Sr Buyer and Category Leader

Ashland • Texas City, TX

9d • Remote

About The Position

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Category Leader – Indirect MRO / CAPEX / Site Services – Global Procurement to join our Global Procurement team. This position is very visible and significant within the Company and the procurement function. The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, developing category strategy plans using the 7-step strategic sourcing methodology and appropriate support tools to drive results and deliver savings. Ensuring all procurement services are met for the assigned Ashland plants, labs, and/or facilities. Negotiating, implementing, and managing strategic contracts to ensure optimum cost and reliable supply. Identifying opportunities for cost savings, better efficiency, and other areas of improvement; recommending and/or implementing policy or process changes, as appropriate. Developing and deploying supply risk assessment and mitigation programs to ensure business continuity. Managing operational issues related to supply challenges. Facilitating RFP / RFQ / RFI and preparing Coupa sourcing / bidding events according to engineering specifications and/or business requirements. Conducting bid analysis with a cross-functional team and awarding based on internal team consensus. Leading a cross-functional team as well as direct reports. However, the person would be responsible for managing assigned high value/complex spend categories directly. Being an active member of the MRO / Site Services Leadership Team and actively collaborating with other leadership team members to deliver on procurement/corporate objectives. Developing and maintaining strong relationships with key suppliers driving optimized value through strategic relationship management programs. Extracting and analyzing spend data by various criteria from various ERP/S2P reporting tools (Coupa, SAP, QlikView). Representing as Corporate Agent: Ensuring Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Policies are enforced. Ensuring strict compliance to Ashland’s Zero Incident Culture and Responsible Care Guidelines. Travel is limited, up to 25% to visit Ashland sites, supplier visits, internal meetings, and industry conferences.

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of strategic MRO / CAPEX / Site Services procurement and/or related experience required.
• Minimum Education: bachelor’s degree preferably in engineering discipline
• Leading a team and directly managing complex multi category spend greater than $60MM.
• Demonstrated knowledge of category management and use of 7SSS (Step Strategic Sourcing) methodology
• Demonstrated knowledge of applying TCO (total cost of ownership) and other methodologies in evaluating suppliers’ proposals
• Strong knowledge of deploying and leveraging Supplier Relationship Management program in a global supply base
• Demonstrated expertise in deploying supply Risk Assessment and Mitigation program in diverse categories of materials.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Contracting practices and processes in a global environment
• Strong communication, follow-up, presentation, and teamwork skills to be performed with a sense of urgency as required.
• Good knowledge of Coupa and other tools such as SAP, Ariba

Nice To Haves

• MBA and / or CPSM Certification a plus
• Experience in Chemical or Pharmaceutical industry and/or in Fortune 500 companies a plus
• Five plus years’ experience – dealing with senior management, leading team, and managing complex small value spend as well as multi-millions $ high value spend/contracts.
• Demonstrated experience working in diverse global cross-functional teams in highly matrixed environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop Category Strategy plans following 7 step strategic sourcing methodology and use appropriate support tools to drive results and deliver savings.
• Ensuring all procurement services are met for the assigned Ashland plants, labs, and / or facilities.
• Negotiate, implement, and manage strategic contracts to ensure optimum cost and reliable supply.
• Identify opportunities for cost savings, better efficiency, and other areas of improvement; recommend and/or implement policy or process changes, as appropriate.
• Develop and deploy supply risk assessment and mitigation programs to ensure business continuity.
• Manage operational issues related to supply challenges.
• Facilitating RFP / RFQ / RFI and preparing Coupa sourcing / bidding events according to engineering specifications and / or business requirements.
• Conducting bid analysis with a cross functional team and awarding based on internal team consensus.
• Lead cross-functional team as well direct reports.
• Managing assigned high value/complex spend categories directly.
• Be an active member of MRO / Site Services Leadership Team and actively collaborate with other leadership team members to deliver on procurement/corporate objective.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers driving optimized value through strategic relationship management program.
• Extracting and analyzing spend data by various criteria from various ERP/S2P reporting tools (Coupa, SAP, QlikView).
• Representing as Corporate Agent: Ensuring Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Policies are enforced.
• Ensuring strict compliance to Ashland’s Zero Incident Culture and Responsible Care Guidelines.

Benefits

• industry competitive salary and benefits
• pay-for-performance incentive plans
• a diverse work environment where employees feel challenged and valued
• opportunities for development and advancement throughout our global organization

What This Job Offers

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