Strategic Global Procurement Lead

At the Vitrolife Group, we work every day to unlock the full potential of science and technology to reduce the barriers towards building a family. Together we help our customers and their patients to fulfill the dream of having a baby. Position Overview As the Strategic Global Procurement Lead, you will design, implement, and mature our global category management and strategic sourcing framework. You will be reporting directly to the Global Head of Supply Chain & Procurement and oversee a multi-million-euro spend across both direct and indirect spend categories. Your primary mission is two-fold: on the one hand you’ll be initiating and driving short term cost reduction initiatives, both on direct and indirect, and in parallel you’ll be tasked to design, build and implement the future global procurement organization to support our strategic direction. This combination requires a hands-on person that’s able to simplify complex topics, understands what data is needed to drive improvements (and knows how to collect this data when not available) and has experience pitching strategic initiatives to senior leadership. It’s a crucial role in the organization and a unique opportunity to truly make a difference and help to set up our organization for future success. Key Responsibilities Cost reduction initiatives: initiate, drive and implement cost reduction across direct and indirect spend, teaming up and working with relevant stakeholders within and outside our organization Organization: lead and develop our global procurement team in place today and in parallel design, implement and mature a global procurement organization set to support our strategic direction including the required supporting processes and systems Supplier Database & Lifecycle Management: build, structure, and maintain a centralized global supplier database containing up-to-date contracts, tiered pricing architectures, product/service portfolios, and comprehensive supplier profiles Supplier Risk Assessment & Mitigation: own the end-to-end supplier risk management framework; develop data-driven risk assessment profiles (financial health, operational capacity, geopolitical risks, and compliance) for all key vendors Category Strategy: own and execute long-term global category strategies to optimize cost, quality, and supply continuity Low-Cost Country Sourcing (LCCS): identify, evaluate, and onboard high-potential suppliers to optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Supplier Relationship Management (SRM): govern relationships with critical global suppliers, leading executive business reviews, KPI monitoring, and performance audits Contract Negotiation: lead high-value contract lifecycle management, securing robust commercial terms, IP protection, and medical regulatory compliance Cross-Functional Collaboration: partner with R&D, Quality, and Regulatory teams to seamlessly onboard and qualify new suppliers during New Product Introduction (NPI) phases What We Are Looking For Education: University degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or equivalent. Experience: minimum of 15 years track record in strategic procurement, category management, or global sourcing within a highly regulated sector, including leadership of a global procurement team Data & Database Management: proven experience in building or maturing master data frameworks, supplier information systems, or advanced SRM databases from the ground up Project Management: experience in leading global, cross-functional projects with a proven track-record to deliver on results. Lean Six Sigma experience is considered to be a strong advantage Risk Management Expertise: strong background in creating structured Supplier Risk Assessment profiles, methodologies, and tracking tools (e.g., FMEA, financial health indices) Global Sourcing Expertise: track record of successfully mapping, auditing, and developing new supplier networks in low-cost manufacturing regions (e.g., APAC, Eastern Europe, LATAM) Industry Knowledge & Regulatory Acumen: direct experience in MedTech, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, or Biotechnology (under frameworks like ISO 13485 or GMP) is highly valued Systems: Highly proficient with global ERP networks (Jeeves/Navision considered a plus), Excel, and modern procurement analytics / BI dashboard methodologies Languages: Full professional proficiency in English. Additional European languages (Spanish, Swedish, or Danish) is considered to be a strong advantage Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so please submit your application as soon as possible, the position might be filled before the last application date. Vitrolife Group is a global provider of medical devices and genetic services. Based on science and advanced research capabilities, we develop services and products for personalized genetic information and medical device products. We support our customers by improving their clinical practice for the patient's outcome of fertility treatment. We are currently approximately 1 100 colleagues worldwide, with headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. Vitrolife Group's products and services are available in more than 110 countries through our own presence in 30 countries and a network of distributors. Vitrolife Group is a sustainable market leader and aims to be the preferred partner for IVF-clinics by providing superior products and services with the vision of fulfilling the dream of having a baby. The Vitrolife share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.