Category Manager, Procurement Category - Houston | Amazon Job

Job Description

At Amazon, we're working to be the most customer-centric company on earth. To get there, we need exceptionally talented, bright, and driven people. If you'd like to help us build the place to find and buy anything online, this is your chance to make history.

Amazon’s Global Procurement Organization (GPO) Capex Category team is responsible for the strategy, development, and execution of sourcing activity related to integrated material handling equipment (MHE) systems. As our Global Sourcing team continues to grow, we are seeking a Category Manager to partner with internal business owners and key stakeholders to drive procurement and operational value for Amazon. This role leads the development and execution of capital sourcing strategies for MHE systems and/or critical components and projects. Our Category Managers drive efficiencies in procurement strategy and commercial pricing, enable engineering efficiencies through effective partnership with Amazon’s design teams, and support Amazon’s long-term business interests through partnership with other teams within GPO, Capital Planning, Project Management Organization (PMO), Worldwide Design Engineering (WWDE), Finance, Global Engineering Services (GES) Operations Engineering (Ops Eng.), and Reliability and Maintenance Engineering (RME).

The primary objectives of the Category team are to work with GPO's Supplier Management team to ensure adequate MHE Integrator capacity exists to support Amazon’s business requirements and to develop and execute strategies that keep the procurement of critical MHE resources, products, and services off the critical path.

The nature of this scope requires a Category Manager to work across organizations and influence internal and external stakeholders. Internally, the Category Manager works with stakeholders to drive strategy, enable execution, and identify and mitigate risks. Externally, this role serves as one of the primary supplier-facing roles and is responsible for ensuring Amazon’s policies are adhered to and interests are achieved.

This role is expected to operate both at the tactical and strategic level.

Key job responsibilities
- Lead, supported by GPO Category leadership, the development and execution of MHE sourcing strategies for Amazon’s Customer Fulfillment, Transportation Services, Air, and/or Specialty Fulfillment network. Support common (standard work), including the supplier development process, supplier selection process, proposal solicitation, review, and negotiations process, and continued managed expansion of the supplier base.
- Develop and nurture strong strategic relationships with key suppliers and business partners to deliver, seeking to continually raise the bar, their performance objectives for the business.
- Support multi-year strategic plans for material handling spend and supplier base development, including implementation of plans to maximize supplier performance: capacity, cost, quality, delivery, and safety.
- Facilitate suppliers’ understanding of Amazon policies, equipment design standards, budget and cost targets, and service and quality expectations.
- Develop and utilize improved metrics and data driving decision making capabilities to improve overall organizational capability through systems and processes and drive continuous improvement and value engineering initiatives throughout the organization.

About the team
Our Global Category team manages the procurement lifecycle of complex projects necessary to support Amazon’s growth and customer commitments. This work includes initial project planning based on Amazon’s Plan of Record (POR), development of sourcing strategies, Capital Expenditure estimates, the solicitation of firm pricing proposals, and proposal analysis, review, and acceptance, culminating in issuance of Amazon Purchase Orders (POs) for services. Post-PO, our team serves as a critical resource resolving commercial escalations and supplier issues, partnering closely with GPO's Supplier Management team and the GES Operations Engineering team.

Basic Qualifications:

- Experience being responsible/leading large and complex negotiations
- Experience in complex problem solving, and working in a tight schedule environment
- 3+ years of working cross functionally with tech and non-tech teams experience
- 3+ years of defining and implementing process improvement initiatives using data and metrics experience
- Bachelor's degree
- Knowledge of Excel at an intermediate level (e.g., pivot tables & charts, multiple criteria lookups, nested logical/IF formulas, data cleansing, array formulas, etc.)
- Strategic Sourcing and Category Management: Proven experience in developing, executing, and managing comprehensive, end-to-end category strategies, understanding global market dynamics, assessing supply chain risks, and consolidating corporate spend to effectively minimize the total cost of ownership (TCO) while securing long-term business value.

Preferred Qualifications:

- 5+ years of driving end to end delivery, and communicating results to senior leadership experience
- 3+ years of driving process improvements experience
- Experience in stakeholder management, dealing with multiple stakeholders at varied levels of the organization
- Experience building processes, project management, and schedules
- Knowledge of Microsoft Excel at an advanced level, including: pivot tables, macros, index/match, vlookup, VBA, data links, etc.

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

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