Manager, External Supply

AbbVie•North Chicago, IL

23h

About The Position

The Category Manager leads the implementation of category procurement strategy, developed in partnership with Category Directors and VP-level business stakeholders. This role oversees the execution of the end-to-end procurement process, managing a team of Specialists to ensure excellence in all activities and compliance with policy. The Category Manager is responsible for developing team capabilities and assisting leadership in identifying workforce planning needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Mgmt or related field.
Minimum of 7 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or related business or operations function.
Previous experience managing teams in a procurement function and leading supplier relationships.
Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Power Platform).
Specific and tactical expertise in category management, including market analysis, cost and financial assessment, ensuring strategic and informed procurement decisions.
Ability to assist in negotiation and bidding, adept in implementing complex projects with a focus on effective change management.
Strong capacity and experience building and managing collaborative supplier relationships, aligning procurement activities with business needs.
Innovative problem-solving skills combined with a solution-oriented mindset, enabling creative approaches and influential communication at all organizational levels.
High cross-functional collaboration abilities and teamwork skills, effectively navigating and coordinating diverse team dynamics.
Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, facilitating empathetic interactions, effective communication, and robust relationship-building across a matrixed organization.
Impactful executive functioning abilities and autonomous work ethic, maintaining efficient performance in challenging situations and building consensus in decision-making.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree is preferred.
Knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry is preferred.

Responsibilities

Partner with Director/VP-level business or functional stakeholders to develop category-specific procurement strategies and contribute to the development of a comprehensive annual strategic plan for the relevant category, incorporating category strategies that align with overall business goals.
Relay insights and market intelligence from team analysis to Directors and Associate Directors to inform strategic decision-making, staying abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and market dynamics.
Manage strategic value drivers with key category suppliers to secure collaborative partnerships that challenge the status quo to achieve cost savings, optimize processes, and enhance overall procurement value.
Manage and monitor supplier performance on sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures, working alongside suppliers to enhance sustainable and responsible sourcing practices.
Enable Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) strategies, driving innovation with key category suppliers and collaborating to enact creative and cutting-edge solutions to deliver on long-term business needs.
Implement mitigation strategies to proactively manage procurement risk across the relevant category, overseeing process and policy compliance.
Ensure effective project management from initiation to completion, managing and driving cross-functional teams to deliver strategic category-related projects.
Implement opportunities for process optimization and efficiency gains, leveraging data analytics to develop long-term continuous improvement programs that achieve strategic objectives.
Assist with the end-to-end procurement process from sourcing strategy to contract negotiation and execution, enabling negotiations with category suppliers and facilitating decisions by conducting required analysis and preparation.
Manage a team, monitoring and reporting progress toward performance targets.
Identify capability gaps and assist in developing focused action plans to address workforce requirements and team needs.