Category Manager

Summary

As a part of the Strategic Sourcing Team, the Category Manager will manage direct material or indirect professional service categories to establish short and long-term strategies for continued cost optimization, value improvement, supplier relationship development, and risk mitigation. This role will be responsible for developing strategic category plans as well as sourcing, negotiating, contracting, and managing supplier performance, while delivering goods and services on time with a high degree of quality and clinical acceptance.

Responsibilities And Competencies Include

The Category Manager will partner with Clinical, Operational, and Financial teams across the Hospital and Rehab Care Division and support approximately $150 million of Kindred spend. The position requires transformational thought process regarding current operations, risk management, and value creation. A needed emphasis on risk assessment and critical thinking as our businesses experience growth and expansion.

1. Lead supplier performance management through the negotiations of procured products or services to assure optimal TCO (e.g., cost, quality, delivery, and innovation) is achieved while mitigating risk to the organization.
2. Follows procurement strategies, policies and procedures as defined by Supply Chain leadership, develops a comprehensive understanding of business and user requirements for assigned spend categories.
3. Utilizes analytical skills and business intelligence to identify cost savings opportunities and drives sourcing process end-to-end from selection through performance management to stay ahead of any sourcing issues and maximize value to the organization.
4. Executes agreed upon category strategy including development and execution of RFI's, RFQ's and RFP's.
5. Develops selection criteria and drives the selection of suppliers in collaboration with a cross-functional team; conducts complex supplier negotiations; collaborates with Legal to establish contracts, and performs all critical tactical activities associated with contract portfolio management.
6. Conducts internal and external research on supply market and competitive activities within assigned spend categories and optimizes the use of available benchmarking and analytic tools in support of contract negotiations and overall portfolio management.
7. Works closely with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and implementation teams throughout the contracting process; ensuring alignment with end-user and organizational requirements.
8. Manages the on-going vendor relationships and supplier performance across assigned portfolio; establishes required business review cadence, reviews associated key performance indicators and implements improvement strategies with suppliers as needed.
9. Develop working relationships with key stakeholders across the organization to ensure category requirements are defined with an enterprise wide approach.

Knowledge/Skills

• Must be able to critically review and negotiate supply contracts and possess a solid understanding of standard contract terms and terminology; Able to critically evaluate supplier financial health and capabilities.

• Possess strong verbal, presentation and written communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of leadership; demonstrating a professional image.

• Essential leadership skills include the ability to facilitate and build consensus, persuasiveness, and ability to build/work in a team.

• Strong business acumen with strong internal and external negotiating skills.

• Ability to travel up to 10% of time.
  

• Master's degree in supply chain management, business or equivalent years of experience

• Bachelor degree or five to seven years of progressive experience in contract negotiations.

• Five to seven years of progressive experience in the Supply Chain field managing end-to-end contract negotiations.

Depending on a candidate's qualifications, this position may be filled at a different level.

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