European Category Leader MRO

Greenbrier is a leading U.S.-based manufacturer of railcars, with a growing presence in Europe – including our European HQ in Amsterdam, three R&D centers in Slovakia, Poland, Romania and three production sites across Poland and Romania.

Job Summary

We are seeking a European Category Leader MRO to own the end-to-end indirect procurement strategy across three manufacturing sites in Poland and Romania. The role drives total cost of ownership reduction, supplier consolidation, and category excellence, ensuring the effective sourcing of indirect goods and services while supporting operational performance and business objectives in a heavy-industry environment focused on freight wagon production.

Key responsibilities:

• Define and own the European Category Strategy for all indirect spend (MRO, energy, logistics services, facilities, IT, professional services, travel).

• Develop multi-year sourcing roadmaps aligned to Greenbrier Europe's operational and financial targets.

• Conduct regular spend analysis and market benchmarking; translate insights into actionable sourcing levers.

• Lead end-to-end sourcing events: RFx, negotiation, selection, contracting, and onboarding.

• Rationalise the supplier panel – maintain a lean, high-performing core supplier.

• Drive supplier performance management (QCD KPIs), continuous improvement, and risk mitigation.

• Ensure compliance: every purchase order is placed against a valid negotiated contract.

• Partner with plant management in Poland and Romania to align category plans with site operational needs.

• Challenge internal demand specifications and promote standardization to unlock and generate savings.

• Coach and guide local site buyers on indirect procurement best practices.

• Lead input into the annual indirect procurement budget for all three sites.

• Track and report savings, cost avoidance, and working capital improvements against targets.

• Manage currency and commodity risk exposure within the indirect portfolio.

• Embed sustainability criteria (CO₂ footprint, supplier diversity, circular economy) into category evaluation.

• Maintain audit-ready contract documentation and supplier due-diligence records.

Your profile:

• 5+ years in indirect / category procurement, ideally in manufacturing or heavy industry.

• Demonstrated success managing MRO, energy, or services categories in a multi-site environment.

• Experience working with Eastern European supply markets (Poland and/or Romania preferred).

• Strong contract law knowledge and SLA negotiation capability.

• Proficient in data-driven spend analysis (Power BI, Excel, or equivalent).

• Familiarity with ERP systems (Microsoft Dynamics 365 / DAX preferred) and e-sourcing platforms.

• Project management skills; able to run cross-functional workstreams.

• Analytical, structured, and decisive under ambiguity.

• Strong influencing skills – able to challenge business partners constructively.

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias for tangible results.

• English – fluent / Polish or Romanian advantage.

Come join us and embark on a fascinating journey with Greenbrier!

The Greenbrier Companies are equal employment opportunity employers. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or disability.

Prior to the next step in the recruiting process, we welcome you to inform us confidentially if you may require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment experience.

What’s Next?

Once receiving your system application, our recruiting team will screen and match your skills, experience, and potential team fit against the role requirements. We ask for your patience as the team completes the volume of applications with reasonable timeframe.

We invite you to get to know more about our company by visiting https://www.greenbrier-europe.com/ as well as https://www.gbrx.com/ and follow Greenbrier Europe on LinkedIn.