Category Strategist II

Cleco Power•Pineville, LA

13d

About The Position

At Cleco, we're not just powering lives—we're powering a cleaner, smarter future for Louisiana. With bold investments in innovative energy solutions, we’re transforming how we power our communities: smarter, cleaner, and more sustainable. This is a long-term commitment to our people and our communities because our future—and the future of generations to come—depends on it. If you're ready to make an impact where it matters most, join us at Cleco— where we're Energizing Your Tomorrow. The Category Strategist II owns the category management and strategic sourcing process for assigned categories of goods or services of high complexity and/or critical spend to deliver financial savings. This position develops strategies in assigned categories that will maximize overall value while reducing total cost of ownership, improving productivity, and managing risk. In addition to defining sourcing strategies, the Category Strategist negotiates agreements, identifies leveraged sourcing opportunities, analyzes market intelligence, manages contracts and supplier performance. The incumbent is recognized as the subject matter technical expert in Category Management strategy, strategic sourcing, spend & cost analysis, contract & vendor management and will work in an advisory capacity with internal stakeholders to identify sourcing opportunities and manage supplier performance. This role will work throughout the spectrum of strategic sourcing/ category management and needs to be comfortable interfacing with multiple Cleco stakeholders. The incumbent will create value through the supply chain in terms of safety, cost, risk mitigation and enhanced supplier performance. Key internal stakeholders include Safety, Operations, Finance, Tax, Risk Management, Human Resources and Legal. This position will be a part of the Resiliency initiative, with a focus on system reliability, customer needs and performance measures.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Engineering, Technology or other related discipline.
3-5+ years of category management, strategic sourcing, project management, financial or other related operational experience.
Strong business acumen pertaining to the Utility industry.
Strong knowledge of leading practices for Category Management.
Strong planning, project management, communications, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
Strong communication and presentation skills.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to interpret Financial and Operational KPIs/metrics and derive insights into actionable opportunities.
Willingness and ability to learn new technologies on the job.
Proficient at functioning effectively within a team environment, present ideas and opinions in a respective and collegial manner.
Progression to this level is strictly restricted based on critical individual capabilities and business requirements; must be supported by market survey data.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience with a procurement software such as SAP, Ariba or other similar product preferred.
Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM), Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) or equivalent certification preferred
Six Sigma or Lean certification preferred

Responsibilities

Champions a corporate culture that emphasizes transparency, integrity, safety, environmental responsibility, employee development, diversity and inclusion, customer service, and operational excellence.
With limited assistance, develop, execute and communicate the category management strategy and goals for assigned categories, balancing internal requirements, cost and productivity considerations.
Track and manage spend and market data.
Utilize category data to deliver demand forecast to internal stakeholders
Clearly present category supply strategies to upper management to influence long-term operation business decisions.
Translate specific strategies into initiatives with clear metrics (ROIs, cost savings, targets/KPIs, deliverables and workplans) in cooperation with key stakeholders.
Present category ideas & recommendations to key stakeholders to gain support for category strategies across the organization, including executive leadership, and assist leadership team in leading supplier relationships to deliver on projects and strategy.
Develop relationships and become an effective business partner with assigned business functions or subject matter professionals to support category strategy objectives.
Execute go to market strategies, including opportunity evaluation, recommendations, contracting provisions.
Collaborate with buyers to execute strategic agreements and support procure-to-pay optimization.
Analyze and resolve problems and propose alternative solutions using company guidelines, policies and systems, technical experience, judgments, and precedents.
Develop, execute, and communicate processes to govern commercial, operational, risk management, business continuity and ESG strategies for assigned categories.
Develop, execute, and communicate the supplier management strategy
Track, manage and report supplier performance.
Perform internal and external business reviews.
Create and maintain robust supplier portfolio, vendor scorecards, KPIs and cost comparisons to market competitors.
Lead negotiation of business requirements for complex contract negotiations.
Supports response to storms, outages, or emergencies, including working extended hours or at different locations.