The Senior Buyer / Category Manager is responsible for the strategic global sourcing of a defined material or service category. The role drives the development and implementation of the Category Strategy in close alignment with global and regional stakeholders. The position delivers measurable value to all Business Areas through cost optimization,supplier development,risk mitigation,process improvements, and securing global availability of materials and services

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and continuously improve the global category strategy, supported by data analytics, market intelligence, and demand forecasting.
• Lead and conduct international negotiations, including supplier selection, contract lifecycle management, TCO evaluations, and compliance documentation
• Manage the global supplier portfolio, including supplier evaluation, development plans, benchmark analyses, and strategic supplier meetings.
• Oversee Source-to-Contract and Purchase-to-Pay processes for purchases above €25,000, ensuring transparency, compliance, and optimized cost structures.
• Support digitization initiatives (e‑sourcing, analytics, procurement tools) to improve efficiency and decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, plants, quality, SCM, finance, IT, and global purchasing teams across all regions

University Degree or other equivalent degree and advanced English skills

Minimum 3-5 years of relevant professional experience in Purchasing (or similar functions) in an international environment

Advanced experience working in projects with an international scope / environment

Experience in conducting negotiations with a multi regional responsibility

Knowledge on purchasing processes (and/or relevant to the field) description and optimization

International and intercultural competency as well as several years of work experience in an international environment required

Working experience in negotiating and operating with different cultures and international teams (e.g. on purchasing issues)

What we offer:

The 13-th salary – Paid once a year, in December;

• Meal tickets
• With a value of 40 Ron;

Private Health Insurance – Health is the most important, so we offer you a medical subscription through Signal Iduna;

• Referral bonuses
• We encourage colleagues to refer new candidates to us and, at the same time, to get the chance to receive a bonus;

Bookster – Feed your body and your mind. You can borrow books and you’ll receive them at the office;

Sports benefits- It’s important to stay active, so we offer you the 7Card;

Discounts at our partners – We collaborate with different vendors, and we receive discounts for various products/ services like rubbers, restaurants, kindergartens, etc;

System for Rewarding Improvement Ideas – We have an internal improvement program (Continental Idea Management) that gives you the opportunity to come up with ideas and to be honored with an attractive bonus (this is established by the CIM team according to your improvement idea);

Happy days – If you or your child is getting married, or you become a parent, you receive some extra free days;

• Life events celebration

• If your family is growing, we praise your newborn with a bonus;

• Unfortunate events

• In case of unhappy events in your life, we support you by offering you free days and financial support (handled on a case by-case basis);

Extra vacation days – You begin with 22 vacation days/year, and starting with the 3rd year with us, we offer you 1 more day of vacation and. We reward employees who reach 15 and 20 years within the company with another day of vacation, reaching a maximum of 29 days.

Transport from the Timisoara area – You can choose to come with the bus provided by the company if you’ll work from the plant location/office;

• Professional development

• Many opportunities to develop yourself within the company;

• Diversity and multicultural mindset

• We encourage you to join us no matter who, where, or what you are. We have colleagues from different nations and a variety of languages are spoken in our company.

Ready to drive with Continental? Take the first step and fill in the online application.

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2021, Continental generated sales of €33.8 billion and currently employs more than 190,000 people in 58 countries and markets. On October 8, 2021, the company celebrated its 150th anniversary.

The Conti Tech group sector develops and manufactures, for example, cross-material, environmentally friendly and intelligent products and systems for the automotive industry, railway engineering, mining, agriculture and other key industries. Guided by the vision of “smart and sustainable solutions beyond rubber,” the group sector draws on its long-standing knowledge of the industry and materials to open up new business opportunities by combining various materials with electronic components and individual services.