Senior Category Manager

The Vertiv Senior Category Manager is a key individual within the procurement organization. It is a complex role that requires several skills, qualifications, and attributes.  The category manager has a significant role in the selection and qualification of suppliers of critical manufactured components and must be extremely knowledgeable in the manufacturing processes and available technologies to optimize efficiencies of supply chain.  This position is located in Westerville, OH. 

The category manager, in conjunction with key stakeholders, develops, communicates, and coordinates the procurement strategy for that category for the Americas. This involves an in depth understanding of the market, technology, supplier sourcing, risk, and performance management.

The category manager also needs to be able to minimize risk to Vertiv. In short this means that the manager must develop an appropriate risk mitigation strategy through an appropriate supplier network maintaining continuity of supply while reducing risk within the supply chain.

In operational terms the manager will act as the Vertiv America’s team liaison between the various global/strategic manufacturers/suppliers and the procurement and operations teams. The manager is expected to support global and regional suppliers, operating at a strategic level supporting the needs of the business and managing the overall commercial elements of the relationship.

The category manager must be able to see exactly how the regional, global, and strategic procurement policy fits into the overall company strategy and ensure that procurement drives the fulfilment of these aims. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Independently lead highly complex projects of large scope cross functionally with significant and long-term impact
• Provide solutions that set precedent
• Negotiate complex or risk technical business issues on behalf of the company
• Independently define projects, establishes budget, identify participants and mitigates risk
• Develop, communicate, and refine Vertiv category strategy through regular (monthly) engagement with marketing, purchasing, materials management engineering and strategic supply partners to plan, organize and manage strategic and tactical sourcing and procurement efforts.
  • Develop deep relationships with Marketing, Engineering and Regional Operations teams will be critical to success.
• Commercial relationship management of key strategic suppliers, including contract negotiation, pricing, lead-time, inventory performance and monitoring of quality performance (quality and execution)
  • Ensure all necessary legal agreements are executed and all supplemental contracts supporting goals and objectives for supply continuity and optimization are completed.
  • All prices have been negotiated and cost analysis completed against should cost models and internal make costs.
  • Lead projects focused on reducing waste and improving efficiency and effectiveness of sourcing process.
  • Manage the development of program budgets, plans, and objectives to meet the goals of the Procurement organization.
• Oversight, communication and reporting of category performance, including, but not limited to:
  • Technology and Innovation trends and progress.
  • Material Inflation planning & reporting, including risk mitigation and cost reduction strategies and planning towards achieving the Annual Operating Plan (AOP).
  • Supply base development and management (supplier strategy, supplier population, preferred supplier list).
  • Working with Quality Assurance to develop and report on continuous improvement programs and ensure detailed performance feedback is communicated to suppliers.
• Identify and drive best practices (internal and supplier) related to sourcing, pricing and total cost contributors, quality, efficiency, speed, and responsiveness.
• Build strong relationships with business stakeholders to help unlock strategic and financial value.
• Develop and implement cost reduction strategies to achieve Procurement targets aligning with Business plan
• Identify and lead process improvement initiatives to enhance sourcing and procurement outcomes.
• Support Production Operations as necessary, manage 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate discipline – Supply Chain Management, Engineering or Business preferred.
• 10 years’ experience in procurement with a deep knowledge of supplier negotiations, sourcing, strategy building, cost analysis, and contract negotiation in a manufacturing environment. 
• CPIM or equivalent is desirable.
• Strong proficiency in MS Office applications and experience with Oracle, SAP, or other ERP databases.
• Experience in Total Cost of Ownersh