Lead Category Manager – MRO Americas

Position

Lead Category Manager – MRO Americas – Hybrid

Locations

New Britain, CT, USA;
Towson, MD, USA;
Valley City, OH, USA

Job Summary

As a Lead Category Manager – MRO Americas, you’ll be part of our Global Indirect Supply Management team working as a hybrid employee.

Responsibilities

• Report to the Sr. Manager – MRO & Facilities and serve as a key member of the Global Indirect Supply Management team.
• Lead the strategic sourcing of MRO parts for SBD’s plants across Americas, supporting all business units.
• Develop and implement robust, category-specific sourcing strategies to drive supply base consolidation and improve procurement efficiency.
• Analyze current procurement and contractual situations, identifying opportunities for supplier rationalization and supply base consolidation.
• Collaborate with plant managers, site champions, and finance controllers to address data gaps and drive the Americas’ MRO category strategy, aligned with the 4S framework (Simplify, Standardize, Supplier Relationship Management, Source Internally).
• Coordinate with global and regional MRO category leads to ensure alignment of sourcing strategies across all regions.
• Oversee Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) value creation through initiatives focused on productivity, quality, innovation, service excellence, risk management, and margin resiliency.
• Support and manage the MRO procurement needs for a manufacturing footprint of 30+ locations across three business units.
• Develop and implement global MRO category strategies in alignment with Americas’ business objectives.
• Drive year-over-year productivity improvements for a spend category ranging from $150M–$200M.
• Navigate multiple ERP and procurement systems to establish and analyze spend baselines.
• Consolidate a supply base of 100+ suppliers to a select pool of preferred vendors by collecting data, bundling purchases, and driving consolidation through effective contract management.
• Select suppliers and lead negotiations within the North America region to secure optimal agreements.
• Drive the creation and maintenance of visual management dashboards for the North America Specialty MRO space.
• Build sustainable business partnerships with internal stakeholders and strategic suppliers to support long-term category goals.
• Determine, oversee, and perform negotiations and contract management for large‑scale, enterprise‑wide volume purchase agreements.
• Deliver TCO value to the organization through productivity gains, working capital improvements, synergy realization, risk reduction, and enhanced supplier lead times.
• Develop and foster strategic supplier relationships that deliver cost reduction, supply assurance, quality improvement, and innovation.
• Ensure compliance with Global Supply Management (GSM) policies, procedures, and Delegation of Authority (DoA) requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or related field.
• 5–12 years of strategic sourcing experience, with a proven track record of driving change in matrixed organizations.
• 3–5+ years of direct experience in MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Operations, including Chemicals, Gases, Uniforms, Lubricants, Repairs, etc.) category management.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, sell, and implement category strategies within large, matrixed environments.
• Skilled in managing complex commercial and contractual negotiations.
• Experience driving change at the plant level, particularly within decentralized operational models (preferred).
• Strong balance of strategic and operational capabilities, including global sourcing, supplier management, and commodity risk management.
• Global mindset with experience working in international and multi‑cultural matrix environments.
• Proficient in advanced sourcing techniques, supplier management, SKU rationalization, and value engineering.
• Comfortable working in a high‑paced environment, with strong project management and execution skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, able to engage effectively with C‑level, VP, and Director stakeholders.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and navigate conflicts constructively to achieve positive outcomes.
• Willing and able to travel up to 30% of the time.

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