Associate Category Manager

Aston Carter•Berwyn, IL

2d•$38 - $38•Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Category Manager will support the Category Manager/Director on the Packaging Procurement team. This role partners with internal Procurement pillars, collaborates with the external supplier community, as well as internal cross-functional teams to ensure products are brought to market in a timely manner.

Requirements

procurement
supply chain
category management
purchasing
negotiation
strategic sourcing
contract
project management
vendor management
purchase order
Knowledge of maintenance requirements within a manufacturing environment: have a base of knowledge related to maintenance of products and services;
Knowledge of IT services, hardware and software.
Procurement knowledge: Deep understanding of procurement category management, stakeholder management and negotiations
Strong interpersonal skills: empathy, integrity, enthusiasm, collaborative, driving consensus
Strong written and oral communication skills. Strong listening skills and ability to work with senior leaders – inside and outside of the organization - to understand their goals and objectives; share project objectives and progress in a clear concise manner.
Strong analytical and presentation skills: have a strong ability to analyze significant amount of data and summarize findings or options for senior leadership.
Strategic thinking: able to “see around corners”, synthesize insights from disparate data sources, and present recommendations and alternatives.
Desire to be a supportive and proactive business partner across the organization.

Responsibilities

Work with suppliers and other internal departments including Project Managers, Production Planning, Operations, Quality Assurance, R&D, Packaging Engineering, Material Management, Master Data and Finance.
Work with the departments noted above on the commercialization of new and/or updated products; responsible for understanding project and timeline, completing documentation and communicating to internal and external stakeholders.
Assist in Dragonfly artwork approvals, PLM spec retrievals.
Generation of requests for quotation to suppliers.
Support productivity improvement initiatives that generate cost savings and value creation.
Support the RFP/RFQ process, contract negotiations and administration of supplier contracts. Research and provide data for spend and market analysis.
Understand, and be able to articulate stakeholder requirements to internal and external teams. Develop implementation plan and work with operations and QA to ensure timely onboarding of new suppliers and/or products.
Team with cross-functional partners to resolve CAR issues if need and obtain credits due.
Monitor and report on business trends as it relates to assigned suppliers, including production changes and commodity component price changes.
Maintains Vendor Scorecard inputs. Plans and participates in business reviews with internal and external stakeholders to review and improve supplier performance.
Works on assigned tasks for corporate integrations.
Ensures adherence to all Company policies and procedures.
Understands and demonstrates the Company’s core values.
Other tasks as assigned.