Category Manager - Resins

Company Overview

Why Choose Us?

Novolex is a leading manufacturer of food, beverage, and specialty packaging that supports multiple industries including foodservice, restaurant delivery and carryout, food processing, grocery and retail, and industrial sectors. Novolex manufacturing and sourcing expertise spans a diverse range of substrates including resin, paper, molded fiber, aluminum and more. We provide customers a broad array of stock and customized solutions with 120 product categories, 250 brands and over 39,000 SKUs.

 

• $130-135,000 base salary * + annual bonus
• Medical, dental and vision options
• Wellness rewards to fund your HRA or HSA
• Paid holidays, time off, parental and other leaves
• Financial protection benefits such as life, AD&D and disability insurance, and 401(k) Plan with employer matching contributions
• Education Support (for example, tuition reimbursement, Chairman’s Scholarship, 529 College Savings Plan)
• Broad Based Employee Award Program—value sharing plan for all employees with one year of service
• Employee Assistance Program and much more!
• This is a hybrid position in Charlotte, NC or Lake Forest, IL

Our Sustainability Commitment

The Novolex sustainability vision is built upon three pillars: our products, our operations and our people. Each is critically important to our growth and future as a business. These pillars form the foundation of our company-wide commitment to sustainability, helping us achieve our ambitious goals through our wide-ranging initiatives.

Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated and results-driven Category Manager for Resins used in our Flexible and Rigid Packaging. As a Category Manager for Resins, you will be responsible for setting category strategies and drive value by identifying savings opportunities and supply efficiency.

 

Key Job Duties:

• Manages assigned category globally. 
• Full accountability for category performance at group level.
• Develops and executes a clear category strategy aligned with overall business objectives, including cost optimization, innovation, sustainability, and risk mitigation
• Identifies savings opportunities and supply efficiencies.
• Execution of major initiatives and negotiations (e.g., RFI, RFP).
• Develops, evaluates and maintains relationships with key suppliers at a strategic level.
• Ensures existence of proper documentation (i.e., summary of all individual projects, handover documents, contracts).
• Develops benchmarking and best practices and steers all BUs to thrive for best in class.
• Effectively communicates and collaborates with all internal stakeholders (Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales).
• Supports all Innovation and Sustainability initiatives with main suppliers towards Novolex targets.
• Supports new material qualification.
• Supports evaluation of make-vs-buy decisions
• Proactively identifies and mitigates supply risks through dual sourcing, inventory strategies, and alternate materials
• Conducts comprehensive spending analysis to assess volumes, supplier distribution, and cost-reduction opportunities
• Establishes supplier KPIs ensuring compliance to support performance, quality, and cost goals
• Builds and manages a robust project pipeline, executing multiple initiatives simultaneously to deliver year-over-year cost savings
• Communicates wins, progress, challenges, and risks to leadership using clear data and insights
• Conducts vendor and commodity analyses to improve sourcing strategies, material selection, and manufacturing processes
• Owns supplier performance across cost, quality, delivery, sustainability, and transactional effectiveness
• Builds cost models and price forecasts to secure pricing that outperforms market benchmarks

Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree preferred in business or related field.
• Must have previous category management experience.
• Experience with Resins or Chemicals is preferred.
• Demonstrated skills and attributes include initiative, problem solving, negotiation, and persuasive communication skills (written, presentation and verbal).
• Ability to function independently.

Company Benefits

What You'll Get From Us

Benefits

With safety as our top priority and a commitment to employee well-being an important focus, we offer comprehensive and competitive benefits that include medical, dental and vision insurance as well as a variety of other well-being resources focused on mental, physical and financial health. Specific benefits and well-being programs may vary dependi