Associate Category Manager

About the role

Club Car boasts a 60+‑year history of industry‑leading innovation and design, initially focused on golf cars and later expanding to commercial utility vehicles and personal‑use transportation. This position manages ongoing global and/or regional commodities in support of the Senior Category Manager, identifies and engages internal stakeholders (engineering, operations, quality) to capture commodity requirements, ensures supplier qualification and quality, supports negotiations and supplier selection, and advises on risk, total cost of ownership, and business impacts. The role also supports region/sector NPD procurement teams through preferred‑supplier programs and strategy development.

This position is onsite in Evans, GA and requires a daily commute into the facility.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage day‑to‑day category supplier relations and seek growth or revision opportunities within the supply base.
• Partner with internal stakeholders (engineering, operations, quality) to capture commodity requirements and ensure supplier qualification and quality; collaborate with regional PPM teams to transition suppliers efficiently.
• Assist, under the direction of the Category Manager, in developing and executing detailed commodity strategy, including spend segmentation, commodity maturity, cost drivers, and supply‑market analysis.
• Execute sourcing projects such as continuous improvement, consolidation, and other efficiency initiatives.
• Conduct or support negotiations and supplier selection; manage contract lifecycle and ensure compliance.
• Deliver commodity productivity through price negotiations, value analysis/value engineering (VA/VE or i2V) projects, and other continuous‑improvement efforts.
• Support supplier segmentation, Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), and quarterly supplier reviews for all strategic suppliers within the commodity.
• Ensure commodity continuity of supply by engaging with plants to resolve escalated issues.
• Support region/sector NPD procurement teams through preferred‑supplier programs and RFQs.
• Forecast, report, mitigate, and recover from commodity inflation.
• Lead periodic Commodity Reviews, presenting updated projects, metrics, strategy, and countermeasures.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform other duties as requested, directed, or assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years procurement sourcing experience, consulting, buying, and/or analyst experience.
• Demonstrated competence in negotiating skills and vendor assessment.
• Experience coordinating, facilitating discussions, consultation, and conflict resolution.
• Professional verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to travel up to 30 %.

Key Competencies

• Supply Chain Acumen – ability to drive global development and execution of supply‑chain strategies for assigned components or services to achieve optimal quality, delivery, and price.
• Project Management – review and approve project plans, oversee execution, balance short‑ and long‑term focus, and secure alignment with cross‑functional partners.
• Global Business Thinking/Strategizing – deep global knowledge of suppliers, industry trends, emerging markets, and technology; integrate this knowledge into GSC strategies/playbooks and develop global talent.
• Problem Solving – identify/anticipate potential problems, support root‑cause analysis, evaluate corrective‑action plans, and oversee implementation.
• Relationship Management – create a collaborative environment with cross‑functional partners, ensure two‑way communication, and maintain relationships with industry peers and suppliers.
• Excellent technical and analytical problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to quickly understand and organize information necessary for engineering decisions.
• Experience applying and interpreting results of Finite Element Analysis (FEA).

Physical Requirements

• Regularly required to talk or listen.
• May be required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, or crouch as needed.
• Vision requirements include the ability to see at close range, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.