Category Manager

JOB SUMMARY:

This is an opportunity to have a direct impact on the technologies that restore health and improve lives. The Category Manager will lead global sourcing strategies and supplier partnerships for critical categories that support innovative, life-saving medical devices. The role offers significant visibility and influence across a global, matrixed organization. Success requires strong commercial judgment, the ability to translate market insight into strategy, and a passion for building supplier partnerships that deliver quality, innovation, and operational excellence in a regulated environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Category Strategy & Business Alignment:

• Develop and execute global category strategies aligned with the company, division, and enterprise priorities.
• Identify and realize opportunities for cost reduction, value optimization, innovation, and process improvement.
• Understand and forecast key commodity cost drivers, market trends, and technology developments that impact the business.
• Translate external market intelligence into actionable sourcing and supplier strategies.

Supplier & Contract Management:

• Build, optimize, and manage a world-class supplier base capable of meeting the company’s current and future needs.
• Lead negotiation and management of medium-to-high risk, complex supplier contracts and commercial agreements.
• Establish long-term, collaborative supplier partnerships that drive quality, delivery, cost, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Monitor supplier performance to ensure adherence to quality, service, pricing, regulatory, and contractual commitments.

Risk Management & Supply Continuity:

• Develop and implement robust supply risk mitigation strategies, including alternate sourcing and contingency planning.
• Assess supplier risk across short- and long-term horizons with clearly defined risk and benefit tradeoffs.
• Ensure continuity of supply for critical commodities while balancing cost competitiveness and compliance requirements.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration:

• Partner closely with R&D, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, and Corporate Procurement teams.
• Lead and participate in cross-functional and cross-site teams to align supplier capabilities with division-wide requirements.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and functional leadership to purchasing and category management team members, reinforcing procurement policies and best practices.
• Lead sourcing and supplier-related projects, ensuring execution in compliance with governance, ethics, and quality standards.

Financial & Performance Management:

• Manage category budgets and perform detailed cost and total cost of ownership analyses.
• Support business cases and sourcing decisions through strong financial, analytical, and data-driven insights.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Finance, or related field (MBA preferred).
• 7-10+ years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, sourcing, or 5-8+ years of deep category/commodity management.
• Expertise in contract terms and conditions structuring, negotiating with suppliers and contract execution
• Experience operating within a highly regulated industry, preferably medical devices, healthcare, or life sciences.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed, global organization.
• Strong influencing, relationship-building, organizational and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage at all levels of the organization.
• Strong analytical capability; comfortable working with cost models, market data, and Excel-based analyses.
• Flexible and adaptable to change - does not require rigid rules, functions in a fast-paced environment
• Highly Collaborative - partner with colleagues and customers to arrive at best solutions
• Deliver Innovative Solutions - ability to recognize possibilities to create greater profitability and growth
• Generate Customer Value - Listening, understanding, anticipating and solving
• Cultivate a broad network of relationships with key internal and external constituents
• Ability to travel up to approximately 20%, including internationally.