Senior Category Manager

The Senior Category Manager executes effective procurement strategies, from initial identification of procurement needs for goods and services.

• Execute strategic sourcing strategies, best practices, and initiatives that support aggressive improvements in supplier quality, total cost effectiveness, enhanced service levels, improved coordination, delivery, pricing, lead-times, payment, risk compliance and other areas as identified.
• Executes assigned category sourcing strategies including development and execution of RFI’s and RFP’s
• Documents bid events through correspondence to suppliers utilizing advanced sourcing tools (e.g. reverse auctions)
  Develops selection criteria and drives the selection of suppliers in collaboration with cross-functional teams
• Conducts supplier negotiations and ongoing supplier management
• Actively seeks ways to streamline business processes
• Researches and provides information on industry category trends and best practices
• Provide procurement input to maximize procurement leverage, optimize project design and minimize project duration and cost.
• Develop negotiation strategies, gain alignment from stakeholders, lead cross-functional, category-based negotiation teams, and implement appropriate supplier risk analysis
• Directly negotiate with suppliers that require a detailed strategic plan and have a direct correlation with companies’ operational needs and goals.
• Deep dive current spend information/data to identify sourcing projects for individual subcategories, and develop an overall cost reduction plan
• Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of business requirements and category ownership by creating and defending category strategies and decisions with sound analytics. Leads analytic tasks and synthesizes results
• Monitor supplier performance to ensure that delivery dates and technical and contractual requirements are met
• Participate in strategic meetings with suppliers and business leaders to ensure execution of defined strategies
• Manages day-to-day on-going category supplier relations and seeks out growth or revision opportunities within the supply base
• Act as the internal point of contact for supplier management and complaint resolution
• Conduct regular supplier meetings and implement improvement strategies with suppliers. Creates, nurtures, and enhances supplier relationships
• Aggressively manages category performance by adhering to internal Savings goals and reviewing financial models for commodity type items
• Ensure spend portfolio for recurring managed spend is balanced through coordinated sourcing waves and leveraged with project sourcing activities
• Drive consolidation of spend and seek out synergies across Business Units where applicable, by forming and leading cross-functional strategic sourcing teams to develop and implement category/commodity strategies and to drive cost from individual spend sub-categories
• Develops total cost of ownership models for each assigned commodity; measuring and communicating performance of each supplier and commodity and driving continual improvement efforts
• Champions weekly assigned category review meetings with cross-functional teams to manage category performance.
• Self-motivated and directed within an individual contributor role.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment while prioritizing and managing multiple stakeholders, responsibilities, and delivering multiple first-of-their-kind programs.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Industrial or Operations Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related field required;
  Master’s degree in Business Administration or Supply Chain Management preferred
• Minimum of 10+ years of procurement experience required
• At least 3 years of experience in data analytics of spend preferred
• Highly effective oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to perform deep dive analytics and disseminate in a discernible fashion.
• Highly effective at supplier negotiation and sourcing strategy development.
• Advanced experience collaborating with internal and external resources.
• Advanced Experience in managing projects and/or cross functional teams.
• Advanced level skill in google sheets and office suite of products.
• Advanced level skill in PowerPoint for crisp presentations.
• Willing to travel up to 10% of the time for business purposes (within state and out of state).