Category Manager

ND Paper • Sturtevant, WI

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The MRO & Indirect Category Manager is responsible for developing and executing end-to-end enterprise category strategies for Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) and indirect spend across ND Paper's U.S. manufacturing locations. The role optimizes total cost of ownership (TCO), ensures supply continuity, reduces supplier and operational risk, and improves commercial leverage through strategic sourcing, supplier portfolio management, contract governance, and spend transparency.

This role partners closely with Maintenance, Operations, Engineering, Finance, mill leadership, Purchasing Managers, and Buyers to translate business demand into multi-year sourcing strategies and clear commercial guardrails. The Category Manager is expected to operate strategically - building enterprise leverage and enabling site execution rather than serving as a transactional buyer.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or related field; equivalent relevant industrial procurement experience may be considered.
• 7+ years of progressive procurement, sourcing, category management, or related commercial experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex negotiations, strategic sourcing events, and multi-site supplier relationships.
• Strong analytical skills including spend analysis, cost modeling, market analysis, and should-cost evaluation.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive change without direct authority.
• Experience in manufacturing, industrial, paper, chemical, or other capital-intensive operating environments strongly preferred.

Nice To Haves

• Significant MRO, industrial distribution, storeroom, or indirect category sourcing experience.
• Experience negotiating with major industrial distributors, manufacturers, OEMs, and specialty suppliers.
• CPSM, CSCP, or equivalent supply chain/procurement certification.
• Experience with SAP or other ERP platforms and eSourcing / spend analytics tools.
• Exposure to commodity-driven markets, indexed pricing, inventory optimization, and manufacturer-direct sourcing.
• International or multi-region sourcing experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own 1-3 year enterprise MRO and indirect category strategies aligned with business objectives, maintenance plans, outage requirements, and operational demand.
• Analyze spend by category, supplier, and site to identify fragmentation, sourcing opportunities, price leakage, and consolidation potential.
• Define supplier segmentation, preferred supplier lists, manufacturer-direct strategies, and dual/alternate sourcing approaches.
• Translate demand forecasts and maintenance requirements into capacity, sourcing, and risk-mitigation plans.
• Develop strategies for unmanaged and tail spend while preserving mill-level execution speed.
• Lead enterprise and multi-site RFx events (RFI/RFP/RFQ), competitive sourcing, and structured negotiations.
• Design and negotiate master supply agreements, enterprise pricing, rebates, freight terms, pricing mechanisms, indexation, and escalation clauses.
• Challenge single-source and OEM requirements where commercially and technically appropriate and develop qualified alternatives.
• Use should-cost analysis, market intelligence, manufacturer-direct relationships, competitive bids, and distribution strategies to reduce TCO.
• Standardize commercial terms while allowing appropriate site-specific operational flexibility and ensure legal, financial, and operational alignment before execution.
• Own supplier relationship management (SRM) for strategic and critical MRO and indirect suppliers.
• Establish supplier performance scorecards covering on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, cost, service, and continuous improvement.
• Lead quarterly and annual business reviews (QBRs/ABRs) with major suppliers and drive corrective actions where performance is below expectations.
• Drive supplier consolidation, value engineering, innovation, product substitution, and manufacturer engagement to improve cost and reliability.
• Serve as the commercial escalation point for significant supplier performance, pricing, or contract disputes.
• Deliver validated savings and TCO reduction through price, logistics, inventory, specification, standardization, substitution, and process improvements.
• Partner with Maintenance and storeroom teams on inventory optimization, critical-spare strategy, standardization, and obsolete/slow-moving inventory opportunities.
• Monitor market conditions, commodity indices, manufacturer increases, capacity trends, and supply risks.
• Develop contingency plans and alternate sources for critical categories and suppliers to reduce operational disruption.
• Balance short-term savings requirements with long-term supply resilience, reliability, and mill operating needs.
• Define buying guardrails, preferred-supplier strategies, sourcing playbooks, and commercial frameworks for Purchasing Managers and Buyers.
• Drive contract coverage and preferred-supplier compliance and prevent price leakage outside negotiated agreements.
• Maintain visibility to enterprise spend, savings pipeline, contract status, supplier concentration, sourcing opportunities, and category risks by mill.
• Coach and support Buyers and Purchasing Managers in executing category strategies while keeping transactional purchasing at the appropriate site level.
• Translate site feedback and operational lessons into continuous refinement of enterprise category strategies.
• Align sourcing strategies with Maintenance plans, Engineering specifications, Operations requirements, outage schedules, and storeroom needs.
• Partner with Finance on budgeting, savings validation, working-capital opportunities, and spend transparency.
• Engage mill leadership early on major sourcing decisions, supplier changes, standardization opportunities, and supply-risk mitigation.
• Act as the commercial voice of Procurement in cross-functional forums and promote earlier Procurement involvement in business planning.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as voluntary benefits such as accident insurance, hospital indemnity, and critical illness for you and your family.
• Financial protection benefits, including life insurance, disability insurance, and business travel accident insurance.
• Tax advantaged accounts such as Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Paid holidays, personal days, and vacation days to support work-life balance.
• A 401K retirement plan with a company match and annual fixed contribution
• Wellness programs with incentives and an on-site clinic available at our Rumford and Biron location.

What This Job Offers

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