Category Manager

Tenneco is one of the world’s leading designer, manufacturers and marketers of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers, with approximately 78.000 team members working at more than 300 sites worldwide. Through our four business groups, Motorparts, Ride Performance, Clean Air and Powertrain, Tenneco is driving advancements in global mobility by delivering technology solutions for diversified global markets, including light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway, industrial, motorsport and the aftermarket.

This position is responsible for leading value generation, sourcing, and profitability improvement initiatives to optimize indirect and corporate spend, executes effective procurement strategies, from initial identification of procurement needs for goods and services to sustaining results. Close interaction and coordination with internal partners and external suppliers is required. 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. Assesses near-term and long term plans to establish that supplier priorities are balanced with business needs; consults with Sr. Management, and other subject matter experts to develop alternative solutions; advises on options, risks, total cost of ownership, and business impacts. The position may be based in any EMEA location, part of Tenneco Clean Air, Powertrain or Ignition Business Groups. Role reports directly to the Director of Indirect Materials & Services EMEA of the company.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Help to drive corporate indirect procurement and profit improvement, while delivering the following to the business :

o Category Planning :

 Work with corporate team, business units, and regional 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.

 Researches and provides information on Industry category trends and best practices

o 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.

 Deep dive current spend information / data to identify sourcing projects for individual subcategories, and develop an overall cost reduction plan, scorecards and continuous improvements plans

 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.

 Execute strategic sourcing best practices, and initiatives that support improvements in supplier quality, total cost effectiveness, enhanced services levels, improved coordination, delivery, pricing, lead times, payment, risk compliance and other areas as identified

o 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.

 Actively seeks ways to streamline business processes

o Supplier Relationship Management :

 Foster performance-based supplier relationships 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.

 Lead vendor risk assessments (information Security, Business continuity, Physical coordinating efforts across all stakeholders

 Negotiates and develops contract terms & Conditions including SLA & pricing

Minimum Requirements

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

Experience : Minimum of 5 years of experience in Supply Chain Management, Procurement, or similar roles.

Skills

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

We are committed to the safety and health of our employees. We adhere to social distancing recommendations and other protocols, ensuring a safe work environment for all.