processes including prequalification, onboarding, tender management, evaluations, contract negotiations and award recommendations, delivering to tight timescales, being technically and commercially accurate and to manage several schemes simultaneously
- Apply technical knowledge of construction trades to assess supplier capabilities, evaluate proposals, and drive value engineering initiatives
- Drive procurement of innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective construction services to help our Operations teams succeed and delight Amazon.com customers with speed, selection and convenience
- Collaborate with technical teams to optimize specifications across various construction disciplines
- Serve as the key interface between project delivery and any internal central core team from Design and Construction, Real Estate and Legal partners and the senior leadership of external supply chain (General Contractors, Subcontractors, Suppliers, OEMs)
- Support supplier performance management together with Design and Construction partners
- Provide insight and knowledge of the construction industry and supply chain and in turn develop procurement strategies to support/inform strategic decision making
- Prepare high quality white papers and anticipate objections to proposed procurement approach and gain buy-in from decision makers, including managing differing perspectives to a recommended position. Influence decision-making at senior leadership levels
- Adapt and sometimes take different roles from strategy development to project management to rapidly meet customer needs

About the team
You'll join a growing team where your strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and leadership skills will be paramount. Working in an environment that encourages autonomy and creative problem-solving, you'll partner closely with Design and Construction, Real Estate, Legal, and Finance teams to shape and execute innovative category strategies.

Your expertise will be crucial in delivering measurable value creation, driving sustainability initiatives, and establishing best-in-class procurement practices across our European operations.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- Bachelor's degree
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field
- Experience in procurement and purchasing, including supplier relationship management
- Experience in construction or project management, or experience in electrical or mechanical engineering
- Experience in contracts management
- Experience managing multiple projects and priorities across teams in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
- Experience communicating and presenting to senior leadership
- Experience identifying, mitigating, and managing business risks and tradeoffs
- Experience in stakeholder management, dealing with multiple stakeholders at varied levels of the organization
- Experience with high-level negotiation and successful internal and external relationship management
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, SharePoint, and PowerPoint)
- Speak, write, and read fluently in English

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Master's degree
- Speak, write, and read fluently in German
- Experience in construction, or experience in construction or project management
- Experience with practicing best-in-class procurement processes (category management, benchmarking, should-cost models, RFX, reverse auction, contracting, etc.)
- Experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Workday)
- Experience working in large teams or at a national/multinational organization, or experience working in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment
- Knowledge of basic supply agreement construction and key contracting provisions/requirements
- Experience managing large teams across multiple locations and languages
- Experience in a logistics/operations environment