Global Category Manager Colors NPD Innovation and Supplier Development

Global Category Manager – Colors – Innovation and Supplier Development - Erlanger, KY

This is an exempt level position.

The Global Category Manager – Colors – Innovation and Supplier Development builds and advances the global supplier strategy required to support growth, risk management, innovation, and new product commercialization within the Colors business. This role serves as the procurement lead for supplier-enabled innovation, new and alternate raw material development. Reporting to the Global Procurement Color Leader, the successful candidate will work closely with R&D, Regulatory, Quality, and Commercial teams to ensure the business has access to the right suppliers, technologies, and capabilities to support new product development and long-term growth.

• Serve as the procurement lead for new product development initiatives related to natural colors, partnering with R&D, Commercial, Regulatory, and Quality to identify supplier solutions for innovation and customer projects
• Build a global supplier development roadmap, identifying suppliers with unique technologies, crop access, and processing capabilities that support the Colors innovation pipeline
• Own the strategic supplier relationship and onboarding process
• Map supplier capabilities across natural color sources (red radish, purple sweet potato, paprika, turmeric, beetroot, purple carrot, spirulina, carmine, and others) and identify emerging technologies and alternate raw material sources
• Develop new suppliers and second-source alternatives for new and existing color raw materials to strengthen supply resilience
• Lead supplier qualification, sourcing events, negotiations, and onboarding for new and innovative color raw materials
• Serve as the primary escalation point for supplier-related issues that could delay innovation, approval, or launch timing, driving resolution with internal teams
• Identify supply, quality, and regulatory risks associated with new and existing suppliers, and build risk mitigation plans across both innovation projects and standard-product supply
• Act as a key liaison between Procurement, R&D, Regulatory, Quality, and Commercial on innovation and supplier development priorities
• Provide clear updates to leadership on supplier development progress, risk mitigation status, and commercialization readiness

• Knowledge of natural colors, specialty ingredients, or agricultural-based raw materials
• Strong understanding of new product development, supplier qualification, and commercialization processes
• Strong supplier relationship management skills
• Strong executive communication skills with the ability to present clear recommendations to leadership

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Procurement, Business, Food Science, Agriculture, Agribusiness, Chemistry, or a related field is required. An advanced degree in Business, Supply Chain, Food Science, or Agriculture is preferred.

• 10+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier development, or food/natural ingredients
• Strong preference for direct experience in the natural colors or food ingredient industry, or with a color house, ingredient supplier, or processor
• Proven experience supporting new product development, supplier qualification, and commercialization

• Ability to travel globally, up to 30%, to meet with suppliers, processors, and technical teams. Relocation assistance is available with this position.

ADM requires the successful completion of a background check.

Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Hourly and salaried non-exempt employees will also be paid overtime pay when working qualifying overtime hours.

If hired, employees will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

The pay range for this position is…