Senior Category Management Analyst

About the Opportunity

The Procure-to-Pay (P2P) department's primary goal is to delight customers, optimize service offerings, deploy leading P2P capabilities, and execute with agility and a global mindset.

As a Senior Category Management Analyst, you will be responsible for assisting the Category Management function within the P2P department in the development and maintenance of a multi-year category plan, including the planning and execution of strategic sourcing projects for assigned spend commodities.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Category Management, you will collaborate with cross-functional and regional teams across Northeastern University's global network of campuses to develop, plan, and execute on category plan initiatives to deliver best value to the university, including managing competitive bid events, facilitating supplier selection, and negotiating business terms. You will also be responsible for building and managing internal business relationships by providing guidance and expertise on category best practices, including supplier discovery and selection, industry insights, negotiation strategies, and contracting. Lastly, you will work closely on communication and change management efforts associated with executed projects, in addition to managing a supplier performance program within assigned, centrally managed spend categories.

You will be part of an exciting new team in a fast-paced, global environment which will require a self-starter mindset, flexibility, agility, and willingness to multi-task and pivot as business needs change and emerge. As the team grows its influence, your contributions and demonstrated success will provide ample growth opportunities, especially for Category Management positions on the team.

Required

• Bachelor's degree and 5+ years of relevant sourcing and/or project management experience.

• Prior experience with category planning activities, including working collaboratively with departmental stakeholders and key leaders to regularly monitor and provide updates on progress and results.  

• Self-motivated, flexible, and agile project manager, able to prioritize, multi-task, and work horizontally and vertically across a decentralized organization to drive value.

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to influence and build "trusted advisor" relationships by delivering sound bid/pricing analysis, customer empathy, and data driven decision-making.

• Prior experience in planning and executing competitive RFx events, including pricing/bid analysis and negotiating business terms with third-party suppliers. 

• Prior experience with supplier management programs, including coordinating and facilitating periodic business reviews and developing supplier scorecards to measure performance.

• Strong presentation skills, including the development and delivery of content to update key stakeholders and executives on assigned projects and/or P2P initiatives.

• Strong data fluency with demonstrated capability to articulate data requirements to non-Procurement stakeholders and effectively utilize data to "tell a story" to build strong business cases and drive continuous improvement outcomes for assigned projects.

• Proficiency with Microsoft business programs (e.g., Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point).

Preferred

• Prior experience with e-sourcing platforms (e.g., Jaggaer Sourcing).

• Proficiency with project management and/or lean six sigma process frameworks and tools, including relevant certifications (e.g., PMP, Lean Six Sigma).

• Familiarity and experience utilizing data warehouse, data analytics, and reporting tools (e.g., Cognos, SQL, R, Python, Tableau, Power BI).

Project Management

• Lead and facilitate cross-functional category projects that comply with approved sourcing strategies and deliver best value (cost and quality) to Northeastern University.

• Develop strategies and prepare for supplier negotiations for assigned projects.

• Analyze supplier proposals and recommend appropriate next steps in the negotiation and supplier selection process.

• Negotiate price, service targets, payments terms, and other business/legal terms for contracts in assigned spend categories.

• Support and implement supplier sustainability (ESG) and diversity strategies for assigned projects.

• Lead the development and execution of change management strategies for assigned projects.

Category Planning

• Leverage university spend and contract data, market insights, and stakeholder input to provide recommended additions or adjustments to strategic priorities included in the multi-year category plan for assigned spend categories.

• Support the ongoing maintenance of the annual category plan, including reprioritized project priorities, and assisting with the periodic reporting of progress and results against established goals.

Strategic Planning and Influence

• Develop and manage internal client relationships.

• Participate in regular business reviews with key internal stakeholders to determine business needs to influence category plan.

• Report value generated from category on a regular basis, including cost savings generated from assigned projects.

• Present results to P2P leadership and other internal stakeholders, as necessary.

Supplier Management

• Support the execution of a supplier relationship management framework, to include building and deploying a supplier performance / scorecard program, and deploy cross-industry best practice, category market insight, and benchmarking.

• Proactively monitor supplier performance for assigned, centrally managed strategic suppliers utilizing periodic business reviews and/or supplier scorecards.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to assist internal business clients with supplier discovery and performance, including supplier issues and/or transitions.

Technology

• Promote use of e-Procurement tools, including Jaggaer Sourcing.

• Promote other procurement technology initiatives, including tail spend management and automated quoting.

Professional Development & Training

• Proactively develop commodity expertise and professional skills using available thought leadership resources, including industry reports, third-party consultation/subscriptions, trade associations, and conferences.

• Facilitate the development, implementation, and maintenance of processes, policies, guidelines, Standard Operating Procedures related to supplier competition and selection.

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit for more information.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:

Expected Hiring Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.