Category Implementation/ Buyer - Hub and Bearings

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At Ford Motor Company, we believe freedom of movement drives human progress. We also believe in providing you with the freedom to define and realize your dreams. With our incredible plans for the future of mobility, we have a wide variety of opportunities for you to accelerate your career potential as you help us define tomorrow’s transportation. It takes outstanding people from every background imaginable to make our ambitious plans for the future a tangible reality.

The Category Implementation role is responsible for the strategic sourcing, business development and supply continuity that are critical to achieving the Ford plan of improving bottom-line automotive operations and securing Ford Motor Company's place in the ever-changing automotive landscape of tomorrow. Category Implementation team members interface with internal and external stakeholders alike to ensure that the right supply partner is chosen to deliver the best product, on the right vehicle, at the right price with outstanding quality and on-time performance.

You'll have…

• Minimum of 3 years strategic buying experience
• Proficiency in Purchasing systems and procedures
• Propensity to communicate clearly and solve open issues in a timely manner. Creativity, energy and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
• Direct automotive production purchasing / supply chain experience preferred.
• Extremely high energy with a relentless pursuit of learning and development to drive commodity expertise.
• Persuasive and convincing communication skills (e.g., proposals, reports, plans) to secure commitment from business leaders.
• Ability to develop and successfully execute negotiations strategy.
• High degree of trust and maintain strong relationships with Skill Team / regional leadership.
• Strong data & analytics understanding (e.g., complex TCO modeling, presentation storyboarding skills, bluescape, data analytics).
• Ability to interpret organization needs and commercial strategies as input into global Category Strategies.
• Strong knowledge across the sourcing process.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, and prescription drug coverage

• Flexible family care, parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more

• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members, and management leases

• Tuition assistance

• Established and active employee resource groups

• Paid time off for individual and team community service

• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day

• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

For a detailed look at our benefits, click here:

2023 Ford New Hire Benefits Summary

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

At Ford, the health and safety of our employees is our top priority. Vaccination has been proven to play a critical role in combating COVID-19. As a result, Ford has made the decision to require U.S. salaried employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless employees require an accommodation for religious or medical reasons. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or an approved medical or religious exemption.

What you'll do…

Strategic Sourcing & Negotiation:
Understand upcoming program sourcing and key milestone in support of launch
Learn product attributes, cost targets, marketing expectations and footprint requirements to develop a comprehensive bid-list
Align with strategic Category Manager on bid-list to align with industry trends, technologies and strategic supplier analysis
Conduct appropriate sourcing activities that deliver a quality part at the best material cost to Ford Motor Company
Effective storytelling and presentation to executive leadership that lays out the “Why” behind a particular sourcing decision
Provide feedback to valued supply partners on cost position relative to market to build effective long-term, productive relationships.
Business Plan Development:
Work with the strategic Category Manager and Product Development to understand latest supply base footprint, financial health ratings, technologies and trends
Work directly with Supply Chain and the Finance organization to develop a holistic year-over-year commodity cost position
Understand and set cost savings goals to achieve on an annual basis by identifying pure commercial leverage versus design efficiencies and end-to-end supply chain improvements
Develop material cost roadmaps that deliver corporate objectives and ensure long-term viability
Project supply base spend trends and develop a 3-year,5-year and 10-year outlook for the commodity supply base.
Effective storytelling and presentation to executive leadership that lays out the “Why” behind a particular commercial settlement and outlook
Supply Continuity and Support
Provide direct support to Supplier Quality and Material, Planning & Logistics where part quality and shortages become prevalent
Work with engineering to identify alternative technologies or sources of supply to maintain a consistent flow of product into Ford production facilities
Close all commercial issues in a timely, effective and competitive manner so as to not risk plant build objectives.
Other Responsibilities:
Ad hoc travel a required to supply partners
Be a leader- look at all existing processes and challenge if improvements could be made, regardless of scale
Complete all systems training required to complete day-to-day operations of Category Implementation role
Attend internal and external workshops with key stakeholders for continued process improvements
Hold effective working-level meetings with Supply partners for fast issue closure and relationship development