Category Manager

Nevada System of Higher Education•Arlington Heights, IL

3d•$43 - $66•Hybrid

About The Position

Are you ready to make an impact in the healthcare industry by optimizing cost-efficiency and improving patient care? As a Category Manager, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our healthcare supply chain strategy to support Endeavor's mission of helping everyone in our communities be their best. You will develop sourcing strategies for key spend categories, driving cost savings, process improvements, and supply chain innovation, while fostering collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders. If you are a strategic thinker with exceptional negotiation and analytical skills, this is the opportunity to influence change and make a difference in healthcare across the Chicagoland area.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
5+ years in healthcare, preferably Supply Chain with a mixture of clinical settings.
Clinical Experience: Understanding of medical-surgical supplies, diagnostic testing, and clinical workflows.
Experience with healthcare contract management and Value Analysis processes.
Exceptional Negotiation Skills: Proven ability to drive cost savings and influence stakeholders through persuasive, data-backed negotiation techniques.
Stellar Presentation & Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage and align with front-line staff, service line leaders, physicians, and executives.
Analytical Expertise: Strong ability to perform cost-benefit analysis, scenario-based savings options, and incorporate benchmarking to drive decision-making.
Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving: Ability to assess both qualitative and quantitative impacts of purchasing decisions and deliver optimal solutions.
Project Management: Demonstrated experience managing projects from start to finish, ensuring timely and successful execution.
Contract Review & Redlining: Demonstrate a strong understanding of contractual language, identifying key risks and opportunities to protect the hospital’s interests while ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Advanced MS Office Skills: Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word with the ability to learn new software and tools.
Self-Motivated & Independent: Ability to work independently with a proactive approach to meeting goals, achieving stakeholders’ expectations, and solving problems.
Customer Service Mindset: Always putting the hospital system and patient care first, while striving to improve resource efficiency and service delivery.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in Business, Supply Chain, or Healthcare-related discipline.

Responsibilities

Oversee and manage a subset of 500+ contracts, representing $100M-$250M in supply, service, drug, and capital expenditures.
Provide strategic spend forecasting and insights to service line leaders, driving informed decision-making and influencing upcoming budget planning to align with organizational financial goals.
Lead the end-to-end contract lifecycle, from initial stages through the RFP/RFQ process.
Manage the redlining and contract language review, ensuring that all agreements meet service line financial and quality requirements.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including IT, Legal, Risk, and Quality, to ensure thorough due diligence.
Successfully execute agreements and ensure all finalized contracts are stored in Endeavor’s CLM tool for efficient management and compliance.
Manage and strengthen partnerships with primary vendors in your designated categories, ensuring optimal pricing, quality, and service delivery.
Formulate comprehensive sourcing strategies, leveraging data, industry trends, and stakeholder input to drive cost savings, process improvements, and product standardization.
Lead negotiations for both local and GPO contracts within Supplies, Services, Drug, and Capital ensuring terms benefit the hospital’s bottom line and align with patient care priorities.
Co-lead Value Analysis Committee meetings along with Value Analysis Coordinators, working with service line leaders, physicians, and clinical staff to assess product/service performance, cost-effectiveness, and potential for savings.
Drive change through data-driven decision-making and collaborative initiatives.
Track, analyze, and report on savings and cost avoidance opportunities, and ensuring high compliance with sourcing initiatives.
Partner with hospital administration & executives, clinical teams, and supply chain operations to optimize product utilization, service delivery, and resource allocation while maintaining or improving patient care quality.