Category Lead

Reports to: Director of Supply Chain

The Category Lead is responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies that deliver cost savings, supply continuity, quality, and innovation across assigned categories.

This role partners cross-functionally with sales, engineering, operations, finance, and quality teams to manage supplier relationships, negotiate contracts, and ensure procurement activities align with broader business objectives.

• Develop and implement category sourcing strategies aligned with company goals, market dynamics, and total cost of ownership analysis.
• Lead supplier identification, qualification, RFx processes (RFI, RFP, RFQ), and award decisions for assigned categories.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, service-level agreements, and master purchase agreements with current and prospective suppliers.
• Build and maintain strategic supplier relationships, including conducting business reviews, performance scorecards, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Analyze spend data, market trends, commodity indices, and supplier financials to identify cost reduction, consolidation, and risk-mitigation opportunities.
• Manage supplier risk, including supply continuity planning, dual-sourcing strategies, geopolitical exposure, and compliance monitoring.