Global Category Director - Chemicals

EMEA Recruitment is proud to partner with Mohawk Group, a global industrial leader with a manufacturing footprint spanning Europe, North America, and Latin America.

We are seeking a Global Category Director to join their strategic Procurement Center of Excellence (CoE) based in Root (Lucerne), Switzerland.

As part of the CoE Leadership team, this senior strategic role is accountable for the overall performance, strategy, and governance of a diverse global category portfolio (including Indirect, Supply Chain, and Raw Materials).

Managing a team of Global Category Leads, you will balance high-level portfolio vision with direct, hands-on execution of complex, high-impact initiatives.

This position acts as the core interface with executive business stakeholders across multiple divisions and regions, driving procurement’s evolution into a strategic value-creation function.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Portfolio Leadership: Define and own the global strategy and long-term roadmap for the assigned category portfolio, ensuring alignment with divisional and regional business priorities

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Global Category Leads, establishing clear objectives and fostering strategic thinking in a matrix environment

• Global Governance & Scale: Enforce standardized category governance, sourcing, contracting, and risk management processes globally to drive harmonization and leverage enterprise scale

• Value Creation: Own the value delivery agenda, including financial savings, productivity, risk mitigation, innovation, and ESG impact,  using data-driven insights and advanced analytics

• Executive Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the primary senior procurement interface with executive leadership across Operations, Finance, R&D, and regional business units

• CoE Evolution: Contribute to the broader maturity of the Procurement CoE by championing capability initiatives, digitalization tools, and global best practices

Requirements:

• Education: Master’s degree or higher in Procurement & Supply Chain, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field

• Experience: 10+ years of procurement and category management experience, with a proven track record of leading complex, global categories within an international matrix organization

• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to manage, develop, and inspire high-performing teams, balancing long-term strategic vision with operational execution

• Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication skills with established credibility at the senior executive level

• Analytical & Digital Acumen: Strong data-driven mindset with experience leveraging e-sourcing tools and advanced analytics to influence enterprise-wide decisions

• Languages: Fluent written and spoken English; additional languages (specifically Spanish or Italian) are a distinct advantage

EMEA Recruitment is committed to promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. We act as a neutral third party in the recruitment process, basing our candidate searches on skills and experience. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sex, relationship status, disability, race, religion/beliefs, or sexual orientation.