Category Management Specialist III - Service Contracts

Category Management Specialist III

The Category Management Specialist III will support the Service Contracts Management team within Supply Chain Sourcing, an enterprise center of excellence that leads service strategy and total cost of ownership for medical device service agreements across KP. This role partners closely with Healthcare Technology Management stakeholders, Direct Medical Sourcing, and clinical standards committees to negotiate and execute service agreements that support KP's equipment lifecycle. The specialist will serve as the sourcing lead for medical device service across several categories, with accountability for developing service strategies and total cost of ownership outcomes for each category.

The Category Management Specialist III will be accountable for maintaining positive and productive supplier relationships, identifying and reporting cost savings achieved, driving efficiency within the category, identifying potential risks, and collaborating cross-functionally with multiple internal and external stakeholders. This includes evaluating service delivery models, such as OEM, third-party, and in-house servicing, to inform sourcing strategies and total cost of ownership. This individual will own the end-to-end process for assigned categories, including supplier negotiations, ensuring all contracts and contracting activities are properly documented in Coupa and Nuvolo.

This individual contributor position is responsible for developing category/spend strategies for assigned categories by leveraging knowledge of the markets, suppliers and stakeholder needs; building long-term relationships with internal clients and suppliers; owning end-to-end delivery of business needs for categories under management; identifying and understanding key initiatives of internal clients and short, medium, and long-term goals; ensuring alignment of initiatives and strategies with client expectations; adopting change practices with customers, suppliers and stakeholders to drive strategic programs; and interacting with leadership to review and drive decisions. This position is also responsible for participating in the RFP process and/or supplier negotiations; developing and executing RFPs; leveraging analytics and insights to ensure data-driven decisions; analyzing category spend to understand price drivers and trends; applying cost and supply market analytics; and applying a digital mindset to adopt new technologies in the source to pay space.

• Pursues effective relationships with others by proactively providing resources, information, advice, and expertise with coworkers and members. Listens to, seeks, and addresses performance feedback; provides mentoring to team members. Pursues self-development; creates plans and takes action to capitalize on strengths and develop weaknesses; influences others through technical explanations and examples. Adapts to and learns from change, challenges, and feedback; demonstrates flexibility in approaches to work; helps others adapt to new tasks and processes. Supports and responds to the needs of others to support a business outcome.

• Completes work assignments autonomously by applying up-to-date expertise in subject area to generate creative solutions; ensures all procedures and policies are followed; leverages an understanding of data and resources to support projects or initiatives. Collaborates cross-functionally to solve business problems; escalates issues or risks as appropriate; communicates progress and information. Supports, identifies, and monitors priorities, deadlines, and expectations. Identifies, speaks up, and implements ways to address improvement opportunities for team.

• Develops category/spend strategies for assigned categories by leveraging knowledge of the markets, suppliers and stakeholder needs; driving clear, informed decisions based upon a multi-year strategy; owning end-to-end delivery of business needs for categories under management; keeping current on external and internal influences that may impact the larger organization (e.g., Healthcare Reform, macroeconomic issues, etc.); and interacting with leadership to review and drive decisions.

• Develops and maintains relationships with key internal clients and suppliers by building strong, collaborative relationships with internal clients across the business to gain buy-in and deliver value; identifying and understanding key initiatives of internal clients and short, medium, and long-term goals; working with suppliers to identify and pursue opportunities to drive improved quality and delivery performance; assuring alignment of initiatives and strategies with client expectations to drive value, innovation, service/supply resiliency, quality of care and governance; and partnering with cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., Portfolio Leads, Sourcing, Procurement Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, etc.) to advance Category Management capabilities.

• Participates in RFP process and/or supplier negotiations and facilitates contracting to deliver strategic value by applying appropriate negotiation strategies, tactics, and processes in line with situational demands; assisting with contract negotiations in partnership with Legal; and developing and executing RFPs to drive the strategic sourcing process.

• Leverages analytics and insights to support data-driven decisions by analyzing category spend to understand price drivers and trends; applying cost and supply market analytics to create category strategies; and applying a digital mindset to adopt new technologies in the source to pay space.

• Adopts change practices with customers, suppliers and stakeholders to drive the implementation and/or modification of new or existing strategic programs (e.g., Source to Pay transformation, Category Management training programs, etc.).

• Contributes to KPs Sustainability and Environmental goals and serves as an advocate to further advance results in Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP).