Strategic Buyer – Electrical Equipment

• Location: Brussels – hybrid (remote work policy applies) | Occasional travel to Berlin (a few times per year)
• Contract type: Freelance consultancy – full-time
• Compensation: Competitive
• Start: 12 octobre
• End : 30 / 06 /2027
• Profile: Mid-level – 2 to 5 years of experience in procurement, project management, or a technical context
• Languages: French, Dutch, and English: all three required – one mother tongue + the other two at C1 level minimum
• Scope: Group-wide: dual-entity procurement responsibility

Context

Our client is a European electricity transmission system operator, comprising two major electrical compagnies. Together the Group operates the high-voltage transmission infrastructure in Belgium and eastern Germany, and plays a central role in the European energy transition, managing large-scale infrastructure investment programmes and cross-border interconnections.

The Group Procurement team is responsible for sourcing and contracting the strategic assets and services that underpin the Group's infrastructure programmes — including major electrical equipment such as power transformers, high-voltage switchgear, cables, and other critical components. Given the scale, strategic importance, and regulatory complexity of these purchases, the procurement function operates under European Union public procurement rules (EU Directive on procurement by entities operating in the utilities sector), which requires rigorous and structured procurement processes.

The Strategic Buyer – Electrical Equipment joins the Group Procurement team to lead procurement procedures for strategic electrical infrastructure assets, with a scope that spans both compagnies. The role covers the full procurement cycle — from strategy definition and market analysis through EU procedure design, tender management, negotiation, and contract award.

Responsibilities

Market analysis and procurement strategy

• Work closely with the technical and asset management departments of both compagnies to develop a comprehensive understanding of the Group's long-term requirements for strategic electrical equipment
• Continuously analyse the global market for strategic electrical equipment — monitoring market dynamics, supplier landscape evolution, capacity constraints, technology shifts, and geopolitical factors affecting supply chains for critical infrastructure components
• Develop and maintain the medium- to long-term procurement plan for strategic electrical equipment, aligned with the Group's infrastructure investment pipeline and sustainability objectives
• Define and implement procurement strategies in coordination with internal technical, asset management, legal, and sustainability stakeholders across Brussels and Berlin
• Actively contribute to the implementation of the Group's sustainable procurement policies — integrating environmental, social, and governance criteria into procurement strategies and tender evaluation

EU procurement procedures — primary workload (~80% of role)

• Lead European Union public procurement procedures for strategic electrical equipment from end to end — this represents approximately 80% of the role. The Group, as a regulated utility, is subject to EU procurement rules (Utilities Directive) for above-threshold contracts, which requires formally structured and legally compliant tender processes.
• Define selection and award criteria in coordination with internal technical and legal stakeholders — ensuring criteria are technically sound, legally defensible, and aligned with the Group's procurement strategy
• Draft and manage procurement documentation: tender specifications, qualification questionnaires, technical requirements, evaluation matrices, and contract templates
• Manage the full tender process: publication, candidate prequalification, Q&A management, bid evaluation (technical and commercial), negotiation, and contract award
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of internal procurement processes, methods, and tools based on lessons learned from EU procedures — optimise workflow efficiency and template quality
• Depending on experience: take full autonomous responsibility for a complete family of strategic assets — owning the procurement strategy, procedure, and supplier relationship for that equipment category

Cross-entity collaboration and synergies

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with internal stakeholders across different countries — technical departments, asset management, legal, finance, and sustainability teams at both compagnies
• Actively contribute to building procurement synergies and best practices between the clients — sharing market intelligence, harmonising processes, and identifying joint sourcing opportunities where appropriate
• Manage relationships with an international supplier base — engaging with manufacturers and suppliers across Europe and globally for strategic electrical equipment

Requirements

Education

Master's degree in engineering or technical studies (electrical, electromechanical, civil, industrial) — or a Master's in economics, business, or law with a strong technical focus demonstrated through relevant internships or prior professional experience in an engineering or infrastructure context

Experience

• 2 to 5 years of professional experience in a procurement, public tendering, project management, or technical context. Prior experience with EU procurement procedures (Utilities Directive or Public Sector Directive) is a strong differentiator — the ability to structure and manage compliant EU procurement procedures from day one is the core technical skill the role demands.
• Affinity with legal terminology and contract negotiation — the role involves drafting and negotiating procurement contracts that are legally complex and carry significant financial and operational consequences for the Group
• Knowledge of Ariba (procurement platform) is an asset — Our client uses Ariba for procurement operations
• Knowledge of German is an asset for interaction with the 50Hertz team in Berlin

Languages — mandatory

Trilingual French / Dutch / English is mandatory for this role. One of these must be a mother tongue; the other two must be at C1 level (fluent, autonomous use in a professional context). All three are actively used in the role: French and Dutch for Belgian internal stakeholder engagement; English for Group-level communication, international supplier management.

• French: mandatory at mother tongue or C1 level
• Dutch: mandatory at mother tongue or C1 level
• English: mandatory at C1 level – Group working language and primary language for EU procurement documentation and supplier communication

Profile

• Organised and structured: EU procurement procedures are governed by strict legal timelines, documentation requirements, and procedural constraints — the Strategic Buyer must manage multiple concurrent procedures without missing deadlines or introducing procedural non-conformities
• Autonomous and initiative-driven: the role requires the ability to independently drive procurement procedures from strategy through award, engage stakeholders proactively, and solve problems without waiting for direction
• Resilient under pressure: procurement procedures for strategic infrastructure assets are politically visible, commercially sensitive, and legally contested — the Buyer must maintain rigour and composure under pressure
• Analytical and result-oriented: bid evaluation, market analysis, and strategy definition require rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis — the Buyer must be comfortable with structured data and capable of translating analysis into actionable decisions
• Willing to travel a few times per year to Berlin for collaboration with the 50Hertz team
• Flexible on hybrid working: The client's remote work policy applies — the role is not fully remote; regular office presence in Brussels is expected
• Non-EU candidates: must hold a valid Belgian work permit and residence permit at time of engagement