Associate Category Manager, Marketing

Columbia Sportswear Company • Portland, OR

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Category Manager plays a key role in supporting Columbia Sportswear’s global procurement organization through category management, supplier relationship management, and strategic sourcing activities. Working closely with Category Managers and business stakeholders, this role helps develop and execute category strategies that drive value, improve supplier performance, and support business objectives. The Associate Category Manager leverages market intelligence, spend analysis, and stakeholder engagement to build category expertise, strengthen supplier partnerships, and deliver sustainable business outcomes.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in category management, procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier management, or a category-specific industry role.
• Demonstrated knowledge of assigned categories, including suppliers, market dynamics, industry trends, and emerging opportunities.
• Experience supporting category strategy development, business planning, and translating organizational objectives into actionable category initiatives.
• Experience with strategic sourcing, supplier negotiations, contract management, and procurement processes.
• Strong analytical and data management skills, including the ability to interpret spend data, identify trends, and develop recommendations that drive value.
• Experience managing supplier performance through scorecards, governance programs, business reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Proven ability to build relationships, influence stakeholders, and collaborate effectively across multiple teams and levels of the organization.
• Strong communication, presentation, project management, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with procurement technologies, ERP systems, supplier management tools, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office applications.
• A collaborative mindset with a passion for continuous improvement, problem-solving, and driving business results.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to travel up to 10%

Responsibilities

• Support the development, maintenance, and execution of category strategies by analyzing internal spend data, supplier performance, market intelligence, and industry trends. Contribute to multi-year category plans, sourcing roadmaps, savings targets, and stakeholder priorities.
• Partner with the Supplier Relationship Management team to support supplier segmentation, governance, and performance management activities for strategic suppliers. Track key performance indicators, prepare supplier business review materials, facilitate performance discussions, and identify continuous improvement opportunities.
• Lead and execute sourcing initiatives and supplier negotiations that align with category strategies and business requirements. Manage sourcing projects through the procurement lifecycle to ensure timely delivery of business objectives and value creation opportunities.
• Build strong partnerships with stakeholders across functions, brands, and regions. Provide insights on category strategies, supplier performance, market trends, procurement compliance, and sourcing opportunities to support informed decision-making.
• Maintain awareness of industry developments, supplier capabilities, cost drivers, and market conditions within assigned categories to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and improve category performance.
• Contribute to procurement team capability building by sharing knowledge, participating in training initiatives, supporting process improvements, and helping drive procurement best practices across the organization.

Benefits

• 401k plan plus a generous company match
• medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, disability, flexible spending accounts, health savings account
• an assortment of voluntary benefit offerings (accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and legal services)
• EAP + which is free and confidential 24/7/365 counseling services
• extensive wellness benefits
• employee discounts
• a generous time off program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level