Lead Category Manager

About the role

The Lead Category Manager is accountable for developing and executing strategic category plans that maximize value, optimize total cost of ownership (TCO), and mitigate risk across assigned spend categories. This role leverages data-driven insights, market intelligence, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver sustainable business results and strengthen supplier performance.

Responsibilities

• Category Management & Value Delivery:
• Manage assigned categories to optimize the supply base, maximize value delivery (cost savings, cost avoidance, and revenue enhancement), and reduce risk to the business.
• Category Strategy Development & Execution:
• Develop, implement, and manage comprehensive category strategies aligned to business priorities, with a focus on value proposition, commercial agreement execution, and ongoing contract administration.
• Data-Driven Insights & Modeling:
• Analyze and interpret spend data, market intelligence, and demand profiles to inform decision-making, including the application of total cost of ownership (TCO) and should-cost modeling.
• Strategic Sourcing Leadership:
• Lead strategic sourcing initiatives by defining objectives, developing project plans and charters, facilitating cross-functional teams, and ensuring milestones, timelines, and performance targets are achieved.
• Supplier Performance & Governance:
• Establish and manage KPIs to measure supplier performance, drive accountability, and lead issue resolution. Conduct ongoing utilization and performance assessments to ensure strategies are effective and suppliers meet or exceed expectations.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership:
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, collaborating to understand business requirements, demand forecasts, and risk profiles while ensuring alignment to category strategies.
• Risk Management:
• Identify, assess, and mitigate supply, market, and operational risks across categories to ensure continuity and best-in-class support for evolving business needs.
• Performance Tracking & Communication:
• Monitor and report on category and project performance against plan; facilitate meetings and deliver clear, concise updates through reports and presentations to stakeholders and leadership.
• Team Leadership & Development:
• Mentor and guide team members to ensure effective execution of category strategies and support development of analytical, strategic, and sourcing capabilities.
• Additional Skills and Capabilities:
• Demonstrates strong contracting expertise with a comprehensive understanding of contract terms and conditions.
• Develops and analyzes rate sheets with accuracy and effectiveness to support commercial decisions.
• Designs and executes negotiation strategies, effectively managing trade-offs to achieve targeted outcomes.
• Applies advanced analytical skills to interpret data and inform decision-making, including total cost of ownership (TCO) and should-cost modeling.
• Exhibits strong communication and influencing skills to drive alignment and enable effective decision-making.
• Leads cross-functional teams and drives initiatives to successful completion.
• Experience with PowerAdvocate, Power BI, and Power Apps is preferred.
• Proficient in SAP, Ariba, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and the Microsoft Office suite.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Six (6) or more years of Supply Chain or business relevant experience.
• As an energy industry leader, our career opportunities fuel personal and professional growth.
• Location:
• Findlay, Ohio
• Additional locations:
• San Antonio, Texas
• Job Requisition ID:
• 00022548
• Location Address:
• 539 S Main St
• Education:
• Bachelors (Required)
• Employee Group:
• Full time
• Employee Subgroup:
• Regular

Benefits

Additional Information

An exciting career awaits you At MPC, we're committed to being a great place to work - one that welcomes new ideas, encourages diverse perspectives, develops our people, and fosters a collaborative team environment.

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