Director, Direct Procurement – Category Management

Jobtailor; Alabama; On-site; USD 170,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor seeks a senior procurement leader in the US, Alabama to drive enterprise-wide direct materials and category strategies. You will align sourcing with quality, regulatory, and financial goals, manage critical supplier relationships, and steer executive negotiations for long-term partnerships.

You will lead cross-functional teams, build risk-managed sourcing programs, and deliver value through cost optimization and supply continuity in healthcare-related categories.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, Life Sciences, Healthcare Administration, Finance, or related field required.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years progressive procurement, sourcing, category management, supply chain, or healthcare experience.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing procurement or category management teams.
• Strong knowledge of category management, supplier risk management, and contracting.
• Experience with healthcare products, medical devices, or pharmaceuticals preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute enterprise-wide direct procurement and category strategies for direct materials, components, raw materials, and more.
• Align procurement strategies with operational, commercial, quality, regulatory, and financial objectives.
• Lead strategic planning for critical raw materials and contract manufacturing categories.
• Establish sourcing strategies ensuring supply security, quality, cost competitiveness, and scalability.
• Lead supplier governance programs focused on performance, quality, capacity, and long-term alignment.
• Lead negotiations involving long-term agreements, pricing structures, and capacity commitments.
• Develop executive reporting, forecasting, and analytics on spend, supplier performance, risk, and value realization.
• Partner with Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Operations leadership on supplier compliance.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytics

ERP systems

MS Excel & PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain / related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

ERP Systems

Procurement Systems

Reporting Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

• Develop and execute enterprise-wide direct procurement and category strategies for direct materials, components, raw materials, contract manufacturing, finished goods, packaging, and other production-related spend
• Align procurement strategies with operational, commercial, quality, regulatory, and financial objectives
• Lead strategic planning for critical raw materials, components, packaging, finished goods, and contract manufacturing categories
• Establish sourcing strategies ensuring supply security, quality performance, cost competitiveness, and scalability
• Lead supply continuity strategies for critical healthcare products and production inputs
• Develop dual-sourcing, risk mitigation, inventory, and capacity planning strategies
• Monitor supplier markets, global supply risks, geopolitical developments, and industry trends
• Plan responses to shortages, disruptions, recalls, and market volatility
• Oversee category strategy development and execution across direct spend categories
• Drive category optimization through market intelligence, supplier segmentation, should-cost modeling, and total-cost analyses
• Identify sourcing opportunities supporting innovation, product development, and operational efficiency
• Lead complex strategic sourcing initiatives and executive-level commercial negotiations
• Establish executive relationships with strategic suppliers and manufacturing partners
• Lead supplier governance programs focused on performance, innovation, quality, capacity, and long-term alignment
• Conduct executive business reviews with critical suppliers
• Collaborate with suppliers to improve service, responsiveness, product quality, and innovation
• Partner with Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Operations leadership on supplier compliance
• Support supplier qualification, audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement
• Ensure sourcing strategies align with healthcare quality standards, regulatory requirements, and patient safety expectations
• Participate in supplier escalation, remediation, and recovery activities
• Drive value creation through cost optimization, productivity initiatives, specification management, demand planning alignment, and supplier innovation
• Support margin improvement while maintaining quality and supply continuity
• Develop executive reporting, forecasting, and analytics on spend, supplier performance, risk, and value realization
• Lead negotiations involving long-term agreements, strategic partnerships, pricing structures, and capacity commitments
• Lead and develop category managers, sourcing managers, and procurement professionals
• Build procurement capabilities in strategic sourcing, supplier management, risk management, analytics, negotiation, and leadership
• Establish a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and execution excellence
• Promote enterprise thinking and cross-functional partnership

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, Life Sciences, Healthcare Administration, Finance, or related field required
• Master's degree preferred
• 10+ years progressive procurement, sourcing, category management, supply chain, manufacturing, healthcare products, medical device, pharmaceutical, biotech, or related experience
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing procurement or category management teams
• Demonstrated success leading direct material sourcing strategies and supplier management programs
• Experience supporting manufacturing, healthcare products, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics, or distribution environments strongly preferred
• Strong knowledge of category management, supplier risk management, quality systems, supply continuity planning, contracting, and commercial negotiations
• Proven ability to influence executive stakeholders and lead enterprise-wide initiatives
• Experience leading enterprise procurement transformation initiatives
• Strong executive stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Demonstrated expertise in supplier risk management, contract negotiation, and category strategy development
• Knowledge of strategic sourcing and category management methodologies
• Knowledge of supplier relationship management and supplier performance programs
• Knowledge of direct materials procurement and manufacturing supply chains
• Knowledge of contract negotiation and commercial strategy
• Knowledge of supplier risk management, business continuity planning, and quality systems
• Knowledge of cost management, financial analysis, and value creation methodologies
• Experience with ERP and procurement systems
• Experience with supplier management and sourcing platforms
• Microsoft Office Suite, including advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills
• Experience with reporting and analytics tools
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills
• Strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities
• Team leadership, coaching, and talent development
• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive alignment
• Strong negotiation and relationship management skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a dynamic environment
• Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in developing and executing procurement strategies for direct materials and healthcare products, with a strong focus on supplier risk management, category optimization, and compliance with healthcare quality standards. Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence executive stakeholders to drive enterprise-wide initiatives.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Procurement Strategy Development
• Supplier Risk Management
• Category Management
• Contract Negotiation
• Executive Stakeholder Management

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Direct Materials Procurement
• Category Strategy Development
• Supply Chain Management
• Cost Management
• Financial Analysis
• Strategic Sourcing
• Supplier Performance Programs
• Business Continuity Planning
• Quality Systems
• Analytics

Soft Skills

• Team Leadership
• Coaching
• Influencing Skills
• Strategic Thinking
• Problem-Solving

Industry Keywords

• Healthcare Products
• Medical Devices
• Pharmaceuticals
• Biologics
• Diagnostics

Tools & Technologies

• ERP Systems
• Procurement Systems
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Reporting Tools
• Analytics Tools