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Senior Category Specialist

Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, Milwaukee, WI, United States


Overview This position reports to the Category Manager and provides global strategic leadership to find and qualify suppliers for direct material related to New Product Development and other sourcing projects. Lead the cross-functional teams for activities related to sourcing while collaborating with Engineering, Finance, Quality, Procurement, Manufacturing, China Sourcing Team and Customer Service to execute all tasks within the project timeline. Responsible for ideation, planning and implementing multiple sourcing and re-sourcing projects, for both domestic and international suppliers. This position will also manage supplier relationships, spend and performance analytics and drive cost savings initiatives.

Key Accountabilities

Maintains the highest-level code of conduct and ethics.

Lead the sourcing channels and internal cross-functional teams to execute timeline and action adherence.

Identify and provide justification utilizing total cost of ownership principles for sourcing and re-sourcing projects.

Source assigned commodities, as well as develop global implementation plans to source new items and re-source existing items to optimize total cost suppliers.

Lead sourcing initiatives to ensure on-time delivery of project components, assemblies and/or finished goods by trouble-shooting outstanding issues.

Influence and collaborate on new product development projects guaranteeing on-time product availability.

Collaborates with global business units on the preparation of Request for Proposals (RFPs), Request for Quotations (RFQ's) and leads the screening and supplier selection process.

Evaluate bids, analyze alternatives, develop negotiation strategy and make recommendations for contract awards

Negotiate and drafts supply agreements for domestic and international suppliers, including payment terms, deliveries, price, freight terms, currency exchange, raw material commodity fluctuation, inventory levels.

Manage relationships between internal and external parties to evaluate and execute recommendations of changes in supply base.

Publish monthly commodity metrics and provide recommended action plans to the Global Supply Chain that promote continuous process improvement.

Qualifications/Requirements

BA/BS degree in business, supply chain, operations management, engineering or finance; Master’s Degree & CPSM preferred

5+ years of experience in a sourcing role with low cost country sourcing experience

Experience building Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and creating tools to analyze responses

Proven success in a change management and "stretch" environment

Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite software, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint

Must have strong problem solving, strategic thinking, oral, written, interpersonal communication and presentation skills

Ability to understand the goals of the company, focus resources to meet or exceed these goals; lead change and drive projects to completion

Expert negotiator, including the ability to lead in contract negotiations and build strong supplier relationships

Willingness to travel up to 25%, both domestically and internationally required.

Capabilities and Success Factors

Decision Quality - Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.

Manages Complexity - Making sense of complex, high quantity and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.

Drives Results - Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.

Manages Conflict - Handling conflict situations effectively, with a minimum of noise.

Plans & Aligns - Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.

Total Rewards and Benefits

Competitive Salary

Medical, Dental, Vision, STD, LTD, AD&D, and Life Insurance

Matching 401(k) Contribution

Health Savings Account

Up to 3 weeks starting Vacation (may increase with tenure)

12 Paid Holidays

Annual Bonus Eligibility

Educational Reimbursement

Matching Gift Program

Employee Stock Purchase Plan - purchase company stock at a discount!

Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran

THIRD PARTY AGENCY: Any unsolicited submissions received from recruitment agencies will be considered property of Zurn Elkay, and we will not be liable for any fees or obligations related to those submissions.

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