Global Category Leader – Customer Equipment; Chemicals

Solenis is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals focused on delivering sustainable solutions for water-intensive industries, including consumer, industrial, institutional, food and beverage, and pool and spa water markets. Owned by Platinum Equity, the company’s product portfolio includes a broad array of water treatment chemistries, process aids, functional additives, and cleaners and disinfectants, as well as state-of-the-art monitoring and control systems.

These technologies are used by customers to improve operational efficiencies, enhance product quality, protect plant assets, minimize environmental impact, and create cleaner and safer environments.

Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company has 69 manufacturing facilities strategically located around the globe and employs a team of over 16,100 professionals in 130 countries across six continents. Solenis is a 2025 US Best Managed Company, recognized five years in a row.

Location: home-based in EMEA region (Czech Republic, Norway, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK).

All candidates must be eligible to work in Europe. Please be aware that we do not offer a relocation package if you are considering relocating. We do not provide visa support for this role.

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Global Category Leader – Customer Equipment to lead and optimize our global equipment category for customer installations and service delivery. This role will be instrumental in shaping and executing category strategy, driving value creation, and enabling competitive advantage across our global footprint.

The ideal candidate will bring strong leadership, deep knowledge of procurement in a customer-facing industrial context, and a proven track record in managing complex categories across geographies.

• Develop and implement a comprehensive global category strategy for customer equipment that aligns with corporate goals and supports growth.
• Lead category strategy development, including segmentation, total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis, market intelligence, and supplier landscape assessment.
• Establish and drive measurable category KPIs, ensuring performance tracking and continuous improvement.

• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with key global suppliers of customer equipment.
• Drive robust commercial negotiations, develop long-term agreements, and ensure contractual compliance and performance.
• Identify and qualify new suppliers based on safety standards, quality, capability, and innovation.

• Partner closely with Engineering & Technical Services, Sales, Operations, Quality, and Regulatory teams to ensure equipment solutions meet customer requirements and internal standards.
• Act as the primary interface between Procurement and internal stakeholders for category requirements, project support, and execution.

• Lead global sourcing initiatives, including RFPs, RFQs, bid analysis, and award recommendations.
• Implement category sourcing plans that balance global leverage with local execution where necessary.
• Support business units in resolving supply, delivery, and quality issues related to equipment.

• Manage supply risk through diversification, contingency planning, and robust supplier performance metrics.
• Ensure supplier and equipment compliance with relevant industry standards, safety regulations, and internal policies.
• Promote and embed sustainability criteria in sourcing decisions.

• Deliver measurable cost savings and value capture through strategic sourcing, standardization, and process improvements.
• Benchmark category spend and pricing to drive best-in-class commercial outcomes.

• Lead, mentor, and develop regional category leads and sourcing professionals.
• Champion a high-performance culture focused on collaboration, accountability, and results.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or related discipline; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of procurement/sourcing…