Category Management Specialist III

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).