Category Leader, Procurement - Chicago or Decatur, IL or Erlanger, KY

at  Archer Daniels Midland Company

POSITION SUMMARY:

This highly visible individual contributor role will develop and execute global category strategies in collaboration with stakeholders and in alignment with global and local sourcing requirements. You will work closely with our business unit leaders to understand implementation challenges and to develop solutions to increase compliance. In this role, you will assist our different businesses to determine and manage requirements by providing insight into alternative options to better control demand.

Your Responsibilities:

• Reporting to the Category Manager, Enterprise Software, SaaS, and Hardware, the main duties of this role will include:
• Strategic management of Software, SaaS and Hardware categories to manage risk, monitor market conditions, maximize returns, and ensure high-quality, on-time performance for stakeholders;
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key suppliers, providing high level of issue resolution where necessary (quality and service);
• Drive external / marketplace knowledge of the latest category dynamics, trends and best practices aiming to drive implementation of continuous improvement opportunities;
• Negotiate category’s procurement activities, strategic sourcing, supplier management and contract management leveraging company’s 7 step sourcing process;
• Provide leadership and support during sourcing initiatives, including total cost of ownership model development, category strategy development, fact-based negotiation strategy development & execution, supplier evaluation & selection, and category implementation;
• Implement necessary tools and reports to manage categories and supply base e.g. contract management spend management;
• Drive efforts to understand internal customer needs and summarize business requirements as input into enterprise-wide sourcing efforts;
• Establish and evaluate performance metrics for category and own cost saving results

Your Profile

• Bachelor’s Degree is required. Supply Management, Operations, Business is preferred
• Minimum of 5 years experience with at least 2 years in Software procurement
• Experience in negotiation of complex agreements, preferably Software; commercial skills and familiarity with contract law
• Strong project execution is a must
• Familiarity with IT systems, technology and terminology.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to engage, communicate and influence mid to senior level stakeholders (internal / external) and establish trust and credibility with business unit leaders and other functional stakeholders
• Strong analytical skills with a deep understanding of financial analysis; ability to analyze data as well as draw out and communicate insights
• Capable of creating pre-negotiation strategy including company’s Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
• Strong communication skills in English, both verbal and written (fluent in other languages a strong plus)
• Familiarity with multiple source-to-pay systems (eg. COUPA, Ariba, Maximo) and ERP software (JDE, SAP, etc.)
• Global awareness (culture, currencies, geography, and political)
• Professional Purchasing Certification is a plus
• Experience in Food/ Agri-business industry is a plus
• Experience in LEAN Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and/or project management
• Familiarity with E-sourcing tools (Ariba, Bravo, etc.)

Excited about this role but don’t meet every requirement listed? Studies show that often applicants will self-select out if they don’t check every box. We encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings.
ADM requires the successful completion of a background check.

• Reporting to the Category Manager, Enterprise Software, SaaS, and Hardware, the main duties of this role will include:
• Strategic management of Software, SaaS and Hardware categories to manage risk, monitor market conditions, maximize returns, and ensure high-quality, on-time performance for stakeholders;
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key suppliers, providing high level of issue resolution where necessary (quality and service);
• Drive external / marketplace knowledge of the latest category dynamics, trends and best practices aiming to drive implementation of continuous improvement opportunities;
• Negotiate category’s procurement activities, strategic sourcing, supplier management and contract management leveraging company’s 7 step sourcing process;
• Provide leadership and support during sourcing initiatives, including total cost of ownership model development, category strategy development, fact-based negotiation strategy development & execution, supplier evaluation & selection, and category implementation;
• Implement necessary tools and reports to manage categories and supply base e.g. contract management spend management;
• Drive efforts to understand internal customer needs and summarize business requirements as input into enterprise-wide sourcing efforts;
• Establish and evaluate performance metrics for category and own cost saving result