Category Manager (Purchasing – Industrial)

Fresenius Kabi USA•Lake Zurich, IL

11d•$125,000 - $147,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Category Manager (Industrial) is a strategic, analytical, and collaborative manager within the Global Indirect Procurement organization, responsible for driving the design, execution, and continuous improvement of high-impact global strategic initiatives in the area of industrial categories CAPEX/MRO and Facility. This role partners closely with global category management community, regional/ local procurement and key business stakeholders to deliver measurable business value, advance procurement excellence, and support the company’s transformation agenda. The Manager has the mandate and the responsibility for managing and sourcing a defined set of sub-categories as well as the category-internal vendor management within the defined area of responsibility. This covers organization, steering, performing and measurement of all strategic pooling and sourcing activities This position requires working onsite 3 days per week at our U.S. headquarters in Lake Zurich, IL. This position does not offer visa sponsorship either now or in the future.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, IT, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree or advanced certifications (e.g., CIPS, CPSM, Lean Six Sigma) are a plus.
Minimum of 8 years’ experience with the end‑to‑end procurement process (Plan‑to‑Strategy and Source‑to‑Contract), ideally within the Pharma industry or another highly regulated sector.
Experience managing supplier relationships, including performance oversight and escalation handling.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a global, multicultural, and matrixed environment.
Willingness to travel up to 20%.
Advanced proficiency in MS Office applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
Proficient user of SAP Ariba or similar sourcing tools (Sourcing and Supplier Management modules).
Working knowledge of SAP ERP for procurement, contract, and supplier master data management.

Nice To Haves

Experience with digital procurement tools, dashboards, and data visualization platforms is an advantage.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Governance Accountable for formulation and implementation of category strategies as part of the overall IP strategy.
Own category strategy development in alignment with business partners for all global and hybrid categories.
Conduct comprehensive spend analysis and assess supplier portfolios to inform strategy.
Drive standardization initiatives such as catalogs, rate cards, and intake‑to‑contract governance.
Strategic Sourcing & Execution Lead sourcing execution, including tendering, supplier evaluation, negotiations, and award decisions.
Manage implementation of global contracts and sourcing initiatives.
Supplier & Contract Management Define category‑specific supplier strategies.
Drive supplier performance evaluation and development actions based on KPIs.
Oversee contract management activities, including negotiation, lifecycle oversight, and compliance.
Manage supplier selection, onboarding, and disqualification for global and regional suppliers.
Stakeholder Management Engage business partners in category strategy formulation and implementation.
Influence stakeholders at senior levels and support decision‑making in a matrixed, global environment.
Value Creation & Continuous Improvement Drive continuous improvement through spend optimization, process efficiencies, and standardization.
Monitor performance metrics and ensure continuous enhancement of sourcing and supplier‑management processes.