Category Manager, Strategic Procurement

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 114,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, You Can Do Work That Matters, Grow, And Learn, Care For Yourself And Your Family, Be Your True Self, And Live a Full Life. You’ll Also Have Access To

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.
  
  

The Opportunity

Role

Global Procurement is seeking candidates for the position of Category Manager, Strategic Procurement, reporting to the Senior Procurement Manager of Toxicology and Consumer Business. In this role, you will:

• Lead and Innovate: Develop and spearhead a comprehensive Category Procurement Strategy across all spend disciplines.
• Collaborate Globally: Work closely with our talented Global Procurement team & Stakeholders to drive synergies and optimize procurement processes.
• Strategic Impact: Play a key role in shaping the future of procurement at Abbott, ensuring efficiency and excellence in every project.
  
  

Primary Location: Lake Forest, IL Or Willis Tower, Chicago

What You'll Work On

Work closely with key stakeholders in both Corporate and Division organizations to develop effective cost reduction strategies and implementation plans. This includes supplier/service provider optimization and alignment with Corporate preferred suppliers/service providers.

• Be accountable for building and nurturing stakeholder relationships by serving as a business partner, helping identify critical business requirements and providing sourcing and procurement services
• Leverage professional expertise and relationships to contribute to strategy and drive business results.
• Lead the development of functional strategy and makes recommendations to the business
• Lead change and innovation. Stimulate creativity and innovation in others
• Leverage market and supplier knowledge to drive lower total cost of ownership
• Represent Abbott strategically in the industry and community
• Develop and mentor peers on the category subject matter and sourcing strategies
• Proactively identifies areas of opportunity for new business opportunities, process improvement, and cost efficiencies
  
  

Core Job Responsibilities

• Mastery of category spend through analytics (e.g. Excel, Power BI, Statistics)
• Develop and lead category strategies in collaboration with senior leadership and execute to completion that have impact upon global business
• Anticipate internal/external business challenges and drives change
• Lead project teams to achieve milestones and objectives. Lead project teams responsible for selection of category strategy.
• Research and evaluate business requirements and suppliers
• Collaborate with other business functions
• Develop and execute competitive bidding processes (e.g. RFPs, RFIs, …..)
• Lead in-person, fact-based negotiations with senior executives from suppliers/service providers based on an internally approved plan and goals. Demonstrate the ability to translate potential contractual risk into desired outcomes
• Prepare analytical reports and dashboards to influence stakeholders/customers without authority
• Solve complex problems and proposes practical solutions
• Perform value analysis on costs and supplier/service provider quotes
• Create and manage project plans, identify resources to support projects, drive multiple projects through complex sourcing processes and ensure end results meet the requirements
• Support the development and completion of contracts, statement of work and standard operating procedure.
• Ensure all procurement policies and procedures are aligned with internal stakeholders e.g. Legal, Risk Management, Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance, and Supply Chain
• Recommend process improvements to streamline for efficiencies
  
  

Position Accountability / Scope

• Responsible for spend from $100MM, Over 1,000 suppliers across a global organization
• Develop comprehensive category knowledge
• Strong working knowledge of operations
• Recognized as the SME in assigned categories
• Identify, develop, and execute key operations initiatives focused on efficiencies, cost savings and customer service
• Lead the development of contracts, statement of works and standard operating procedures aligning with Procurement policies and division requirements
  
  

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree completed
• 5 years of procurement experience preferably in categories of Plastics, Injection Molding, Packaging, Membranes, Biologics/Reagents, Electronics and Finished Goods
• Experience in a highly regulated matrix environment, preferably in the Healthcare Industry
• Experience dealing with Privacy data requirements and contracting (PII, HIPAA, PCI, PHI)
• Mastery of excel and other analytical tools (Power BI, Minitab)
• Proficient communication skills; verbal and written for recommendations and presentations
• Ability to travel up to 20% of the year
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• 6-8 years of procurement experience preferably in categories of Plastics, Injection Molding, Packaging, Membranes, Biologics/Reagents, Electronics and Finished Goods
• MBA completed
• Class A, Lean or Six Sigma certification or experience
• Experience with Sage, SAP, Ariba, Coupa or other procurement platforms
• Skilled negotiator with deep knowledge of contract structures and language
• Change manager with strong influencing skills
• Strong project management skills
• Strong initiative, work ethic and problem-solving skills
  
  

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives: www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity. Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott, and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

The base pay for this position is $97,300.00 – $194,700.00. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.