Category Procurement Manager

Caterpillar•Mossville, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Category Procurement Manager leads strategic procurement of Resource Industries (RI) Machine Bar, Rods, and Tubes categories, delivering year‑over‑year improvements in Quality, Cost, Logistics, Development, and Management (QCLDM). In this role, you will be accountable for developing and executing a global sourcing strategy, building a resilient and high‑performing supply base, and managing a high performing North America procurement team. This role offers a rare global perspective on steel component procurement and its direct impact on Caterpillar machines. You will gain visibility into where your components are assembled into Caterpillar machines which span a wide variety of applications. You will build strategic relationships with manufacturing suppliers. This position provides hands‑on exposure to steel component cost drivers, global market dynamics, daily collaboration with your counterparts located in Europe, Mexico, India, and China which will support you to develop the ultimate Global Strategy. In addition, you will lead a strong collaborative North America based team, work closely with internal customers and suppliers around the world. For a procurement leader who enjoys understanding the full commodity picture and turning complexity into clear, executable strategy, this role delivers meaningful challenge and impact.

Requirements

Planning – Tactical & Strategic
Contribute to short‑term operational and tactical plans.
Ultra focused on achieving long term objectives within your Global Strategy
Anticipate plan changes, monitor execution, and course‑correct to meet objectives
Effective Communication
Communicate clearly upward, downward, and outward
Adapt messaging for technical, operational, and executive audiences
Demonstrate empathy, influence, and assertiveness
Negotiating
Lead significant internal and external negotiations
Drive win‑win outcomes while protecting enterprise interests
Strong collaborator with advanced purchasing expertise
Category Management
Design and execute end‑to‑end Global category strategies
Develop supplier agreements and follow procurement policies
Lead execution of all category management stages and train others
Experience across multiple component family types within a category
Supplier Management
Build strategic supplier partnerships that share risk and reward
Monitor performance, resolve gaps, and manage supplier exits when required
Establish quality standards and supplier governance
Strategic Sourcing
Lead complex sourcing initiatives including negotiations, contracting, and continuous improvement
Develop and deploy sourcing best practices across regions
Audit & Compliance
Support Audit & Compliance (A&C) initiatives including SOX‑related controls
Improve compliance‑related business processes and cross‑functional alignment
Business Intelligence
Transform data into actionable business insights
Leverage BI tools to evaluate category performance and sourcing outcomes
Develop reporting that informs leadership decision making

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations, Engineering, or equivalent experience
Experience supporting engineered materials or steel supply chains (bars, rods, tubes, or similar components), ideally with exposure to manufacturing or shop‑floor environments
Global sourcing and negotiation experience across multi‑region manufacturing networks, with strong commercial and strategic sourcing capability
Proven ability to leverage predictive cost modeling, procurement analytics, and global market insights to inform category strategy
Demonstrated people leadership within matrixed, global organizations
Strong executive presence — calm under pressure, highly collaborative, and solutions‑oriented
Structured, analytical thinker who can break complex problems into clear, actionable steps and translate global commodity trends into regional and category execution
Genuine passion for procurement, commodities, and business outcomes, paired with sound judgment and big‑picture thinking

Responsibilities

Develop, communicate, and implement a Global Sourcing Strategy for RI Machine Bar, Rods, and Tubes categories aligned to Caterpillar enterprise objectives.
Lead and manage a North America–based procurement team, providing coaching, direction, and performance leadership.
Collaborate with other Global Strategy Owners and Regional Procurement Managers to ensure alignment across regions and categories.
Identify supplier performance gaps and lead structured improvement plans across cost, quality, delivery, and capability.
Partner with the Supply Network on risk mitigation, capacity planning, and predictive cost modeling (geographic and component‑based).
Serve as a trusted advisor to internal Caterpillar stakeholders and external suppliers.
Manage the quality of purchased goods and services, resolving complex supplier‑related issues and escalations.
Lead complex commercial negotiations, balancing enterprise objectives with supplier sustainability.
Prepare executive‑level reporting to demonstrate category performance, ROI, and business impact.