Manufacturing Procurement Category Manager, Non-Metals (Morton Grove, IL)

Job Description

Job Description

Company Description

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies.

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards.

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries.

The Regional Procurement Category Manager (Americas), Non-Metals supports the Global Segment Manager, non-Metals and the Global Category managers and is responsible for proposing the best category strategies and supplier panels to the business to drive innovation, competitiveness and delivery performance within the Metals Segment. Deliver best value from our supply chain. Non-metals cover elastomers, polymers, ceramics etc.

•Development, implementation and monitoring of regional category strategies for assigned categories / sub-categories of spend to support global strategies

• Identification/sourcing of suppliers that are strategic for John Crane and managing the relationships of these key suppliers

•Responsible for having an approved supplier panel for their assigned categories / sub-categories of spend, and this is implemented, and usage is maximized

•Full end to end ownership of their assigned categories / sub-categories of spend – negotiation of pricing and lead times, ensuring suitable contractual coverage is in place, monitoring of market conditions and taking advantage of the same, managing supplier panels and their performance

•Accountability for ensuring the most up-to-date knowledge of the supplier market, including new innovations and key emerging technologies relevant to assigned category / sub-category of spend

•Development of the commercial model to drive growth in savings.

•Develop and implement cost-based reduction strategies capable of delivering annual target savings.

•Collaborate with the wider team to identify products with sole/single source and make recommendations.

•Review external and internal market intelligence to assist in driving value from the supply chain

•Build effective supplier relationships, maintain communication, and drive continuous improvement of regional suppliers within the Segment (with the support of Supplier Performance Management Team if needed) and lead the management of regional based strategic supplier performance including, but not limited to, quality, cost, delivery, contractual performance and innovation.

•Responsibility for ensuring that the suppliers provide the competitiveness required to support the business and to introduce optimal supply base changes to support business-winning capability.

•Responsibility for mastering economic models for the category so that increased value can be added to John Crane and the supply base from a cost and lead time perspective

•Create negotiation and pricing strategies to reduce COGS

•Responsible for new supplier sourcing in line with Category Strategies

•Support NPI / NPD activities related to segment

• Bachelor's degree in Business or Engineering field.
• 5+ years expert in negotiation skills related to supply chain framework agreements for the manufacturing industry in a global company.
• 5+ years' experience in category management such as polymers, elastomers, silicon carbide, ceramics.
• Ability to develop and implement procurement strategies within the Americas region.
• Ability to build enduring relationships and partnerships with suppliers.
• Strong communication & collaboration skills.
• Spanish speaking would be beneficial for this role.

Salary range: $98,000 - $107,000/year

With colleagues stretching across the globe, we are proud of our diversity. To foster inclusivity, we run employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees to connect and support each other. Our cross-business ERGs include Veterans, Pride Network, Black Employee Network, Women@Work Network, and Neurodiversity.

Across our company, we recognize excellence, culminating in the Smiths Excellence Awards, our annual celebration of the most extraordinary activities, people, and projects that best showcase our strengths and help drive our business forward. We announce these on our annual Smiths Day, a global celebration of Smiths around our network.

Join us for a great career with competitive compensation and benefits, while helping engineer a better future.

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We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Group, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website (Careers - Smiths Group plc)