Category Manager - REMOTE

CNO Financial Group, Inc.•Orlando, FL

3d•Remote

About The Position

CNO Financial Group’s Sourcing Department is hiring a Category Manager to develop and execute the category management strategy and processes for large scale vendor to ensure that business needs are met. This is your opportunity to impact a sector of the business in a positive and powerful way. You’ll develop relationships with key stakeholders to smoothly facilitate vendor management process.

Requirements

Are advanced in stakeholder management, demand/supply mapping, and market intelligence/analytics.
Possess working knowledge of spend analysis/supply chain mapping.
Have advanced strategic sourcing and financial analysis skills.
Have high emotional intelligence.
Are a strong negotiator with project management experience in a professional setting.
Hold solid proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
Have high attentive to detail.
Bachelor’s degree in related field.
Five years of related professional work experience.
Demonstrated experience in critical analysis.
Understanding of Data Centers: Knowledge of data center operations, infrastructure, and best practices. Familiarity with cloud computing, virtualization, and related technologies.
IT Systems and Legacy Systems: Understanding of legacy systems, their architecture, and the challenges involved in outsourcing their management. Knowledge of system migration strategies and the implications of transitioning to new systems.
Financial Acumen: Understand budgeting, cost analysis, and financial modeling related to outsourcing agreements. Proven ability to assess the financial impact of contracts and ensure cost-effectiveness.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in business or related field.
Sourcing experience for financial services with an IT focus strongly preferred.
Candidate location in Central or Eastern US time zone is preferred OR willingness to work Central or Eastern time zone business hours.

Responsibilities

Develop category strategies for respective groups of categories in alignment with overall Category Management objectives, including: Developing the formal category requirements aligned to business priorities and Category Management objectives Developing and maintaining category profile and managing risk. Evaluating and analyzing annual spend data, external market data and other necessary information to support the Director of Category Management in enhancing, updating and validating category-specific strategies Collaborating with business stakeholders to develop category strategies, and review category strategies with business stakeholders Improving the total cost of ownership across category management, and identifying opportunities for incremental cost savings and enhanced vendor relationships
Coordinating and implementing strategic sourcing initiatives for assigned categories, including: Developing definition of strategic sourcing scope and plan. Developing sourcing initiative strategies according to the total cost of ownership model, internal data and market intelligence. Identifying selection factors and screening suppliers. Coordinating the RFx process. Overseeing and negotiating master and other agreements for respective categories.
Providing guidance, coaching and support to the business with regards to category strategy, strategic sourcing and demand/supply planning.
Developing and maintaining relationships with business stakeholders.
Provide guidance, coaching and support to internal business partners including manager, VP’s and SVP regarding all interactions with service provider.