Category Manager, MRO

About the role

Interested in a career that matters? Are you passionate about building strong supplier partnerships, driving business value, and supporting sustainable growth? Join Novonesis as a Category Manager, MRO and play a key role in shaping how we source critical Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) products across North America. You will become part of the North America Indirect Procurement team, a highly collaborative group consisting of four Category Managers and one Procurement Associate. Together, the team supports manufacturing sites and business functions across key indirect spend areas, driving cost optimization, sustainability initiatives, supplier innovation, and long-term business impact. By building strong supplier partnerships, the team helps Novonesis reinvest in its purpose of Better Business with Biology.

Responsibilities

• Lead medium- to high-complexity sourcing projects, including supplier identification, tender management, negotiations, and contracting.
• Support and execute category strategies aligned with regional and global procurement objectives.
• Drive supplier performance management, contract renewals, pricing reviews, and supplier relationship management activities.
• Identify and mitigate commercial, supply, sustainability, regulatory, and operational risks within assigned categories.
• Partner with stakeholders across manufacturing, finance, legal, quality, and other business functions to deliver procurement solutions that support business goals.
• Contribute market insights, category analytics, sourcing strategies, and project pipeline planning to global category teams.
• Develop supplier partnerships that enable innovation, continuous improvement, and mutual value creation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Sourcing, International Business, Economics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in procurement, sourcing, supply chain, or related disciplines.
• Strong capabilities in SAP, Excel, PowerPoint, contracting, and supplier negotiations.
• Fluent English communication skills, both written and verbal.

Skills

• Stakeholder management and collaboration, with the ability to build trusted partnerships across the business.
• Strong commercial and negotiation capabilities with a focus on creating total business value.
• Analytical and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Operational curiosity and problem-solving abilities in a manufacturing environment.
• Ownership, adaptability, and accountability while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced setting.
• Professional certifications such as CPSM, CSCP, PMP, or similar procurement, supply chain, or project management credentials (beneficial).
• Additional language skills beyond English (beneficial).
• Experience working within global or matrixed organizations (beneficial).
• Exposure to manufacturing, industrial operations, or facilities management environments (beneficial).

Benefits

• 401(k) with up to a 9% company contribution
• Minimum of 3 weeks vacation plus 12 holidays and 2 weeks of wellness time
• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance
• Healthcare savings account with generous employer contribution
• Employee assistance program
• Parental leave
• Tuition reimbursement
• Benefits effective from day one

Pay

Expected pay range: $103,500-$126,500

Schedule

• Location: Franklinton, North Carolina or Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Hybrid work model with a minimum of three days per week in the office
• Regional role with close alignment