We are Reckitt

Home to the world's best loved and trusted hygiene, health, and nutrition brands. Our purpose defines why we exist: to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We are a global team united by this purpose. Join us in our fight to make access to the highest quality hygiene, wellness, and nourishment a right and not a privilege.

About The Role
This position is for the management of Raw/Pack material sourcing portfolio and co-packer (EMO) management, and indirect commercial spend in Japan. This involves both indirect management of spends and direct management of sourcing for Reckitt nominated suppliers. The position will report to the Indirect Procurement Manager, ASEAN.

Dimensions of Role

The position is based in Tokyo and will be managing the direct and indirect procurement spends for Reckitt Japan.

Indirect Spend

• Responsible for leading the Japan initiatives with a primary focus on Marketing/Sales investment and Commercial Fixed Costs
• Develops relevant category strategies aligned with internal key stakeholders that drive total cost savings and increase spends under Procurement management
• The role will utilize spend analytics, sourcing management processes, negotiate all terms and conditions, secure signed contracts, manage key supplier relationships, ensure continuity of business
• Leads key country initiatives, as well as selected projects or categories of spends with potential for country consolidation
• The position has a direct impact on corporate measurements and results such as COP and NWC

Direct Spend

• Responsible for managing the raw/pack material spend for Japan co-packers which are used in domestic, and export finished goods and responsible for a category portfolio to be sourced in Japan. Working on a cross functional basis and become sourcing expert for his/her own category portfolio
• Sources certain finished goods from approved copackers. The above position will also be responsible for the sourcing decision for the raw/pack materials used in these finished goods
• Apart from the regular/ current raw/pack materials, the role will also drive the business growth through the identification and evaluation of new materials to support New Product launches, which are an essential part of growth story in Japan. Follow prescribed spend authority levels and establish purchasing financial controls aligned to global and regional policies

Your Responsibilities

• Fully accountable for the overall portfolio strategy and delivery of aligned targets
• Works closely and cross-functionally with country key stakeholders in understanding needs, objectives and priorities to optimize total cost, quality and service to develop and execute sound sourcing strategies in partnership with internal stakeholders and suppliers
• Develops Raw/Pack/Co-packer material spend budget for the next year, in alignment with global/ regional and local commodity guidelines and expectations
• Understands Marketing / Sales investment and Commercial Fixed Costs, analyses category markets and translates into actionable strategies and forward-looking analyses
• Develop & manage commercial category roadmap such as Social & Digital, Consumer Promotion & POSM, E-commerce and support commercial fixed cost optimization initiatives to drive long-term growth
• Identifies and monitor risks and opportunities related to each category. Drive the organization to mitigate identified risks and to quickly implement opportunities adopting creative solutions
• For major commodities, an in-depth understanding of the cost drivers, market dynamics and cost modeling is essential
• Accountable to continuously improve supplier performance including cost, service and quality and establish strategic relationships with supply base and implements supplier management strategies. Motivates suppliers to treat the company as preferred customer in presenting innovation and/or cost/efficiency projects
• Development of monthly price trends for key commodities that can influence or affect the spend portfolio
• Provide regular updates and forecasts against the annual budget/target. Highlight the opportunities and risks to the procurement manager and global buyers
• A significant part of the savings will come through cost saving projects that involve suppliers. The role involves identifying and leading these projects towards timely completion
• Will be overall responsible for the performance of the supplier base in terms of cost, quality, service, payables and continuous projects against agreed targets.
• Follow prescribed spend authority levels and establish purchasing financial controls aligned to global and local policies

The experience we're looking for

• Solid background in procurement, purchasing, or supply chain within dynamic business settings.
• Exceptional negotiation skills and experience in establishing collaborative supplier partnerships.
• Strong analytical capabilities, with a passion for multi-tasking and engaging with various stakeholders.
• Sharp attention to detail, coupled with strategic, problem-solving prowess.
• Excellent communication abilities to foster collaboration and mutual respect.
• Proficient in procurement systems and the MS Office Suite, complemented by a general ease with technology.

Key Challenges

• The portfolio has a mix of globally managed and locally managed items across all categories. A high extent of alignment is required with the global/regional team for the global/regional items, while being fully responsible for the implementations of strategies locally
• Sustain market knowledge for both local and global items. Continually scan the environment for feedstock trends and market conditions to evaluate quick sourcing decisions
• Reckitt is a multi-stakeholder organization, and procurement decisions can have significant implications on the business results. Management of this complexity and high use of networking and influencing skills are very critical for this position
• Being in a position which is highly susceptible to commodity movements, delivery of successful results is highly dependent on cost optimization projects. Development of ideas and successful implementation requires a close interface between suppliers & project teams
• Reckitt delivers a high percentage of growth through the launch of new products. Success of such projects is dependent on evaluation of optimised sourcing options and timely and aggressive delivery before the target dates
• Requires strong stakeholders' management skills as high level of exposure to local leadership team

The skills for success

• Having at least 5 years of experience with 3 years in relevant industry, managerial experience will be a plus.
• Familiar with leading complex, cross-functional, sourcing projects
• Ability to interact in a matrix structure across multiple levels of management
• Track record of high-level negotiation and influencing skills
• Should be able to communicate in English confidently and without error- orally and in writing
• University graduate - additional qualification in materials management, purchasing or business administration preferable.
• Proven Category Management expertise, within Indirect, ideally with exposure across Marketing and commercial fixed costs.
• Should have prior experience and be comfortable in daily usage of Ms Office- Excel, Powerpoint and Word
• Should have working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook
• Quality One system experience is preferred.
• Knowledge on Anaplan, Ariba, Power BI, JDE and SAP will be added advantage.
• Strong understanding of business parameters and the impact of individual decisions on business results
• Strong drive to undertake and achieve stretch targets, often in a very challenging and high-pressure environment.
• Ability to manage stakeholder expectations through strong influencing and conflict management skills.
• Ability to work in and manage cross functional teams to achieve business objectives
• Should exhibit dynamic thinking and problem-solving skills in the face of constraints

Equality

We recognise that in real life, great people don't always 'tick all the boxes'. That's why we hire for potential as well as experience. Even if you don't meet every point on the job description, if this role and our company feels like a good fit for you, we still want to hear from you. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability or medical condition; colour, ethnicity, race, citizenship, and national origin; religion, faith; pregnancy, family status and caring responsibilities; sexual orientation; sex, gender identity, gender expression, and transgender identity; protected veteran status; size or any other basis protected by appropriate law.