Advance your career at Liberty Mutual Insurance- A Fortune 100 Company! We are seeking a Senior Manager, Category Strategy to lead engagement with key stakeholders supporting our Auto category.  This role will focus on achieving business objectives through strategic spend and supplier management as well as innovation in Auto, Claims, Data and Technology. This role will be responsible for development and advancement of one or more categories and supplier spend management strategies that support key business objectives / priorities and result in significant cost savings, service/quality and process improvements within categories. The Category Strategist will be the category leader and key stakeholder relationship manager for assigned categories. This position will act as an advocate and change-manager for the value of Procurement throughout assigned Functional Areas and Business Groups by demonstrating category knowledge, adding value and educating stakeholders on Strategic Sourcing process. The role will work closely with key stakeholders to develop effective cost reduction strategies and implement plans. This role will lead cross-functional, non-reporting teams, as well as direct supervision of procurement team members.  Experience in insurance, claims, data and/or technology is a plus.
Responsibilities:

• Develop relationships and work with key business partners to understand strategic direction, supply requirements and corporate business objectives and priorities.
• Work collaboratively with Functional Area and Business Group partners to conduct opportunity identification and prioritization
• Develop and execute multi -year category planning process to develop opportunity pipelines. Identify and prioritize sourcing initiatives within the categories through Category planning process for annual plan.
• Develop category/ sourcing strategies and lead/coordinate negotiation for a variety of assigned product and service areas.  
• Build reputation as a subject matter expert for assigned product and service areas.
• Lead/participate in cross-functional teams in the development of sourcing strategies. Steps in the process include:
• Internal assessments of Company current and future needs; assessments of market trends and supply base;
• Understanding of supplier economics, agreement on optimal relationship between Company and prospective suppliers;
• Assessment of total cost of ownership and opportunities to leverage changes in process, systems and products to lower that cost;
• Working closely with the stakeholders to establish and execute the sourcing strategy, which will include development and implementation of communication strategies for key stakeholders on overall process, timing and end products
• Develop TCO reduction strategy in to a Business case, get stakeholder Buy in and create execution plan.
• Drive early engagement of Procurement organization; drive expanded scope of influence and increase spend under management.
• Proactively manage supplier performance through disciplined and collaborative feedback channels.
• Provide guidance on monitoring supplier performance against contractual terms and conditions, assess supplier financial health and develop risk mitigation plans for critical and preferred suppliers.
• Drive and measure annual productivity improvements in the category through establishment of key performance metrics and tracking of results.
• Responsibility Oversight:
  1. Manages at least USD $200-400M
  2. Category Complexity: Medium/High
  3. Effectively manage several projects and associated resources to generate at least 5-10% in cost benefit annually

 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor`s degree (preferably in Business) or equivalent experience. At least10 years experience in related field. Deep understanding of assigned categories, supply markets, suppliers and products preferred.
• Understanding of Six Sigma and Project Management methodologies.
• Experience interacting with and defending positions with stakeholders and senior management. Leads through empowerment and instills sense of responsibility and self-discipline in subordinates.
• Effectively influences, collaborates, and partners with business leaders to drive results.
• Develops solutions to complex problems. Regularly uses ingenuity and innovation to develop solutions that are consistent with organization objectives.
• Very strong analytic and negotiation skills.
• Superior communications, interpersonal and presentation skills with strong influencing and persuasive abilities.
• Expertise in MS Office including Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Working knowledge of online sourcing tools (ideally Ariba), SharePoint and Connect.

Benefits:

  We value your hard work, integrity and commitment to positive change. In return for your service, it's our privilege to offer you benefits and rewards that support your life and well-being. To learn more about our benefit offerings please visit: https://LMI.co/Benefits

 

Overview: 

At Liberty Mutual, we give motivated, accomplished professionals the opportunity to help us redefine what insurance means; to work for a global leader with a deep sense of humanity and a focus on improving and protecting everyday lives.  We create an inspired, collaborative environment, where people can take ownership of their work; push breakthrough ideas; and feel confident that their contributions will be valued and their growth championed.

 

We're dedicated to doing the right thing for our employees, because we know that their fulfillment and success leads us to great places. Life. Happiness. Innovation. Impact. Advancement. Whatever their pursuit, talented people find their path at Liberty Mutual.