Regional Category Manager

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute regional procurement strategies that support and extend the global category roadmap.
• Conduct comprehensive sourcing activities to ensure optimal cost, performance, and supply continuity.
• Evaluate, qualify, and develop suppliers in collaboration with global category management.
• Prepare and present monthly category performance updates, including cost analyses and strategic progress monitoring.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with regional suppliers to ensure service quality, reliability, and transparency.
• Lead commercial negotiations and annual/periodic business reviews with suppliers.
• Ensure adherence to quality standards, ESG requirements, and corporate sustainability objectives.
• Manage supplier documentation, including NDAs, Framework Agreements, and compliance certifications.
• Oversee RFQ and e-auction processes on platforms such as Ivalua.
• Serve as the primary procurement liaison for all Americas-based sites.
• Execute global category strategies at the regional level and ensure alignment with global sourcing objectives.
• Coordinate with global teams to standardize supplier portfolios, harmonize commercial terms, and maintain category governance.
• Lead the negotiation, development, and management of supplier contracts in partnership with Legal and Contract Management.
• Ensure all suppliers maintain full compliance with contractual requirements and defined service levels.
• Maintain supplier performance using defined KPIs, with emphasis on quality, delivery, cost, and sustainability.
• Initiate and oversee corrective actions for underperforming suppliers.
• Manage compliance through sustainability and regulatory platforms such as BomCheck.
• Ensure supplier actions support internal ESG and sustainability roadmaps.
• Create and monitor purchase orders to ensure timely and accurate material delivery.
• Resolve issues related to order delays, discrepancies, or production constraints.
• Maintain accurate SAP master data, including pricing, lead times, and material specifications.
• Cook up coordination with suppliers to ensure alignment with technical and timeline requirements.
• Collaborate with the Quality department to manage non-conformities and drive resolution of supplier-related issues.
• Lead commercial negotiations related to Cost of Quality (CoQ).
• Implement preventive actions to minimize recurrence and safeguard operational reliability.
• Work closely with Operations, Product Management, R&D, and Quality to integrate procurement strategy with product and process requirements.
• Consolidate procurement needs from regional sites and translate them into actionable sourcing strategies.
• Facilitate transparent communication and cross-functional problem-solving related to procurement risks or opportunities.

Required Competencies

• Strong negotiation and stakeholder-management capabilities.
• Analytical and structured problem-solving skills.
• High adaptability, flexibility, and intercultural sensitivity.
• Demonstrated initiative and sound, timely decision-making.
• Confident, professional, and persuasive communication style.
• Strong sense of responsibility, ownership, and reliability.
• Strategic, solution-oriented mindset in complex or ambiguous situations.
• Ability to influence across multiple levels and functions.
• Advanced knowledge of SAP MM and related procurement modules.
• Strong capability in Business Intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Familiarity with AI- and automation-based procurement tools and methodologies.
• High proficiency in project management tools and frameworks (e.g., Agile, MS Project).
• High proficiency in PowerPoint and Microsoft Office applications.
• Fluent in English; Spanish proficiency highly advantageous.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $90,000-$110,000 and is eligible for an annual bonus. Benefits offered to eligible employees include, medical (PPO and HDHP with HSA), dental, vision, paid time off, paid holidays, 401K w/ employer match, short/long term disability, life insurance, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending, EAP, commuter benefits, education assistance, pet insurance, legal, and more.