Category Manager - Strategic Sourcing

Who we are:

Atkore is forging a future where our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and communities are building better together - a future focused on serving the customer and powering and protecting the world.

With a global network of manufacturing and distribution facilities, Atkore is a leading provider of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions.

Who we are looking for:

We are searching for a Category Manager - Strategic Sourcing (Indirect Spend) to be based out of our corporate headquarters located in Harvey, IL. Reporting to the Sr. Global Commodity Manager, this role will be responsible for applying strategic sourcing expertise and will utilize a multi-step process to manage assigned categories and suppliers.

What you'll do:

The position will recommend and implement solutions to internal customer supply chain needs through effective project and contract management, supplier relationship management and professionalized communications. This position advises and guides the business regarding the implementation and integration of strategic sourcing philosophies and techniques to meet the needs of our internal customers.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Coordinate procurement (i.e., sourcing and contracting) of one or more specialized categories or services across the enterprise.
• Develops and leads cross functional teams through category strategy development, supplier sourcing, contract/negotiating strategy development and supplier negotiation processes.
• Participates in joint meetings with internal business partners to assist in procurement forecasting, demand management, requirements development and identification of possible purchasing channels and sources.
• Assists internal business partners with developing and reviewing contracts, statements of work, service level agreements, and specific contractual terms and conditions.
• Maintains appropriate technical and industry knowledge for the category(s) under management.
• Identifies, prequalifies, and recommends potential alternative sources of supply.
• Seeks opportunities to identify and manage off-contract spend and rationalize suppliers for greater leverage.
• Develops and manages the execution of initiatives, including data gathering and analysis, business requirements development, supplier qualification, preparation of Requests for Information (RFI), Requests for Proposals (RFP), Requests for Quotation (RFQ), evaluation of responses, developing negotiation strategies, participating and lead supplier negotiations, reviewing, redlining and managing contracts, and preparing recommendations to internal business partners/stakeholders.
• Builds and maintains profiles of supply market for key suppliers and identify new supplier opportunities.
• Performs detailed analysis of agreements in support of the company's business operations. Evaluates supplier proposal pricing and develops flexible contractual pricing models, accounting for inflation, currency, scope changes, and other areas of risk mitigation and cost control.
• Drafts contracts and recommends contract terms which minimize risk to the company.
• Documents results of the negotiations and maintains all historical information and finalized (signed) copies of contracts.
• Captures and applies lessons learned and best practices; acts as a point person in resolving supplier quality and service level issues.
• Reviews strategies and decisions on a regular basis with appropriate levels of management.
• Develop and manage contract portfolio to minimize risk exposure and capture benefits through process and contract language standardization.
• Ability to negotiate pricing, service level expectations, performance measures and contractual terms and conditions in coordination with Sourcing Leadership, stakeholders, and Legal.
• Maintain dashboards and utilize metrics to measure progress and communicate results.
• Travel as necessary to suppliers, plants, lean events, or training.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

What you'll bring:

• Bachelor's Degree required, preferably in Supply Chain Management.
• 5+ years of work experience in strategic sourcing, indirect spend management, supplier relationship management and contracts management and supplier negotiations.
• 3+ years of experience in negotiating enterprise-wide agreements, including contract management.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and build rapport with suppliers.
• Ability to utilize ERP for procurement systems to set up and maintain procurement data in a centralized platform.

Within 3 months, you'll:

• Complete your Atkore immersion program.
• Understand how your job will help deliver Atkore's strategy.
• Gain an understanding of your role, your team and department, and the various categories you'll manage.
• Gain an understanding of the training materials and processes your role requires.

Within 6 months, you'll:

• Develop metric-based processes and practices to manage capital expenditure process.
• Develop fluency in key initiatives related to the position such as, RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs.
• Have a working knowledge of the capital equipment supply chain procurement and other category(s) under management.

Within 12 months, you'll:

• Fully defined process to save and track capital expenditure process.

• Provide innovative ideas for best practices and technology in data analytics and business intelligence to best work towards relevant strategic initiatives.
• Participate in supplier negotiations, redlining and managing contracts, and preparing recommendations to internal business partners/stakeholders.
• Have developed tools and templates for relevant processes, such as should-cost modeling, total cost of ownership and savings calculations.

Atkore is a four-time Great Place to Work certified company and a two-time Top Workplaces USA award winner! We're committed to creating an engaged, aligned workforce driven by a collaborative culture. Our team strives for breakthrough results and stays focused on being standout leaders. We consistently live the Atkore mission, strategic priorities, and behaviors consistent with our core values.

Join our team and align yourself with an industry leader!