Global Category Leader – Product Operations

Global Category Leader – Product Operations

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in sourcing & procurement, with at least 2-3 years in product operations procurement roles.
• 4+ years of people management experience.
• Superior analytical ability to quickly gather facts, perform root cause analysis and draw conclusions.
• Strong conceptual thinking skills with adeptness to lead others through ambiguous and/or complex issues.
• Experience working in regulated environments with quality management systems preferred.
• Experience managing change across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Superior negotiation skills to influence senior leadership on strategic direction, business case value proposition and sourcing recommendations.
• Strong contract/vendor negotiation preparation and execution skills to achieve desired outcomes from supplier negotiations.
• Ability to build consensus and function as an independent arbiter to achieve sourcing outcomes that meet business requirements without sacrificing service or increasing risk and cost.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, people, and tasks concurrently.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication and people skills for interaction with team members and stakeholders including senior leadership.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the drive to get things right with minimal supervision.
• Must be able to listen, understand, and communicate with employees at all levels of the company.
• Proven ability leading a team to consistently achieve stretch goals and objectives.
• Effectively manages task breakdown, helps keep individual contributors on task, player-coach; ability to step in and perform hard tasks.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects successfully.
• Ability to build strong and effective internal and external relationships.

Responsibilities

• Direct supervision of team members.
• Train and support product operations sourcing managers to maintain consistency in quality and quantity of work output.
• Capacity planning and balance of category workload.
• Select, train, and develop skill level of subordinate personnel.
• Management of overall team performance to meet goals and KPIs.
• Build and sustain strong supplier partnerships to promote collaboration, trust, and mutual success.
• Establish and maintain the preferred supplier list within managed spend categories.
• Drive spend to incumbent suppliers when possible and consider supplier consolidation opportunities.
• Act as the main liaison for key suppliers concerning performance and strategic initiatives.
• Regularly review supplier performance, evaluate capabilities, and implement plans to boost performance and reliability.
• Set global standards to evaluate supplier performance and minimize business risks.
• Independently manage the RFx or strategic sourcing process for complex/high visibility projects, from initiation to completion.
• Analyze spending patterns and conduct market and supplier assessments to uncover cost-saving and innovation opportunities.
• Lead cross-functional teams to develop category strategies aligned with business goals and market trends.
• Optimize buying channels and create spend treatment plans for assigned spend categories, considering Procure to Pay (P2P) requirements.
• Provide comprehensive financial analysis for bid comparisons and alternative proposals.
• Negotiate and manage supplier contracts, ensuring compliance with company policies and industry standards.
• Monitor contract performance and compliance with terms and conditions.
• Possess in-depth knowledge of terms and conditions for contracts included in scope of this role.
• Identify opportunities for contract optimization or consolidation to enhance cost efficiency and reduce risks.
• Secure favorable terms, quality, service compliance, and discounts while mitigating company risk.
• Evaluate actions to take on contract inquiries, disputes, and changes.
• Establish a baseline for current spend categories and define future success criteria considering business goals and market conditions.
• Analyze market trends, risks, and potential new suppliers.
• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the health of all managed spend categories in scope.
• Implement spend treatment plans for all levels of spend and risk within the category.
• Work with suppliers and stakeholders to execute the category strategy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in regulated environments with quality management systems preferred.