Category Manager – Strategic Procurement2 Days in Office | Exceptional Work-Life Balance | Stable Company | Outstanding Benefits We are partnering with an extremely stable, long-established manufacturing company in Chicago to hire a Category Manager for its strategic procurement team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys procurement and vendor negotiations but is looking for a company where they can build a long-term career without sacrificing work-life balance. The organization operates in an incredibly stable industry, and offers an outstanding culture, excellent benefits and tremendous flexibility. The schedule is particularly attractive: only 2 days per week in the office, with significant flexibility to manage your work and personal life. This is an individual contributor position with high visibility and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact across the organization.
What You'll Do:
You'll take ownership of several important purchasing categories and work directly with business leaders and suppliers to improve pricing, service and overall value.
Responsibilities will include:- Manage strategic sourcing across a variety of indirect spend categories.
- Negotiate with vendors to secure better pricing, terms and service.
- Lead RFPs, RFQs and other competitive sourcing initiatives.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings and cost avoidance.
- Evaluate suppliers and help determine the best partners for the business.
- Negotiate contracts, pricing structures and commercial terms.
- Develop strong relationships with vendors while holding them accountable for performance.
- Partner with Finance, Operations and other departments to understand purchasing needs.
- Analyze spending trends and identify opportunities to consolidate vendors or improve purchasing decisions.
- Use data and analytics to evaluate pricing, supplier performance and savings opportunities.
- Help improve procurement processes, reporting and technology.
- Monitor contracts and ensure negotiated terms are being followed.
- Support purchasing across areas such as facilities, maintenance, services, equipment and other non-production spending.
- What They're Looking ForThe ideal candidate is a strong negotiator who is analytical, confident and comfortable working with both vendors and internal leadership.
- They would like someone with:
- Procurement, sourcing or category management experience in the manufacturing or industrial industries
- Experience negotiating with vendors and suppliers.
- Exposure to indirect purchasing such as services, facilities, MRO, equipment or CapEx.
- Strong analytical skills and the ability to work with large amounts of purchasing data.
- Strong Excel skills; experience with reporting or analytics tools is a plus.
- The ability to identify savings opportunities and turn analysis into action.
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
- A bachelor's degree.
- Experience in an industrial, manufacturing or similarly complex environment is helpful but not required for the right person.e opportunity.
