Associate Category Manager, Packaging

Pharmavite•Los Angeles, CA

2d•$80,000 - $146,000

About The Position

The Associate Category Manager, Packaging is responsible for supporting the development and execution of sourcing strategies for corrugate and label packaging categories across Pharmavite’s manufacturing network. This role manages day-to-day sourcing activities, supplier relationships, pricing analysis, contract support, and cross-functional business needs to ensure continuity of supply, cost competitiveness, quality compliance, and service performance. This role partners closely with Operations, Planning, Quality, R&D/Packaging Engineering, Finance, Legal, and suppliers to support both current business needs and future packaging initiatives. The Associate Category Manager reports to the Manager, Strategic Sourcing — Direct and does not have direct people management responsibility.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree preferred
2–3+ years of experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, Supply Chain, Packaging, Operations, or related business roles
Experience supporting manufacturing, CPG, food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, or other regulated environments preferred.
Ability to analyze spend, pricing, supplier bids, usage forecasts, market trends, and cost drivers to support sourcing recommendations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to summarize issues, present recommendations, and communicate clearly with internal stakeholders and suppliers.
Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills; experience with ERP, sourcing tools, supplier portals, or procurement systems preferred.
Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities while maintaining accuracy, urgency, and follow-through.

Nice To Haves

Strong ownership and follow-through — able to manage details, timelines, supplier requests, and internal commitments with limited reminders.
Learning Agility and Growth Mindset – Demonstrates curiosity and a strong aptitude for learning new categories, business processes, supplier markets, and technical packaging concepts. Seeks feedback, applies coaching, and proactively develops expertise over time
Analytical rigor — comfortable working with pricing, spend, supplier bids, forecasts, inventory/service impacts, and total cost of ownership considerations.
Supplier management discipline — able to support negotiations, address performance gaps, prepare business reviews, and maintain productive supplier relationships.
Cross-functional influence — able to work effectively with Planning, Operations, Quality, R&D/Packaging Engineering, Regulatory, Finance, and other stakeholders without direct authority.
Business curiosity and strategic thinking — able to connect tactical sourcing activities to broader category goals, risk mitigation, cost objectives, sustainability, and operational needs.
Comfort with ambiguity — able to navigate changing business priorities, urgent supply needs, supplier constraints, and packaging project timelines while staying organized and solution-oriented.

Responsibilities

Support category strategy development and execution for corrugate and labels, including supplier landscape analysis, pricing trends, risk assessment, capacity considerations, and category roadmap inputs.
Lead and support sourcing events including RFx development, bid analysis, supplier evaluation, pricing negotiations, commercial term alignment, and award recommendations for corrugate and label packaging materials.
Manage supplier performance and relationships by supporting business reviews, KPI tracking, service issue resolution, quality escalation support, and continuous improvement opportunities.
Partner cross-functionally with Planning, Operations, Quality, R&D/Packaging Engineering, Legal, Finance, and suppliers to ensure packaging materials meet supply, cost, quality, compliance, and innovation requirements.
Support pricing, savings, and cost avoidance tracking through market analysis, competitive benchmarking, material cost reviews, inflation/deflation analysis, and supplier negotiations.
Maintain and improve commercial controls including pricing files, supplier documentation, contracts, specifications alignment, sourcing records, and compliance with procurement policies.
Support packaging change initiatives including new item launches, alternate supplier qualifications, material substitutions, artwork/label changes, sustainability-related packaging needs, and risk mitigation actions.
Identify opportunities to reduce complexity, improve service, and drive value through supplier consolidation, specification optimization, standardization, lead time improvements, and total cost of ownership analysis.