Procurement Category Specialist (US)

Category Specialist | Procurement & Supply Chain Location: Erlanger, KY 41018 Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM On-Site Position Pay: $25.00/hour Are you organized, analytical, and comfortable coordinating across suppliers, procurement, quality, operations, and other internal teams? We are seeking a Category Specialist to join a North American Procurement team supporting raw material purchasing and supplier activities for manufacturing operations. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in procurement, supply chain, purchasing, raw materials, vendor management, or data coordination who enjoys keeping complex processes organized and moving forward. This position plays an important role in ensuring raw materials, supplier documentation, approvals, inventory information, and procurement workflows are accurate and completed on time. What You'll Be Doing Support raw material procurement activities for North American manufacturing locations Coordinate new raw material, supplier, formulation, and product workflow requests from initiation through final approval Manage new vendor and ingredient setup processes, including gathering required supplier and ingredient documentation Maintain raw material approval databases and supplier documentation Coordinate information between Procurement, Quality, Regulatory, Product Development, Operations, and suppliers Track workflow priorities and help ensure time-sensitive approvals stay on schedule Lead and maintain secondary sourcing workflows for raw materials Assist with supplier changes, ingredient replacements, and raw material inactivation processes Resolve purchasing and receiving issues, including pricing, volume, invoice, and Accounts Payable discrepancies Prepare and distribute ingredient forecasts to key suppliers Maintain and deliver supplier scorecards Help maintain accurate inventory records Coordinate sample requests for Procurement and Product Development teams Gather and maintain regulatory and supply chain risk management documentation Support sourcing projects and RFX activities Assist with raw material sourcing and scouting for new products or replacement materials Manage procurement-related sales requests and raw material escalations Support ERP and SAP standardization initiatives Communicate with suppliers regarding documentation, shipments, raw material availability, and other procurement needs What We're Looking For Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Data Analytics, Procurement, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience Previous experience in procurement, purchasing, supply chain, vendor management, raw materials, or manufacturing support preferred Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail Ability to manage multiple priorities and time-sensitive assignments Strong analytical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving abilities Excellent written and verbal communication skills Comfortable working with suppliers and cross-functional internal teams Ability to work independently while also collaborating effectively within a team Strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, Outlook, and Word Experience with AS400, ERP systems, SAP, TraceGains, or similar systems is helpful Power BI experience is a plus Ability to thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing and supply chain environment Ideal Background Candidates with experience as a Procurement Specialist, Purchasing Specialist, Buyer, Purchasing Coordinator, Supply Chain Specialist, Category Coordinator, Materials Coordinator, Raw Material Coordinator, or Procurement Coordinator may be a strong fit. This is a fully on-site opportunity in Erlanger, KY for someone looking to build or expand their career in procurement and supply chain within a large manufacturing environment. For immediate consideration please email resume to amanix@blackrockres.com