Senior Category Manager, Generic Pharmacy Purchasing

Walgreens; Deerfield (IL); On-site; USD 125,000 - 241,000; Full time

Job summary

Walgreens in Deerfield, IL seeks a senior purchasing leader responsible for ensuring favorable pharmaceutical pricing, continuous supply, and revenue/P&L oversight across multiple categories. You will lead strategic sourcing, vendor negotiations, and cross-functional collaboration to optimize assortment and profitability.

The role requires extensive experience in procurement, vendor management, and data-driven decision making, with a track record of improving margins and ensuring regulatory

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 6 years’ experience related to dispensing, handling, researching, producing, purchasing, and/or contracting of FDA approved drug products OR High School/GED with 9 years of related experience.
• At least 4 years’ experience working with cross-functional teams and managing staff, including developmental planning.
• Experience with P&L concepts including revenue, COGS, gross profit margin, operating expenses, and income.
• At least 4 years’ experience managing vendor relationships, contracts, rebates, and pricing programs.
• Experience analyzing market potential, pricing, and promotions.
• Proficient Excel, PowerPoint, and Word skills; strong data interpretation and communication abilities.
• Experience interacting with senior-level executives.

Responsibilities

• Drives the strategic purchasing process and innovative purchasing strategies.
• Oversees budgets, objectives, and cross-functional opportunities.
• Leads vendor relations and contract negotiations, ensuring performance.
• Analyzes market data to guide category direction and share growth.
• Translates insights into merchandising decisions to maximize ROI.
• Ensures quality pharmaceuticals are available and inventory is adequate.
• Supports capital utilization and item exit strategies.

Skills

P&L management

Vendor relationships

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Job description

Job Summary

Responsible managing the implementation and developing tactics to ensure that Walgreens has access to and favorable pricing of pharmaceuticals, while concurrently ensuring a continuous and uninterrupted supply, for sales through multiple channels. Responsible for managing revenue and overall profits and losses (P&L) for most complex and/or multiple groups of categories. Manages ongoing business through insight-led decision- making, assortment optimization, category marketing, continuous improvement projects and vendor management.

Job Responsibilities

• Drives the strategic purchasing process within the division. Along with recommending innovative purchasing strategies, distribution methods, packaging concepts for products, and the implementation of off invoice, rebates and service fee programs.
• Oversees and implements business plans and budgets, including long-range objectives, performance goals and metrics. Champions and leads cross-functional opportunities.
• Oversees the development of collaborative business plans with strategic, emerging, and global vendors and negotiates innovative purchasing strategies and programs. Ensures all merchandise meets established standards, and consumer and customer complaints, requests, and questions are resolved within guidelines.
• Oversees and ensures proper analysis and application of internal and external market research information, including IMS data to determine Company direction in designated categories, reasons for share increases/decreases, and plans to grow designated categories.
• Manages the translation of marketing and consumer insights into innovative assortment merchandising decisions to drive return on most complex categories.
• Leads the development of procedures to ensure quality pharmaceuticals are available to consumers, subject to
• FDA approval, and works with the Category Managers and inventory teams to ensure they are distributed and maintained at sufficient inventory levels.
• Assures the appropriate use of Corporate capital; verifies item exit strategies are in place.
• Oversees vendor contract negotiation, monitors performance; conducts regular meetings and implements improvement strategies. Works to develop and maintain positive vendor relationships.
• Endeavors to have a good supply chain from vendors to minimize supply chain interruptions.

About Walgreens

Founded in 1901, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) proudly serves nearly 9 million customers and patients each day across its approximately 8,500 stores throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Walgreens has approximately 220,000 team members, including nearly 90,000 healthcare service providers, and is committed to being the first choice for pharmacy, retail and health services, building trusted relationships that create healthier futures for customers, patients, team members and communities.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 6 years’ experience related to in dispensing, handling, researching, producing, purchasing, and/or contracting of FDA approved drug products OR High School/GED and at least 9 years of experience in dispensing, handling, researching, producing, purchasing, and/or contracting of FDA approved drug products
• At least 4 years’ of experience working collaboratively with cross-functional teams and/or managing staff, to include creating developmental plans.
• Experience working with P&L concepts, such as revenue, COGS, gross profit margin, operating expenses, and income.
• At least 4 years’ of experience managing vendor relationships, contract negotiations, rebates, terms and conditions, and/or rebates, to include identifying problems and recommending solutions.
• Experience conducting and guiding analyses of market potential evaluation, pricing, and promotions.
• Intermediate level skill in Microsoft Excel (for example: using SUM function, setting borders, setting column width, inserting charts, using text wrap, sorting, setting headers and footers and/or print scaling).
• Intermediate level skill in Microsoft PowerPoint (for example: applying a theme, formatting character spacing, inserting a picture, changing slide layout and theme colors, adding transitions, customizing slide numbers, changing chart style and/or formatting font).
• Intermediate level skill in Microsoft Word (For Example: inserting headers, page breaks, page numbers and tables and/or adjusting table columns).
• Experience interacting with internal and external senior level executives.
• At least 2 years of experience contributing to financial decisions in the workplace.
• At least 3 years of direct leadership, indirect leadership and/or cross-functional team leadership.
• Willing to travel up to 25% of the time for business purposes (within state and out of state)

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in pharmacy or MBA
• Licensure as an RpH from the recognized state licensing authority
• Advanced level skill in Microsoft Suite.

We will consider employment of qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

The Salary below is being provided to promote pay transparency and equal employment opportunities at Walgreens. The actual hourly salary within this range that you will be offered will depend on a variety of factors including geography, skills and abilities, education, experience and other relevant factors. This role will remain open until filled.

Salary Range: $125000 - $240,625.00 / Salaried