Sr Buyer and Category Leader

Ashland Inc.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Category Leader – Indirect MRO / CAPEX / Site Services – Global Procurement to join our Global Procurement team.

The location is flexible and eligible for work from home, but the candidate must reside within 200 mile radius of Calvert City, KY or Texas City, TX.

This is a very visible and significant role within the Company and the procurement function.

Responsibilities

• Develop Category Strategy plans following 7 step strategic sourcing methodology and use appropriate support tools to drive results and deliver savings.
• Ensure all procurement services are met for the assigned Ashland plants, labs, and/or facilities.
• Negotiate, implement, and manage strategic contracts to ensure optimum cost and reliable supply.
• Identify opportunities for cost savings, better efficiency, and other areas of improvement; recommend and/or implement policy or process changes, as appropriate.
• Develop and deploy supply risk assessment and mitigation programs to ensure business continuity.
• Manage operational issues related to supply challenges.
• Facilitate RFP / RFQ / RFI and prepare Coupa sourcing / bidding events according to engineering specifications and/or business requirements.
• Conduct bid analysis with a cross‑functional team and award based on internal team consensus.
• Lead cross‑functional team and direct reports; manage assigned high‑value/complex spend categories directly.
• Be an active member of MRO / Site Services Leadership Team and collaborate with other leadership team members to deliver on procurement and corporate objectives.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, driving optimized value through strategic relationship management programs.
• Extract and analyze spend data from various ERP/S2P reporting tools such as Coupa, SAP, Qlik View.
• Represent as Corporate Agent: enforce regulatory compliance and corporate policies.
• Ensure strict compliance with Ashland’s Zero Incident Culture and Responsible Care Guidelines.
• Travel: limited, up to 25% for site visits, supplier visits, internal meetings, and industry conferences.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of strategic MRO / CAPEX / Site Services procurement and/or related experience.
• Bachelor’s degree preferably in an engineering discipline; MBA and/or CPSM Certification is a plus.
• Experience leading a team and directly managing complex multi‑category spend greater than $60 MM.
• Experience in the chemical or pharmaceutical industry and/or in Fortune 500 companies is a plus.
• Demonstrated knowledge of category management and use of 7SSS (Step Strategic Sourcing) methodology.
• Demonstrated knowledge of applying TCO (total cost of ownership) and other methodologies in evaluating suppliers’ proposals.
• Strong knowledge of deploying and leveraging Supplier Relationship Management programs in a global supply base.
• Demonstrated expertise in deploying supply risk assessment and mitigation programs across diverse material categories.
• Demonstrated knowledge of contracting practices and processes in a global environment.
• Strong communication, follow‑up, presentation, and teamwork skills with a sense of urgency.
• Good knowledge of Coupa and other tools such as SAP, Ariba.

The following skill sets are preferred

• Five plus years of experience dealing with senior management, leading team, and managing complex small‑value spend as well as multi‑million dollar high‑value spend/contracts.
• Experience working in diverse global cross‑functional teams in a highly matrixed environment.

Ashland is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

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