Category Manager, Polymers

Diageo•Plainfield, IL

22h•Onsite

About The Position

The Category Manager, Polymer Packaging will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering Diageo's NAM Polymer packaging procurement strategy, leading category management across PET and Closures; contributing to a cohesive, best-in-class 3-5 year sourcing strategy. The role is accountable for managing significant spend, driving value creation, supplier performance, innovation, and risk management across the packaging supply base. In addition to category leadership, this role is expected to be a recognized leader within the Global Packaging team, providing technical and commercial expertise, developing category capability, and coaching and leading a high-performing team. The role will have responsibility for overseeing category resources and headcount, fostering collaboration across regions and functions, and building organizational capability to deliver long-term business objectives. Strategic Review and Improvement: Evaluate current procurement processes and ways of working (WoW) against best industry practices across key markets, identifying opportunities for optimization and growth. . Includes developing and implementing PET; overseeing Closures packaging procurement strategies that drive continuous improvement in cost, quality and delivery. The primary focuse will be leading the PET category, and people management of the Clasures category specalists. Collaboration and Needs Assessment: Partner closely with the technical team to develop a comprehensive needs profile by assessing specifications, performance outcomes, and critical requirements. Market Intelligence Integration: Engage with industry experts and professional service providers to leverage market intelligence effectively, ensuring informed decision-making in strategy development and program planning. Contracting Best Practices: Maintain a current understanding of industry-leading contracting practices across primary geographies, developing a suite of contract frameworks and master schedule templates for immediate application as projects commence. Leadership and Commercial Expertise: Provide leadership and commercial acumen throughout the sourcing, tendering, negotiation, and contracting processes to drive value and efficiency. Ensures compliance to company policies. ACCOUNTABILITIES General : Strategic Leadership: Drive the development and execution of unified 3-5 year procurement PET and Closures packaging strategies, ensuring alignment with Diageo’s broader business objectives. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Foster strong partnerships with internal stakeholders across various functions to support procurement initiatives and operational excellence. Ability to influence strategy execution at the local level. Performance Monitoring: Establish performance metrics and continuously monitor procurement activities, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and delivering value to the organization. Specific Accountabilities: Strategy Development: Develop and refine procurement strategies for PET, Closures packaging projects, integrating market insights and best practices to maximize cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Sourcing Excellence: Lead for PET/oversight for Closures sourcing initiatives; category projects, including supplier selection, negotiation, and contract management, to secure favorable terms and drive quality outcomes. Including but not limitd to: Identify and evaluate potential suppliers to ensure they meet company standards for quality, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. Risk Management: Identify, assess, and mitigate procurement-related risks within packaging projects, ensuring compliance with regulatory and company standards. Supplier Relationship Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, facilitating continuous improvement, performance evaluations, and collaborative opportunities. Market Intelligence Utilization: Leverage market intelligence to inform procurement decisions and strategy adjustments, ensuring Diageo remains competitive and informed within the industry. Ability to drive insights into outcomes . Deep commodity understanding across Resin indices to drive a more competitive negotiation. Continuous Improvement: Champion a culture of continuous improvement within the procurement function, identifying process enhancements and innovations that drive efficiency and effectiveness. EXCELLENCE IN SUPPLY CHAIN ‘SOURCE’ KPI Development and Monitoring: Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive accountability and foster a culture of continuous improvement within the supply chain. Process Optimization: Proven track record of identifying opportunities for process optimization within the supply chain, leading to enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, and improved service delivery. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong experience in collaborating with cross-functional teams to align supply chain objectives with business goals, ensuring seamless integration of procurement strategies across operations. Supplier Performance Management: Expertise in establishing and managing supplier performance criteria and conducting regular evaluations to ensure compliance with quality standards and contractual obligations. Risk Mitigation Strategies: Ability to identify potential supply chain disruptions and implement risk mitigation strategies that safeguard against unforeseen challenges and maintain operational continuity. Innovative Solutions: Commitment to fostering innovation within the supply chain, leveraging emerging technologies and practices to enhance responsiveness and adaptability. Training and Development: Experience in training and mentoring teams on supply chain excellence best practices, fostering a knowledgeable workforce that drives high performance. Act as a high-performing leader within the Packaging team, building capability through coaching, mentoring, and developing others to achieve strong individual and team performance. Influences multiple key senior stakeholders across Supply (and/or) Demand businesses. Needs to create the right environment for success against a backdrop of diverse and often conflicting business needs. Ultimately accountable for key external suppliers in the defined categories to maximize long term commercial advantage Requires an understanding of multiple cultures and market dynamics Requires management of a number of outsourced relationships Requires management of specialist level

Requirements

Working with Diageo's iconic drinks.
Valuing diversity in its broadest sense.
Working alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
Learning and improving together.
Contributing and making an impact.
Playing a part in making life's moments mean a little more.
Experience in training and mentoring teams on supply chain excellence best practices.
Ability to influence strategy execution at the local level.
Deep commodity understanding across Resin indices.
Understanding of multiple cultures and market dynamics.
Management of specialist level personnel.

Nice To Haves

Experience in training and mentoring teams on supply chain excellence best practices, fostering a knowledgeable workforce that drives high performance.
Ability to influence multiple key senior stakeholders across Supply (and/or) Demand businesses.
Needs to create the right environment for success against a backdrop of diverse and often conflicting business needs.
Ultimately accountable for key external suppliers in the defined categories to maximize long term commercial advantage.
Requires an understanding of multiple cultures and market dynamics.
Requires management of a number of outsourced relationships.
Requires management of specialist level.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute unified 3-5 year procurement PET and Closures packaging strategies.
Foster strong partnerships with internal stakeholders across various functions.
Establish performance metrics and continuously monitor procurement activities.
Develop and refine procurement strategies for PET and Closures packaging projects.
Lead PET/oversight for Closures sourcing initiatives, including supplier selection, negotiation, and contract management.
Identify and evaluate potential suppliers.
Identify, assess, and mitigate procurement-related risks within packaging projects.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers.
Leverage market intelligence to inform procurement decisions and strategy adjustments.
Champion a culture of continuous improvement within the procurement function.
Develop, implement, and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for the supply chain.
Identify opportunities for process optimization within the supply chain.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align supply chain objectives with business goals.
Establish and manage supplier performance criteria and conduct regular evaluations.
Identify potential supply chain disruptions and implement risk mitigation strategies.
Foster innovation within the supply chain.
Train and mentor teams on supply chain excellence best practices.
Act as a high-performing leader within the Packaging team, building capability through coaching, mentoring, and developing others.
Influence multiple key senior stakeholders across Supply and/or Demand businesses.
Create the right environment for success against a backdrop of diverse and often conflicting business needs.
Be accountable for key external suppliers in the defined categories to maximize long term commercial advantage.
Manage a number of outsourced relationships.
Manage specialist level personnel.