Category Manager, Procurement -Chicago, Decatur, IL or Erlanger, KY

Job Description

Category Manager, Procurement - Chicago or Decatur, IL. or Erlanger, KY.
 The role
An opportunity has arisen for a Category Manager within the Corporate Procurement team. The role can be based in Chicago or Decatur, IL. or Erlanger, KY. The main purpose of this role is to develop and execute global category strategies in collaboration with stakeholders and in alignment with global and local sourcing requirements. You will work closely with our business unit leaders to understand implementation challenges and to develop solutions to increase compliance. In this role, you will assist our different businesses to determine and manage requirements by providing insight into alternative options to better control demand.

Your Responsibilities

• Reporting to the regional procurement leader, the main duties of this role will include:
• Define specific category (IT Services, Telecom, Travel) procurement strategy, managing risk and maximizing current/future market conditions, defining contingency planning to ensure critical supply needs are met;
• Lead, mentor, and develop regional leaders and specialists on your procurement team while collaborating with the Business Units’ and Corporate Functions’ global teams;
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key suppliers, providing high level of issue resolution where necessary (quality and service);
• Drive external / marketplace knowledge of the latest category dynamics, trends and best practices aiming to drive implementation of continuous improvement opportunities;
• Develop an annual plan based on organizational goals/objectives and marketplace knowledge;
• Negotiate category's procurement activities, strategic sourcing, supplier management and contract management leveraging company’s 7 steps sourcing process;
• Provide leadership and support during sourcing initiatives, including total cost of ownership model development, category strategy development, fact-based negotiation strategy development & execution, supplier evaluation & selection, and category implementation;
• Streamline P2P Process by ensuring consistency and best practices sharing across Businesses;
• Develop industry cost modeling scenarios and document global market trends;
• Implement necessary tools and reports to manage categories and supply base e.g. contract management spend management;
• Drive efforts to understand internal customer needs and summarize business requirements as input into enterprise-wide sourcing efforts;
• Proactively engage internal stakeholders to align objectives, jointly develop category strategies and communicate market and sourcing information;
• Establish and evaluate performance metrics for category and own cost saving results.

Your Profile

• Bachelor's Degree preferably in Supply Management, Operations, Business or Engineering.  Master Degree in related field is preferred
• Minimum 10 years business experience with 6 years preferably in procurement (Corporate or IT Procurement)
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to engage, communicate and influence mid to senior level stakeholders (internal / external) and establish trust and credibility with business unit leaders and other functional stakeholders
• Strong analytical skills with a deep understanding of financial analysis; ability to analyze data as well as draw out and communicate insights
• Capable of creating pre-negotiation strategy including company’s Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
• Experience in negotiation of complex agreements; commercial skills and familiarity with contract law is a must
• Strong communication skills in English, both verbal and written (fluent in other languages a strong plus)
• Familiarity with multiple source-to-pay systems (eg. COUPA, Ariba, Maximo) and ERP software (JDE, SAP, etc.)
• Global awareness (culture, currencies, geography, and political)
• Professional Purchasing Certification
• Experience in Food/ Agri-business industry
• Experience in LEAN Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and/or project management; Strong Project Execution is a must
• Familiarity with E-sourcing tools (Ariba, Bravo, etc.)

Before applying for an exempt, non-exempt or hourly job opportunity, you are expected to initiate a discussion and share your intentions with your supervisor.  * If you’ve been in your current position for more than 18 months, supervisor approval is not required.  * If you’ve been in your current position for less than 18 months, verbal supervisor approval is required.  
​Hiring Manager-  Megan Tibbs  ​
Recruiter-  Karen Kremer

 

City

Decatur

State