Senior Category Manager

Strivector Corp is a National Recruiting and Staffing agency established in 2012 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. We are a preferred partner for several Fortune 500 companies nationwide. Strivector has been consistently rated a rare 4.6/5 on Google, Indeed and Glassdoor by our candidates, customers, employees and contractors.

Elevate your professional journey with us. Strivector's premier client (a well-known market leader in their space) is hiring for the following full-time direct hire position.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Senior Category Manager must support development and implementation of industry leading procurement practices, develop deep relationships with stakeholders, drive innovation and continuous improvement in the ways of working. Provide mentoring and management to ensure colleague engagement and professional development. Cultivate long term strategic goals that align with business requirements and drive financial rigor and cost savings throughout. The role is primarily focused on developing and executing category strategies in the Early Research and Development area, including but not limited to the following: Preclinical Research Services Bioanalytical and Translational Sciences In-Vivo Animal Research and Toxicology Academic Research and Independently Sponsored Research The role will work with other category managers to ensure alignment on related services or overlapping suppliers supporting other categories. Focusing on aligning early development outsourcing strategies to any impacted downstream activities within Clinical R&D or GMP environments. This role will collaborate closely with category leaders from across the Global Sourcing & Procurement organization to ensure that all Worldwide Research and Development, as well as laboratories in the Technical Operations Organization are fully supported and optimized.


Strategy & Leadership:
Business Strategies: ability to plan strategically and align projects with the company and functional goals; design, develop and shepherd sourcing and category strategies that support business strategy and enable world class procurement execution. See ambiguity as an opportunity to drive change, establish new ways of working and create clarity.
Stakeholder Management: align early to understand stakeholder needs, build credibility through strong relationships and solid track record of results, vi collaborative approach ability to manage senior stakeholders across various functions and foster cross-functional alignment; become the point of procurement accountability for the RED team; develop productive relationships with key suppliers.
Leadership: leading through influence and provide excellent procurement thought leadership, a have a strong understanding of all GSP capabilities and strategies, be a strong advocate for the GSP organization across the company.
Finance Collaboration: closely partnership with Finance organization in support of the functional stakeholders.
External perspective: maintain an active understanding of industry trends and functional practices through participation in industry organizations, bringing knowledge to the team and stakeholders.
Ways of working: Be the subject matter expect on evolving procurement practices and standards that may be rapidly changing internally and externally.
Communication: skilled in written and verbal communication.


Operational Focus:
Sourcing and category management strategies: spearhead creation and implementation of sourcing strategies to drive savings and risk mitigation, drive process improvement through transformational projects; support the team in the implementation of such strategies.
Supplier Relationship Management: create and implement collaborative business plans with strategic suppliers; optimizes supplier performance with a company view, seek opportunities to right size the supply base.


Negotiations:
Lead complex negotiations that require a detailed strategic plan and have a direct correlation with the company's operational and business goals.


Results Focused:
Drive to measurable outcomes by delivering hard and soft savings, develop appropriate SLA's/ KPI's to track performance.
Create a multi-year road map of opportunities.


Source to Pay Transformation:
Provide strategy and operational input into transformation efforts, process and technology solutions; collaborate across the value stream to optimize outputs.


Compliance:
Ensure compliance with all policies and procedures, collaborate closely with the Quality organization, actively support internal audit efforts, as needed.


QUALIFICATIONS

Most importantly, you need to be a passionate Senior Category Manager who enjoys his work and is considered to be one of the best within your organization. The ideal Senior Category Manager
would be someone with deep experience in many (if not all) of the following:

• Minimum Level of Education Required: Bachelor's degree in business, Supply Chain Management or related field.
• Scientific degree and MBA / post-graduate qualifications in a related field would be an advantage.
• Area of Specialization: Sourcing & Procurement, research and development/ scientific sourcing experience. Extensive experience in procurement and R&D management in a global capacity, preferably within the pharmaceutical sector.
• 8+ years of experience in Procurement/ Sourcing/ Supply Chain.
• Knowledge of Procurement tools such as sourcing, request for proposal management, quotation analysis, contract negotiation, supplier review, supplier development and others; specific expertise with Ariba and SAP preferred
• Demonstrated expertise in managing in scope categories, particularly category strategy development and implementation, stakeholder management and supplier relationship management
• In-depth understanding of external environment and supplier relationship models
• Strong knowledge of finance (cost benchmark, financial audit with key suppliers) and legal matters (contracting)
• Clear understanding of business value, business priorities, and potential implementation risks
• Significant experience working in a matrix (global/ regional) business environment
• Strong networking skills and a proven ability to build productive and collaborative relationships with stakeholders and business partners
• Strong analytical, written and verbal communications, and influencing skills
• Ability to work in high pressure environment, often under tight deadlines

We understand that even if you are a seasoned Senior Category Manager you may not have all the skills listed here.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Compensation: Based on Experience. One of the best in the industry
Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree in business, Supply Chain Management or related field
Minimum Experience: 8+ years of experience in Procurement/ Sourcing/ Supply Chain

Type of position: Full-time Permanent position with benefits
Location: San Rafael, CA

Relocation accepted: Yes
Remote / Hybrid: Hybrid 2 days onsite