Sr. Manager, Category Procurement Packaging Material - Fiber & Flexibles

Relocation Assistance Offered Within Country
Job Number #172295 - Piscataway, New Jersey, United States

Who We Are

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name!

Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet. Guided by our core values—Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous—we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all.
 

Role Summary:

As Manager/Senior Manager, Category Procurement Packaging Material, you will sit at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and value creation. You will shape the global strategy for our Toothpaste Tubes, Flexible Packaging, and Printed Materials, build deep partnerships with leading manufacturers, and help us navigate one of the most dynamic landscapes in the consumer products industry.

This is a highly visible global role that requires both strategic thinking and hands-on execution, as well as strong partnership with Packaging, Research and Development (R&D), Divisional stakeholders, and our most critical external partners.

Responsibilities:

1. Category Strategy & Leadership

• Define end-to-end sourcing strategies for Toothpaste Tubes, Flexible Packaging, and Printed Materials. You will design risk-mitigation and value-creation frameworks to ensure supply resilience and margin protection, translating these into actionable playbooks for divisional teams to drive seamless global execution.
• Act as the internal pulp and paper commodity SME to translate market dynamics into actionable plans. You will move "upstream" to lead direct engagement with global paper mills, securing long-term capacity and mitigating price volatility. By driving "buy vs. spec" alignment and delivering high-level market intelligence, you will empower divisional buyers to optimize regional conversion costs and protect margins.

2. Sustainability, Supplier Strategy, SRM and Innovation

• Integrate Colgate’s Packaging Sustainability ambitions (Circular packaging, Net Zero Emissions and No Deforestation) into sourcing strategies for the assigned categories.
• Serve as the central Procurement Integrator for 2030 packaging targets by synchronizing milestones and green investment budgets across all categories. You will act as the link between R&D, Global Packaging, and the Divisions to ensure financial alignment and progress tracking, while partnering with category leads to integrate their material roadmaps into the master sustainability plan.
• Define strategic supplier portfolios for assigned Packaging Categories and develop joint business plans that bring innovation, sustainability and operational excellence.
• Lead Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) with global strategic suppliers, including performance scorecards, investment assessments, and continuous improvement programs.
• Serve as the primary bridge between the supply base and R&D for Tubes, Flexibles, and Paper. You will embed procurement into the early-stage design process to identify disruptive supplier technologies and material breakthroughs, ensuring they are scalable and prioritized within the global innovation pipeline.

3. Risk, Cost & Value Management

• Create and maintain a Risk Landscape Management Plan for assigned Packaging Categories and commodities, addressing volatility, supply disruptions and emerging geopolitical or regulatory risks; define mitigation strategies including dual sourcing, regionalization and inventory/risk‑sharing mechanisms.
• Improve cost transparency and protect margins leveraging insights and tools such as should-cost modeling.
• Identify and deliver cost optimization and value creation opportunities (e.g., material harmonization, design‑to‑value, specification optimization, e‑bidding, benchmark studies, external research, innovation days).
• Support annual direct materials budgeting and forecasting for packaging, providing robust market insight.

4. Contracting, Compliance & Governance

• Work with Legal to develop and negotiate contracts that appropriately manage risk and capture value for Colgate.
• Ensure sourcing decisions and supplier selections adhere to Colgate’s policies, ethical standards, quality and regulatory requirements, including sustainability expectations.

5. Cross‑Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner closely with Global Supply Chain, Divisio