Category Manager

About us

HR Wanderer is an executive search firm retained by one of our key clients in the east coast to hire a category manager.

Title: Category Manager

Job Location: Remote and should be able to relocate to Kansas City when required

Job Type: Contractor (3-6 months)

Job Roles & Responsibilities:

· Manage the procurement category covering travel, fleet management and IT

· Responsible to drive category management and sourcing along with handling supplier contracts from the very first supplier communication till final archiving

· Define, Develop, and Implement category strategies (Short, mid, and long term) with vendors and identify potential category value enhancing projects

· Prepare, conduct, and analyze RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs to shortlist the right vendors

· Finalize commercials and execute relevant contracts/ SOWs with vendors in alignment with business and procurement stakeholders

· Ensuring supplier relationship management both at contractual and business levels, supplier performance assessment, and risk management

· Identify and maintain preferred, strategic, and critical suppliers of the category

· Achieve synergy between business priorities and procurement priorities for the category

· Prepare and maintain category relevant reporting and dashboard to identify potential opportunities that provide cost savings and process efficiencies

· Identify opportunities through sourcing, demand management and optimization to deliver value

· Promote internal collaboration, knowledge sharing, adherence to policies and best practices

· Perform supplier due diligence and market research periodically to keep abreast of category trends and technologies

· Assess suppliers based on operational and service capabilities and risk quotient

· Address supplier issues and ensure service delivery and relationship

· Plan and execute effective negotiation strategies

· Enhance and maintain the category spend and contracts visibility to the global leadership team and senior stakeholders

· External research including Category analysis, benchmarking, cost, and pricing analysis

Qualifications/Experience Required:

An ideal candidate should have

· 10 to 12 years of strategic sourcing experience

· Understanding of travel, fleet management and IT services typical operating model of the category.

· Procurement skills e.g., category management, supplier management, sourcing, negotiations

· Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and has a basic knowledge of e-Procurement tools e.g., Ariba, Coupa, etc.

· Ability to build good relationship with stakeholders

· Able to support stakeholders while challenging inefficient practices and driving process improvement

· Hold the ability to run multiple projects parallelly and having a strategic mind-set

· Stakeholder engagement skills and ability to test previous practices and beliefs

· Able to develop a POV through structured thinking

· Brings an external focus to work, by being constantly updated on developments and innovations in the external world

Job Type: Full-time, Contract

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Pay: Up to $60.00 per hour

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Application Question(s):

• Please indicate expected hourly rate
• Do you have experience buying travel, fleet management and IT categories?

Education:

• Bachelor's (Preferred)

Experience:

• Category management: 5 years (Required)
• Procurement: 10 years (Preferred)

Work Location: One location

Salary : $60 - $0