Senior Category Manager

At Tenneco, we don’t follow industry standards; we set them, and we don’t settle for being best-in-class because we hustle to be better than best-in-class. Whether it’s our Core Values – radical candor, simplify, organizational velocity, tenacious execution and win – or our Get Stuff Done (GSD) mindset, we’re determined to become the most trusted partner and best manufacturer and distributor to the transportation industry.

With a product portfolio as expansive as it is innovative, an obsessive commitment to quality and excellence, and a global presence, we’re all about getting stuff done, so we can win.

How do we make it happen? Through the Tenneco Way. Fueled by our Core Values, a winning mindset and a relentless commitment to excellence, the Tenneco Way is how we win. It’s what keeps Team Tenneco bold, driven, and unapologetically focused on pushing past limits and redefining success.

Here, you’ll work alongside a team of relentless problem-solvers who are committed to making a tangible impact. If you’re ready to break boundaries, deliver results, and enjoy the ride along the way, you’ll thrive here.

Want to learn more about who we are? Check out our website to discover the Tenneco Way

This position is responsible for the global category management of a portion of the MRO goods and services spend across Tenneco leading value generation, sourcing, and profitability improvement initiatives. This role requires a strategic thinker with strong negotiation skills, an analytical mindset, and the ability to build effective relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders.  Success will be measured on spend addressed, savings achieved, and working capital impact. The central challenge of the position is to capture value from indirect spend categories while meeting key business objectives such as service, quality, timing, and security of supply.  The position may be based in the United States or Europe and reports directly to the Vice President, Indirect Procurement of the company.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• • Category Planning:
    • Work with the business units and global stakeholders to prioritize an evolving portfolio of high-value process improvement and sourcing initiatives.
    • Serve as a full partner to the business in evaluating and challenging the status quo to surface value opportunities.
    • Lead the aggregation, normalization, and analysis of spend data to identify potential value opportunities. 
    • Ensure proper sequencing and business support for value capture initiatives.

• • Sourcing and Contracting:
    • Drive sourcing projects emerging from category planning.
    • Define goals, including roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
    • Incorporate business requirements into sourcing plans and RFP strategies.
    • Manage the planning and launch of RFx events, leveraging eSourcing tools as appropriate. 
    • Enhance competition by leveraging spend and qualified new suppliers.
    • Coordinate and lead negotiations; help stakeholders understand trade‐offs and benefits of negotiation strategies/outcomes.
    • Develop global/regional contracts that are commercially sound and provide optimum protection of company assets. Develop comprehensive implementation with stakeholders and end users.
    • Quantify and report both identified and implemented sourcing project results.

• • Process Improvement:
    • Identify and capture profit improvement opportunities beyond leveraged sourcing, e.g., demand management opportunities, insource versus outsource decisions, efficiencies in the company’s comprehensive supply chain, and/or other strategic and operational process improvements.
    • Ensure appropriate cross-functional partnering on process improvement projects.
    • Track and work with corporate finance to report results for identified projects and when applicable, work with other functions across company to replicate projects with positive results.

• • Supplier Relationship Management:
    • Foster relationships with suppliers to create short-term and long-term value for the company.
    • Lead global business reviews with strategic suppliers to ensure performance against contracted obligations and business unit expectations.
    • Anticipate and minimize performance issues via use of key performance indicators (KPIs).
    • When performance issues emerge, identify root causes and drive for efficient resolution of issues at hand by working across both internal and external stakeholders.

Minimum Requirements

Education:  Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, engineering, or related field.  MBA or other advance degree preferred

Experience: 5 to 10 years of experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, or similar roles

Skills

• Expert-level financial and analytical skills; embraces fact‐based decision making; naturally seeks to leverage and/or integrate market data, spend analytics, and cost modeling. 
• In-depth experience with world-class strategic sourcing and category management practices, including e-Sourcing.
• Self-confidence and clarity of expression to lead discussions with internal executive audiences, and challenge current practices.
• Hands-on experience leading multi-regional or global initiatives.
• Proficient in relevant supply chain and business software, such as SAP and ERP programs.
• Experience managing indirect spend categories using multi-step strategic sourcing processes, especially in MRO.
• Track record of managing change through influence; capable of driving major commercial decisions across a diverse set of internal stakeholders. 
• Strong project management skills, including stakeholder, timeline, and meeting management skills.
• Strong negotiation skills; expert understanding of terms, conditions, and contracting techniques for managing risk.
• Excellent communication skills, including written, verbal and presentation skills; comfortable and credible with both internal stakeholders and external audiences. 
• Able to work up, down, and across a large organization; connects at all levels, i.e., operations, management, executives.
• A flexible, dynamic, self-demanding and proactive individual; able to motivate him/herself and others; easily accepts constructive input from others.

Equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities