(Senior) Category Manager, Mechanical and Main Equipment

We are now looking for a Category Manager to join our Energy Assets Procurement team!

About the role

As a Category Manager, you own one or several Energy Asset categories across Fortum business units and countries. You are responsible for category strategy, supplier structure, SRM, sourcing guardrails and major negotiations in the assigned categories, and you act as Fortum’s commercial and market expert for the categories, bridging Business Unit needs with what the market can supply.

You will lead the procurement category team for the categories and ensure that procurement packages assigned to the category are executed according to best practices, ensuring value creation, risk management and effective execution of category strategies. Procurement packages are often a part of a larger investment project and are often technically complex and time critical. Your work has a direct impact on safe and reliable asset performance, project outcomes and total cost of ownership, through improving cost structures, strengthening supplier performance and ensuring continuity of supply.

You will work closely with Business Partnering and Strategic Sourcing and support projects throughout their lifecycle, including when contractual or supplier related challenges arise, with support from Contract Manager.

Main responsibilities:

• Own and develop the assigned categories, including category strategy, supplier structure and sourcing guardrails.
• Lead virtual category teams and drive execution of category strategies and procurement packages across business units and countries.
• Lead major negotiations and support contracting decisions in your categories, acting as an escalation point when needed.
• Be the trusted advisor to projects and stakeholders, providing market, supplier and commercial/contract expertise.
• Manage category-level risks, including supply capacity, commercial exposure and supplier risk, ensuring continuity of supply.
• Lead Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) for the categories (performance follow-up, improvement plans and governance).
• Own category governance and prioritization (roadmap, action plans and stakeholder alignment).
• Drive measurable value and ensure compliance with internal policies, sustainability standards and regulatory requirements.

Characteristics of this category at Fortum:

• Highly heterogeneous spend profile, from commodity like items to bespoke systems.
• Mix of project sourcing and framework agreements.
• Strong links to district heating, CHP and industrial energy assets.

About you

To succeed and thrive in this role, we see that you have:

• A relevant degree in business, economics, engineering, or similar.
• 8+ years of experience in category management, sourcing or procurement in capital intensive or technically complex environments.
• A solid foundation in understanding complex technical products, with a proactive mindset to continuously learn more.
• Strong understanding of supplier landscapes, cost structures, and contract strategies.
• A solution-oriented mindset with the ability to navigate in complex stakeholder dynamics and influence business decisions.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to communicate complex commercial topics in a clear, business-friendly way.
• Experience working in international and cross functional environments.
• A strong market understanding and tailored sourcing strategies. Experience of public procurement is an advantage in this role.
• Fluency in English and the local language (Finnish or Swedish) is required to effectively communicate with both internal and external stakeholders. Proficiency in all three languages is considered a strong advantage.

We offer you

At Fortum, we believe in a better future and want to be involved in shaping it. Our workplace is a safe place, both physically and mentally. You will grow with professional colleagues, being trusted and free to challenge yourself. We offer comprehensive benefits, flexible working hours, and hybrid work model to support your productivity, development and wellbeing. We are committed to build diverse teams where everyone feels included and is treated equally. 

More information about our culture and benefits can be found here.

Interested?

Submit your application at the latest on 2nd of August. The recruitment is on hold during the summer. We will begin actively screening after the application period has closed and hire as soon as the right candidate is found.

If you have questions and would like to hear more about the position, please contact Manne Kesti via email at manne.kesti@fortum.com. Please note that response times may be longer than usual due to the holiday season. 

We are Fortum

Fortum is a Nordic energy company. We generate and deliver reliable energy to our customers and the Nordic energy system while at the same time helping industries decarbonise their processes and grow. Our core operations comprise efficient and best-in-class low-carbon power generation, customer services, and heating and cooling. Fortum’s power generation is already 99% from renewable or nuclear sources with one of the lowest specific CO2-emissions in Europe. We are guided by our ambitious SBTi-validated emission reduction targets on our way towards net-zero by 2040. For our ~4,500 employees, we commit to be a safe and inspiring workplace. Fortum's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. fortum.com