Associate Director, Category Management & Capability Leadership – AI/Emerging Technology

AbbVie Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking an Associate Director of Category Management to shape global procurement strategies for AI and Emerging Technologies. You will partner with VP-level stakeholders and lead cross-functional teams, building capability playbooks, negotiation strategies, and training to achieve cost savings and strategic value.

Based in the US, the role focuses on governance, risk management, supplier collaboration, and long-term procurement excellence within a dynamic, regulatory environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, technology, or related field.
• 10+ years of procurement/supply chain experience with leadership in category teams.
• Strong negotiation and bidding experience with complex projects.
• Excellent internal stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership.
• Ability to leverage market intelligence and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Partner with VP-level stakeholders to develop global procurement strategies for AI and Emerging Technologies.
• Drive innovation and lead complex procurement programs from strategy to implementation.
• Create capability playbook and negotiation strategies for the procurement team.
• Develop SRM strategies and risk management across categories.
• Lead end-to-end procurement from sourcing to contract execution.
• Drive use cases adoption for competitive advantage.
• Coach and train teams to ensure capability strategy is executed.

Skills

Strategic procurement

Category management

Stakeholder management

SRM

Data analytics

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, technology, or related field

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.

For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

The Associate Director, Category Management partners with VP-level business or functional stakeholder(s) to develop global procurement strategies, contributing to a cross-functional team that informs strategy through analysis, market expertise, and understanding of broader business objectives. This role builds a capability strategic plan and playbook to enable procurement best practices in this highly complex and changing environment. Specific Categories and Capabilities within leadership are Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies amongst other technologies and services as required.

Responsibilities

• Partner with VP-level business or functional stakeholders to develop global procurement strategies for AI and Emerging Technologies in alignment with the internal governance, stage gate processes, approvals, and risk/regulatory requirements.
• Drive Innovation/Thought Leadership and lead complex programs, initiatives from strategy through implementation. Orchestrate procurement projects with a strategic lens, ensuring they are not only aligned with overarching business objectives but also contribute to the long-term strategic vision.
• Create comprehensive capability playbook, negotiation strategy and deployment training for the procurement team keeping with trends and market analysis to ensure is continuous evolving
• Ensure education and governance of capabilities are aligned and continuously evolving
• Contribute to a cross-functional team that informs strategic decision-making by leveraging market intelligence, staying abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and market dynamics.
• Define and develop strategic value drivers with key category suppliers to secure collaborative partnerships that challenge the status quo to achieve cost savings, optimize processes, and enhance overall procurement value.
• Integrate sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures into category strategies, collaborating with suppliers to enhance sustainable and responsible sourcing practices.
• Lead Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) strategies, driving innovation with key category suppliers and collaborating to enact creative and cutting-edge solutions that deliver on long-term business needs. Develop and activate mitigation strategies to proactively define and manage procurement risk across the relevant category, ensuring compliance.
• Lead the large and complex supplier roadmaps, strategies, programs and negotiations.
• Ensure effective project management from initiation to completion, directing and guiding cross-functional teams to deliver strategic category-related projects. Identify opportunities for process optimization and efficiency gains, leveraging data analytics to develop long-term continuous improvement programs that achieve strategic objectives.
• Drive the end-to-end procurement process from sourcing strategy to contract negotiation and execution, leading negotiations with key category suppliers and strengthening decisions with strong analytical insight and strategic perspective.
• Drive use cases and use case adoption for competitive edge, speed, quality and market place advantages.
• Player – Coach mindset and activities from business partnering, consulting, project/program leadership and training to ensure the capability strategy is pulled through.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Mgmt, Technology or related field. Master’s degree is preferred or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, technology, consulting or related business or operations function. Previous experience leading category teams, IT teams, consulting, partnering with major suppliers, and reporting to senior leaders. Strong proficiency in developing high-impact executive-level deliverables.
• Comprehensive expertise in category management, including market analysis, cost and financial assessment, ensuring strategic and informed procurement decisions. Fluency in negotiation and bidding, adept in overseeing complex projects with a focus on effective change management.
• Strong capabilities in internal stakeholder management and influence, aligning procurement strategies with business needs and fostering collaborative supplier relationships.
• Strategic thinking and accountability, anticipating future trends, and taking responsibility for impactful procurement outcomes that challenge the status quo.
• Innovative problem‑solving skills combined with a significant executive presence, enabling creative solutions and influential communication at all organizational levels. High cross‑functional leadership abilities, conflict resolution skills, effectively navigating & harmonizing diverse team dynamics.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, facilitating empathetic interactions, effective communication and robust relationship‑building across a matrixed organization. High resilience under pressure and autonomous work ethic, maintaining performance in challenging situations and making independent decisions.

Additional Information

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
• This job is eligible to participate in our long‑term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company’s sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html