Global Category Lead - Contract Manufacturing

At Fresenius Medical Care, we are the global leader in kidney care, committed to improving the lives of patients with chronic kidney disease. Our mission is to deliver high-quality, innovative products, services, and care across the entire healthcare journey. Guided by our vision—“Creating a future worth living. For patients. Worldwide. Every day.”—we work with purpose and compassion, supported by a global team of over 125,000 employees.

As a part of Global Functions, our Procurement Department is driving transformation through our FME Reignite strategy, which focuses on innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth. Our values are the foundation of our culture: 

• We Care for our patients, each other, and our communities. 

• We Connect across teams and borders to deliver excellence together. 

• We Commit to doing things the right way—growing with purpose and leading kidney care with integrity and innovation. 

Role Summary:

The Director Global Contract Manufacturing is responsible for establishing and executing the global procurement strategy for Contract Manufacturing, ensuring alignment with Fresenius Medical Care's strategic, operational, financial, sustainability, and risk management objectives. The role serves as the global procurement leader for the category and is accountable for maximizing value creation, ensuring supply continuity, driving innovation, and managing strategic supplier partnerships across multiple regions.

The Director leads a team of Category Managers and procurement professionals, providing strategic direction, talent development, and performance management while partnering with senior business leaders across Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Operations, R&D, Legal, and Finance. The incumbent acts as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and contributes to procurement transformation initiatives across the enterprise.

Your Role:

Strategic Leadership

• Define and own the global Contract Manufacturing category strategy and roadmap.
• Develop and implement multi-year category plans supporting business growth and manufacturing network optimization.
• Establish long-term supplier portfolio strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Drive procurement excellence through innovation, sustainability, digitalization, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead category governance and strategic business reviews.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, develop, and manage Category Managers and assigned procurement personnel.
• Establish performance objectives and development plans.
• Build talent pipelines and succession plans.
• Foster a high-performance and collaborative procurement culture.
• Drive employee engagement and capability development across the category organization.

Commercial Leadership

• Lead executive-level supplier negotiations and commercial discussions.
• Approve sourcing recommendations and supplier award decisions.
• Ensure achievement of annual savings, productivity, and value-creation objectives.
• Drive working capital improvement initiatives and payment term optimization.
• Own strategic contracting approaches for critical suppliers.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Establish executive governance models with strategic contract manufacturing partners.
• Lead supplier segmentation and performance management programs.
• Drive innovation, quality improvement, and business continuity initiatives through supplier partnerships.
• Ensure supplier compliance with quality, regulatory, ESG, and sustainability requirements.

Risk Management and Compliance

• Lead supplier risk assessment and mitigation activities.
• Develop and oversee business continuity and supply resilience plans.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, healthcare regulations, competition laws, and corporate governance standards.
• Manage geopolitical, financial, quality, and operational supply risks.

Stakeholder Management

• Act as senior procurement partner to Global Manufacturing Operations and Business Leadership.
• Influence strategic make-versus-buy decisions.
• Present category strategies, supplier performance, risks, and opportunities to senior leadership.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives involving Procurement, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, and Regulatory Affairs.

Your Profile:

• Minimum 12 years of progressive procurement and strategic sourcing experience.
• Minimum 7 years leading Contract Manufacturing categories in a global environment.
• Minimum 5 years people management experience.
• Demonstrated success managing international supplier networks.
• Experience leading complex international negotiations and sourcing programs.
• Experience operating within regulated industries such as Medical Devices, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, or Advanced Manufacturing.
• Working in a multi-national, multi-cultural environment.
• Project management expertise with the ability to carry projects from planning through implementation.
• Managership of subcategories
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with senior executives and stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Critical thinking and decision-making skills with ability to understand opportunities, create value and solve complex problems.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of contract terms and conditions
• Strong negotiation and relationship management skills.
• English language mandatory, German would be an asset

Our Offer For You: 

There is a lot you can discover at Fresenius Medical Care, regardless in which field you are an expert and how much experience you have -  all dedicated to your professional journey. 

• Whether in front of or behind the scenes - you are helping to make ever better medicine available to more and more people around the world 

• Individual opportunities for self-determined career planning and professional development 

• A corporate culture in which there is enough room for innovative thinking - to find the best solution together, not the quickest one 

• A large number of committed people with a wide range of skills, talents and experience 

• The benefits of a successful global corporation with the collegial culture of a medium-sized company