Procurement Category Lead – Direct Materials

About the role

SodaStream, part of PepsiCo, is seeking a Procurement Category Lead to join its Global Procurement team. The role focuses on direct material categories such as plastics, food ingredients, bottles and other raw materials, ensuring supply continuity, cost optimisation and sustainable value creation.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute category procurement strategies for key direct material categories.
• Identify and drive cost‑saving opportunities while supporting long‑term value creation.
• Lead sourcing activities, including RFQs/RFPs, supplier selection and commercial negotiations.
• Build and manage strategic supplier relationships to improve performance, innovation, quality and cost competitiveness.
• Drive risk‑management initiatives and support business continuity planning.
• Collaborate with Operations, Quality, R&D, Supply Chain and Manufacturing to align sourcing with business needs.
• Support global procurement projects and cross‑regional sourcing activities.
• Monitor supplier performance using KPIs for cost, service, quality and delivery.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, procurement standards and governance requirements.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement across procurement processes.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Engineering or a related field.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in procurement, sourcing or category management.
• Experience sourcing raw materials such as plastics, food ingredients or packaging is an advantage.
• Experience in a global or matrix organisation is a plus.
• Strong negotiation, supplier management and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Analytical mindset with ability to evaluate commercial opportunities and risks.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Proactive problem‑solving and independent decision‑making.

Required skills

• Category management
• Sourcing (RFQ/RFP) processes
• Supplier negotiation
• Risk management
• Performance monitoring (KPIs)