Summary

The Senior Category Manager is responsible for leading, defining, developing, and executing the complex sourcing program for key spend categories to achieve costs savings and support objectives of strategic importance to business unit customers, supply chain, and the enterprise. The role collaborates with internal customers, suppliers, and supply chain teams to deliver value-added outcomes, procuring the best evaluated total cost of ownership while assuring quality and schedule compliance.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Category management: Manages $100M+ in annual managed-spend across respective categories. Acts as the expert for assigned categories and monitors the market drivers, supplier base, emerging technologies, regulatory factors, category spend by supplier, inventory, supplier, and fill rate performance.
• Spend and market analysis: Performs complex market and financial analysis to understand key market forces and to determine and mitigate the business risk associated with a supplier or contract. Evaluates and leverages rigorous analysis of market and spend data to prioritize and target strategic sourcing initiatives within assigned categories.
• Specification management: Leads the process from specification/definition of need through contract administration (may include Construction Specifications Institute) and complex investment recovery.
• Sourcing strategies: Synthesizes spend and complex market analyses to develop thorough and effective sourcing strategies. Determines the most strategic supply chain model to acquire the necessary products and services at the maximum level of savings.
• Competitive process: Fosters high level of competition to deliver improved performance at a reduced cost. Follows the prescribed methodology and teaches the organization, describing the underlying reasons for each step during competitive bidding eventexecution.
• Negotiations: Collaborates to develop negotiation strategies and company positions on highly complex contracts, works with Legal to identify and incorporate appropriate levels of commercial protection, and conducts negotiations to ensure successful execution of strategies for optimal business outcomes. Distinguishes between positions and interests to facilitate win-win results.
• Identifies new sources of supply, and potential new products/technologies and exhibits cradle-to-grave ownership for each assignedcategory.
• Continuous improvement: Initiates "leading practices" within strategic procurement to achieve a high level of processexcellence;stays abreast of industry innovations, and continuously improves the function andprocesses.
• Supplier development and performance: Establishes and maintains professional relationships with suppliers/partners, based on the highest ethical business practices set forth in company policy. Acts as the primary liaison to suppliers within assigned categories.
• Develops and manages tools and key performance measures for chosen suppliers and negotiates on multiple variables to award longer-term strategic contracts that result in significant cost reduction and improved service levels.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Category plan development and management large dollar riskpurchases
• Supplier development andperformance
• Negotiations and competitiveprocess
• Contract development, management, and administration (may include Construction SpecificationsInstitute)
• Spend and marketanalysis.
• Planning andforecasting
• Continuous improvement andproductivity
• RelationshipManagement

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree inapplicable Supply Chain, Engineering, Business or Accounting/Finance fieldwith seven (7) or more yearsof experience,understandingof typical enterprise-wide functions and related products, equipment, andservices.Backgroundin Lean, Six Sigma, or similar process improvementmodels. Experience in projectmanagement andutilitysupplychain- required
• [OR]Associate degree inapplicable Supply Chain, Engineering, Business or Accounting/Finance field with eleven(11) or more years ofunderstandingof typical enterprise-wide functions and related products, equipment, andservices.Backgroundin Lean, Six Sigma, or similar process improvementmodels. Experience in projectmanagement andutilitysupplychain.
• [OR]High School Diploma with fifteen (15) or more years of applicable experience.