Category Sourcing Leader

Company Description

You see things a little differently. So do we. We believe that what your values are more important than what your CV says. We offer positions that will challenge your skills and let you grow. Come see things a little differently with us. 

If you are the right person for this position, we can offer you an assignment in a global organization with a great possibility to build and create something new, where your ideas are heard and where the goal always is “to create a better everyday life for the many people”! 

IKEA Food develops and provides the food sold and served in all IKEA Restaurants, Bistro´s, Swedish Food Markets and the IKEA co-worker restaurants. IKEA Food has over 400 restaurants in 53 markets and every year 650 million guests are enjoying the IKEA Food. 

Co-workers within Purchasing Development lead an exciting life! The mission is to develop business with suppliers in order to deliver IKEA Home Furnishing and Food products to our stores located around the world. The goal is to meet the price, quality and quantity expectations of our customers. IKEA Food are working with suppliers globally and have offices in King of Prussia USA, Älmhult Sweden, Dortmund Germany, Warsaw Poland, Milan Italy and Shanghai China.

Job Description

As a Category Sourcing Leader, you will be responsible for securing the material and production knowledge as well as setting up the optimal sourcing conditions. With having customer always in mind, you will act as a gear box between Range / Category and Need Planning function. From that position you will lead and secure that all products within your area of responsibility are sourced with optimal global sourcing set-up. You will contribute with material, technique and production knowledge in the product development process and ensure that material and choices of techniques related to cost, capacity, quality and sustainability are in-line with supplier production capabilities, as well as with product development process and category strategy.  

In this role, you will: 

Contribute to the development and execution of the Category business plan by being responsible for: 

• Defining most suitable development partners for specific NEWs projects and services. 
• Leading the establishment of the global sourcing set-up for running range, NEWs in line with Category desired supplier movements IKEA Best Buy Principles, including scenario planning and assessing sourcing risks. 
• Engaging the right category resources in specific development projects and connecting them to development teams or other Range/Service owners through indirect leadership.  
• Securing Business Contingency Plans and to monitor and initiate actions to mitigate deviations, through stakeholder collaboration and indirect leadership. 
• Ensuring the quality of the Category input into pricing process (Big run and tertial runs) 

• Contributing to the Business Agreement creation and execution, in close collaboration with Range Areas or other stakeholders. 
• Consolidation of relevant business input affecting Category plans as example: Range Area portfolio plans, Growth Plans or other stakeholder input. 
• Leading specific projects on behalf or through allocation from the Category Manager; as example Leading the Creation and Implementation of a Segment Strategy. 
• Securing overall performance and collaboration with internal stakeholders 
• Contributing to the category management meetings as permanent member of the category management team 

Qualifications

We believe to be a successful Category Sourcing Leader you are driven and decisive with love for enabling great business to happen. You have strong analytical skills that enable you to draw conclusions and identify business opportunities effectively. You’ve mastered stakeholder management, with the ability to lead and attain results by actively involving and engaging people, regardless of the location. Your team player skills will come in handy since you will navigate through multiple different perspectives. You have great communication skills, with fluency in English.

Apart from that, we think you have:

• Strong experience and good knowledge in purchasing development including insights on supplier capabilities and/or product development background
• Preferably experience within the Food industry 
• Leadership skills and project leadership experience is an advantage 

• Holistic view with being comfortable thinking on both operational, tactical, and strategic level 
• Deep knowledge of value chain and value chain analysis capabilities 
• Strong entrepreneurship, drive for the change and strive for improvement. 

Additional Information

Additional information
The position is located in Älmhult, Sweden with a global responsibility. Älmhult has excellent commuting possibilities with hourly trains to Malmö, Lund and Växjö and an IKEA shuttle bus back and forth to Helsingborg two times a day. 
 
In this role you will report to Category Manager for Plant Based, Gustaf Karlsson 

If you have any questions please connect with us via the Smart Recruiters.

Does this fit in with your previous experience and ambitions for the future? Then we look forward receiving your application in English at the latest 27th July 2025