Procurement Category Specialist

We are looking for an ambitious, self-driven individual to lead our Global Personal Care Procurement Strategy as part of the External Contract Manufacturing (ECM) team.As a Global Category Specialist, you will play a key role in building a connected community across Personal Care Procurement and ECM operations teams, deploying global category strategies, and developing a resilient, cost-effective supply chain through data-driven analytics, stakeholder management, and strategic supplier relationships.This role will support multiple Personal Care product categories, with a particular focus on the North America segment.Key ResponsibilitiesCategory Strategy & GovernanceHelp position the organization as a leader in External Contract Manufacturing through collaboration across multiple supply chain functions.Develop a strong understanding of Personal Care market dynamics, industry trends, supplier landscapes, and benchmarking, with a focus on North American business needs.Support the development and implementation of global procurement strategies, ensuring alignment with local, regional, and global requirements.Develop fact-based recommendations and actionable insights to build a resilient, competitive, and cost-effective supply base aligned with business and product requirements.Drive efficiency by reducing complexity, improving processes, and promoting standardization and best practices across categories.Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders across Procurement, Planning, Logistics, Transportation, Manufacturing, Quality, and Safety to deliver strategic objectives.Build and support strategic supplier partnerships that deliver measurable value, innovation, continuous improvement, and competitive advantage.Govern and implement category strategies and procurement processes while maintaining a strong continuous improvement mindset.Conduct regular category reviews and updates based on changing market conditions, business requirements, and supplier performance.Stakeholder Engagement & Change ManagementEstablish trusted relationships and create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and shared ownership among stakeholders impacted by ECM strategies and objectives.Influence stakeholders at multiple levels of the organization to drive alignment and successful execution of procurement initiatives.Contribute to cross-functional and global teams in the development and execution of Personal Care procurement strategies and strategic initiatives.Conduct market benchmarking, supplier intelligence, and competitive analysis to support initiative prioritization, supplier selection, and negotiation strategies.Support change management initiatives and help drive adoption of new procurement strategies, processes, and ways of working.Commercial Leadership & Risk ManagementIdentify opportunities to reduce single-source dependencies and improve supply continuity and resilience where applicable.Lead and support RFx events and sourcing initiatives to achieve optimal outcomes across cost, quality, service, innovation, capacity, and risk.Partner with ECM Procurement team members to manage and execute commercial strategies, contract terms, and supplier negotiations.Use data, market intelligence, benchmarking, and total-cost analysis to develop effective negotiation strategies and achieve competitive commercial outcomes.Identify and proactively manage supply, commercial, and supplier risks across assigned categories.Promote the development and sharing of procurement best practices across regions and teams.Ensure compliance with applicable procurement policies, ethical standards, governance requirements, and codes of conduct.QualificationsBachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Procurement, or a related field.5+ years of experience in Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, Category Management, or a related business function.Demonstrated experience in Strategic Sourcing, Category Management, and Stakeholder Management.Experience developing and executing multi-year category strategies and supplier relationship strategies.