Category Manager - Flexible Packaging (Labels, Bags, Sleeves)

Clorox Company; Tlalnepantla; Hybrid; MXN 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Clorox Company is seeking a Category Manager to lead strategic sourcing across Direct Materials categories, representing approximately $100M in annual spend. You will develop category strategies, run sourcing events, negotiate supplier contracts, and collaborate with R&D, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to ensure supply continuity and value delivery.

The role emphasizes leveraging AI and digital analytics to enhance procurement decisions and supplier performance in a manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a global, matrixed environment managing Direct Materials categories
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• Experience in a manufacturing environment
• Experience presenting recommendations to senior leadership
• Experience with RFPs, cost models, negotiations, and contracts
• Knowledge of procurement best practices and supplier performance management
• Ability to lead and drive change in a fast-paced environment
• Strong English communication skills and stakeholder engagement

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies that optimize cost, quality, and supply assurance
• Lead identification and execution of projects to improve value delivery across spend portfolio
• Lead strategic relationships with suppliers and develop supplier capabilities
• Identify continuous improvement opportunities (design to value, cost models, process mapping)
• Monitor market dynamics and pricing strategies for categories
• Lead competitive sourcing events (RFPs/RFQs) and supplier evaluations
• Negotiate terms, pricing, and contracts to protect company interests
• Maintain supplier contracts, SLAs, pricing files, and category documentation
• Bridge R&D and Procurement to align needs with category strategies
• Support P2P issues including pricing discrepancies and invoice errors

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Leadership

Communication

Analytical thinking

Collaboration

Initiative

Negotiation

Vendor management

AI tooling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field

Tools

MS Office (PowerPoint, Excel)

Sourcing tools (RFPs, cost models)

MRP systems (SAP preferred)

AI tools (Copilot, ChatGPT)

Job description

The Category Manager is responsible for the strategic management and execution of sourcing activities across multiple Direct Materials categories, representing approximately $100M in annua Flexible Packaging spend. The role develops and implements category strategies, analyzes market and commodity trends, leads sourcing events, negotiates supplier agreements, and ensures continuity of supply. Experience leveraging AI and digital analytics to enhance procurement decision making, supplier performance, and category strategy is strongly preferred. This position partners closely with Business Operations, Procurement Operations, R&D, Quality, and Supply Chain teams.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and execute category strategies that optimize cost, quality, and supply assurance
• Lead the identification and execution of projects to improve value delivery across the spend portfolio
• Lead key strategic relationships with suppliers by providing insights on how to best develop and leverage supplier capabilities to meet business needs
• Proactively identify continuous improvement opportunities to advance the category such as design to value, cost models, and process mapping
• Monitor market dynamics, supplier competitive landscape, standards, and pricing/costing strategy for categories to understand sourcing and continuous improvement opportunities
• Lead competitive sourcing events (RFPs/RFQs), supplier evaluations, and award recommendations
• Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, and contract agreements that protect company interests
• Maintain supplier contracts, SLAs, pricing files, and category documentation
• Act as the bridge between R&D and Procurement, ensuring the needs and wants of the business are reflected into the category strategies and executed as planned
• Support actions required to resolve P2P (Procure‑to‑Pay) issues, including pricing discrepancies, payment delays, and invoice errors

What we look for:

• 5+ years of experience in a global, matrixed environment managing Direct Materials categories (raw materials, chemicals, packaging, specialty materials, or similar)
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field
• Experience operating in a manufacturing environment
• Experience presenting recommendations, updates, and insights to senior leadership and effectively engaging with executive stakeholders
• Experience with Sourcing/Procurement tools and methodologies, including RFPs, Cost Models/Should Cost/Clean Sheet, Negotiations, and Contracts
• Knowledge of procurement best practices, sourcing methodologies, and supplier performance management
• Leadership – Demonstrated experience driving positive results through teams in a challenging and fast-paced environment. Assertive and diplomatic, self-directed, able to manage up and down the organization effectively, and willing to hold self and others accountable. Ability to drive change and breakthrough performance improvement across a team. Sets or influences direction beyond own area of responsibility. Drives performance improvement across company
• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving – Sorts through complex issues and proposes path to solution. Integrates information from different sources and can evaluate, interpret, and communicate it properly. Strong data analysis skills. Comfortable drawing conclusions and making recommendations with ambiguous or incomplete data
• Initiative – Identifies opportunities and drives to resolution. Sets high standards of performance for self and others. Self-starter, eager to drive improvement and change. Seeks out opportunities to learn about developments in industries and markets within area of opportunity
• Collaboration/Responsiveness – Enjoys and thrives working with others. Able to respond promptly to urgencies. Values diversity of thought. Incorporates others’ ideas into decision making
• Communication – Excellent English verbal and written skills with ability to craft message to fit intended audience at all levels within an organization both internally and externally. Experience managing and strategically influencing stakeholders and driving accountability
• Agreement Negotiation – Able to understand and negotiate supplier agreements
• Systems – Strong knowledge of MS Office, particularly PowerPoint and Excel, and MRP systems (SAP preferred)
• Experience leveraging AI tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT) to improve productivity, synthesize insights, and accelerate analysis and content development
• Travel – ability to travel up to 25%

Workplace type:

Hybrid - 3 days in the office, 2 days WFH