Ashland Inc

Global Category Manager

Ashland Inc$120K — $150K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of strategic Indirect Procurement or related experience
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering; MBA and/or CPSM preferred
  • Experience managing complex spend over $70MM
  • Background in Chemical or Pharmaceutical industries or Fortune 500 companies
  • Expertise in 7-step strategic sourcing methodology
  • Knowledge of Total Cost of Ownership evaluation
  • Proficient in Supplier Relationship Management programs
  • Strong skills in risk assessment and mitigation practices
  • Experience with global contracting processes
  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills
  • Familiarity with Coupa and ERP tools like SAP.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute global category strategy plans using strategic sourcing methodologies.
  • Ensure procurement services meet requirements for various business units and facilities.
  • Negotiate and manage strategic contracts for cost efficiency and supply reliability.
  • Identify opportunities for cost savings and process improvements, implementing changes as needed.
  • Develop and implement supply risk assessment and mitigation programs.
  • Oversee the full vendor lifecycle from identification to performance reviews.
  • Facilitate procurement processes including RFPs, RFQs, and bidding events with cross-functional teams.
  • Maintain strong supplier relationships to enhance value and support strategic objectives.

Benefits

  • Flexible work location with eligibility for remote work.
  • Involvement in significant procurement decisions impacting business success.
  • Collaboration with global teams in a dynamic work environment.
  • Opportunity to lead high-stakes negotiations and supplier management initiatives.
  • Limited travel requirements, with up to 25% travel.
Full Job Description
Ashland has an exciting opportunity to join Ashland's Global Procurement team for a Global Category Manager responsible for developing and executing global procurement strategies for Toll Manufacturing (Tolling), Purchased For Resale (PFR), Environmental Remediation Services and Waste Management. Work location is flexible and eligible for work from home.

This role serves as the primary procurement category manager for these categories, driving supplier performance, cost optimization, supply assurance, risk mitigation, compliance and sustainability objectives. In addition, this role manages complex commercial relationships, negotiates multi-million-dollar agreements, oversees toller and supplier networks, supports remediation programs and leads initiatives that improve procurement processes and governance.

This is a very visible, significant role within the Company and the procurement function. This position will report to the Senior Manager, Procurement Supply Chain, Tolling Services, Remediation and Global Real Estate- Global Procurement.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Develop Category Strategy plans following 7 step strategic sourcing methodology and use appropriate support tools to drive results and deliver savings.
  • Ensuring all procurement services are met for the assigned Ashland business units, plants, labs, and / or facilities.
  • Negotiate, implement, and manage strategic contracts to ensure optimum cost and reliable supply.
  • Identify and lead opportunities for cost savings, better efficiency, and other areas of improvement; recommend and/or implement policy or process changes, as appropriate.
  • Develop and deploy supply risk assessment and mitigation programs to ensure business continuity.
  • Manage the full vendor lifecycle, including supplier identification, due diligence, qualification trials,, contracting and operational and performance reviews, including resolving operational issues related to supply challenges.
  • Facilitating RFP / RFQ / RFI and preparing Coupa sourcing / bidding events according to engineering specifications and / or business requirements.
  • Conducting bid analysis with a cross functional team and awarding based on internal team consensus.
  • Lead cross-functional global teams. However, person would be responsible for managing assigned high value/complex spend categories directly.
  • Be an active member of the Global Tolling Team and actively collaborate with other leadership team members to deliver on procurement/corporate objectives.
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers driving optimized value through strategic relationship management program.
  • Extracting and analyzing spend data by various criteria from various ERP/S2P reporting tools (Coupa, SAP, QlikView).
  • Representing as Corporate Agent: Ensuring Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Policies are enforced.
  • Ensuring strict compliance to Ashland's Zero Incident Culture and Responsible Care Guidelines.
  • Travel - Limited. Up to 25% to visit Ashland sites, supplier visits, internal meetings, and industry conferences.


In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:
  • Minimum of 10 years of strategic Indirect Procurement and/or Tolling Procurement Services and/or related experience required.
  • Minimum Education: bachelor's degree preferably in engineering discipline; MBA and / or CPSM Certification a plus
  • Leading a team and directly managing complex multi category spend greater than $70MM.
  • Experience in Chemical or Pharmaceutical industry and/or in Fortune 500 companies a plus
  • Demonstrated knowledge of category management and use of 7SSS (Step Strategic Sourcing) methodology
  • Demonstrated knowledge of applying TCO (total cost of ownership) and other methodologies in evaluating suppliers' proposals
  • Strong knowledge of deploying and leveraging Supplier Relationship Management program in a global supply base
  • Demonstrated expertise in deploying supply Risk Assessment and Mitigation program in diverse categories of materials.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of Contracting practices and processes in a global environment
  • Strong communication, follow-up, presentation, and teamwork skills to be performed with a sense of urgency as required.
  • Good knowledge of Coupa and other tools such as SAP, Ariba


The following skill sets are preferred:
  • Five plus years' experience - dealing with senior management, leading team, and managing complex small value spend as well as multi-millions $ high value spend/contracts.
  • Demonstrated experience working in diverse global cross-functional teams in highly matrixed environment.


About Ashland Inc

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. is a global specialty chemicals company that provides innovative solutions to customers in a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care and pharmaceutical. Through our three business units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Performance Materials and Valvoline - we use good chemistry to make great things happen for customers in more than 100 countries.
Learn more about Ashland Inc
Size
3,800 employees
Market Cap
$5.7 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$484 million
Founded
1924
5 Year Trend
+0.7%
Revenue
$2.3 billion
NASDAQ

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