Cluster Category Lead

Cluster Category Lead

Location: Uruca, Costa Rica

Company: Inchcape

Do you want to lead in a dynamic business that’s transforming global automotive distribution? At Inchcape, we’re pursuing an exciting strategy to evolve our global business and accelerate our industry towards a low-carbon, sustainable future.

Join Inchcape Group, part of Inchcape’s global network. You’ll be instrumental in executing our bold and exciting strategy, delivering great experiences for our customers, colleagues and partners. Powering the performance of a highly collaborative team of diverse and talented colleagues.

Our team is seeking Cluster Category Lead, responsible for executing strategic sourcing initiatives within their market, aligning local business needs with global procurement strategies. The role leads sourcing events, implements category plans, and uses procurement tools such as Coupa Sourcing to deliver value beyond cost, including innovation, quality, sustainability, and risk mitigation. Working closely with business stakeholders, BPO partners, and the Procurement Centre of Excellence, the Category Lead drives procurement excellence, ensures compliance, and strengthens supplier and category performance to support long-term business success.

What you’ll do

• Implement regional and global category strategies at the market level, ensuring alignment with local business needs and operational realities.
• Lead sourcing events (RFIs, RFPs, eAuctions) for local procurement projects using Coupa.

• Act as a market-level ambassador of procurement, driving awareness of sourcing policy, compliance protocols, and control frameworks.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders (Finance, HR, Facilities, Legal, IT, etc.) to define local sourcing needs and ensure demand planning is integrated with category strategies.

• Coordinate with BPO teams to ensure timely and compliant execution of transactional procurement activities.

• Conduct supplier onboarding, contract tracking, performance monitoring, and manage supplier scorecards and corrective actions.

• Ensure documentation and reporting compliance with procurement policy, Delegation of Authority (DOA), and audit readiness requirements.

• Support ESG, risk, and sustainability initiatives at the market level, including supplier ESG evaluations and Scope 3 data collection.

• Maintain sourcing project records and market-specific data repositories (SharePoint, contract folders, trackers).

• Contribute to the annual procurement planning cycle by providing data-driven market insights, demand signals, and local stakeholder inputs that inform category strategies and budget alignment. Actively engage with the Procurement Centre of Excellence (CoE) to respond to strategic inquiries and shape the development of the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) with market-specific intelligence and sourcing opportunities.

• Drive full lifecycle sourcing in Coupa Sourcing (from intake to award), ensuring best practices in competitive bidding, scoring criteria, and supplier engagement.

• Design and execute eSourcing strategies that enhance competition, transparency, and speed, leveraging templates and playbooks from the Procurement CoE.

• Ensure effective sourcing pipeline management by proactively identifying local sourcing opportunities and consolidating demand to maximize leverage.

• Support should-cost modeling and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) analysis for high-impact categories, contributing insights to negotiation strategy.

• Conduct market intelligence analysis (pricing trends, supplier benchmarking, risk signals) to inform strategic sourcing decisions at the local level.

• Facilitate cross-functional sourcing workshops or alignment sessions to ensure stakeholder buy-in, risk evaluation, and solution design prior to sourcing events.

• Manage post-sourcing activities including contract execution, supplier onboarding coordination, and kick-off meetings to ensure alignment and compliance from day one.

• Ensure that Coupa Sourcing event data is accurately recorded, archived, and used for performance tracking, compliance, and reporting purposes.

• Collaborate with the Procurement CoE and regional category leads to standardize sourcing approaches, deploy training on sourcing tools, and share local best practices.

• Track and report on sourcing-driven value realization (cost savings, risk mitigation, ESG impact) and feed insights into local and regional procurement dashboards.

About you

To be successful in this role you’ll be

•  5-7 years of experience in procurement, sourcing, or category leadership roles, ideally in multinational or matrixed organizations. 
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field. 
• Experience managing indirect spend categories, including but not limited to Professional Services, IT, Facilities, and Logistics. 
• Demonstrated use of eSourcing platforms such as Coupa for managing sourcing events and supplier collaboration. 
• Proven ability to manage supplier performance, conduct evaluations, and lead issue resolution processes. 
• Fluent in both Spanish and English, written and spoken. 
• Strong strategic sourcing capabilities, including RFP/RFI/eAuction execution, market intelligence application, and supplier selection frameworks. 
• Advanced stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to align local and regional priorities. 
• Solid understanding of category management methodologies, including TCO modeling, supplier segmentation, and risk mitigation strategies. 
• Proficiency in contract lifecycle management, with experience in negotiating commercial terms, SLAs, and governance mechanisms. 
• Skilled in digital procurement tools, especially Coupa Sourcing, SAP, Oracle, or Scanmarket. 
• High level of analytical thinking and familiarity with data-driven decision-making tools. 

Start your journey 

If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply. You might be the perfect fit we’re looking for. Join our team and become part of a leading global automotive company that is transforming tomorrow, together.

Opportunity for everyone

At Inchcape, inclusion accelerates our success. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to thrive. We foster an inclusive culture that reflects the communities we serve, ensuring opportunities for all. Click here to learn more about our commitment to Inclusion and Diversity.

About us

Inchcape is the leading global automotive distributor operating in 38 markets.  We partner with some of the biggest brands in the business to sustainably power better mobility today and in the future.

Our diverse global team of over 16,000 talented colleagues foster an inclusive and collaborative culture, delivering a brilliant experience for our customers and partners.  We’re a dynamic and fast-growing business, driving the transformation of our industry and redefining tomorrow. Find out more visit www.inchcape.com

Additional information request

Selected candidates will be contacted to initiate our hiring journey. We may request additional information from applicants to better understand your background, qualifications and experience for the role.