Category Manager; Corporate Professional Services and Management Consulting

Category Manager;
Corporate Professional Services and Management Consulting

Dearborn, MI, United States (Hybrid)

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In this position...

The Category Manager will be responsible for leading and executing the global procurement strategy for the management consulting and professional services categories. This role involves managing supplier relationships, negotiating contracts, identifying cost-saving opportunities, ensuring compliance with procurement policies, and collaborating closely with various internal departments to meet their needs.

As the liaison to Ford’s executives and senior leaders, you will have the exciting opportunity to have a first look at strategic initiatives, and play a key role in obtaining the best value for delivering those initiatives. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with strong negotiation skills, a deep understanding of management consulting, and proven experience at developing and implementing robust category strategies.

What you’ll do...

• Develop, implement, and manage comprehensive sourcing strategies for Management Consulting and Professional Services spend across all Ford Business Units.
• Achieve significant value creation, cost savings (including redundancy reduction/tail spend control), and favorable terms, with the ability to report out on key performance indicators to senior leadership.
• Obtain buy-in from executives and senior leaders to the category strategy, influencing purchasing decisions with category expertise and deep relationships.
• Cultivate strong collaborative relationships with internal business partners to understand requirements and ensure alignment.
• Build and maintain robust relationships with key suppliers, managing performance against KPIs, conducting business reviews, and driving continuous improvement.

You’ll have…

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Finance, Business, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in Supply Chain, Commodity Management/Program Management, or Supply Chain Consulting preferably within the automotive industry.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate across all levels of the organization, translating detailed information into clear, concise executive summaries.
• Proven analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and present insights clearly and understandably to various audiences.
• Strong foundational knowledge of Information Technology categories, including hardware, software, and IT services.
• Experience leading and successfully executing complex strategic sourcing initiatives and negotiations.
• Highly adaptable and resourceful, with a proven ability to manage changing priorities and thrive in ambiguous environments.

Even Better you may have...

• Master’s degree in business administration or a related field is preferred.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in Supply Chain, Program Management/Commodity Management roles, particularly within the automotive industry.
• Extensive understanding of the full spectrum of Information Technology offerings relevant to indirect categories.
• Strong competency and demonstrated experience with complex sourcing processes and procurement systems (S2C, P2P, or relevant I-ERP/procurement platforms).

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we’ve outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a change maker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above?

No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehi…