From farm to table, The Wonderful Company is a privately held $5 billion company committed to offering high-quality, healthy, and iconic brands such as Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Halos, FIJI Water, and POM Wonderful. We're looking to make the world a healthier place through an uncompromising commitment our products and to the well-being of our employees and their families.

The Category Manager will spearhead efforts to reduce the total cost of ownership of new and existing plant equipment across The Wonderful Company’s iconic brands. A newly created position, the Category Manager, will be an essential part of the team working on hundreds of millions of plant investment planned in the coming years.

In partnership with business unit operations and procurement teams, the Category Manager will create and execute a best-in-class strategy for the category. To realize this vision, the Category Manager will manage a wide array of cross-functional and cross-unit projects to optimize the company’s approach to equipment, service, maintenance, and disposition.

The position will be the subject matter expert for plant equipment maintenance procurement—strong technical knowledge, experience leading maintenance teams, and ability to build relationships with procurement, operations, and capital projects teams are essential. Overall spend responsibility will exceed $50 million annually.

• Develop short-term and long-term category specific global strategies that align with the Company goals for reducing costs and meeting financial expectation, while managing supplier relationships
• Advise teams on optimal approaches to minimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) while maintaining reliability and safety. Build sophistication of units’ approach to equipment purchasing throughout equipment lifecycle. Support adoption of analytical tools such as should-cost modeling, make vs buy analyses
• Identify opportunities to leverage spend, rationalize vendors, identify alternatives to OEM parts, and standardize equipment / parts. Collaborate with teams across the enterprise to get buy-in, formulate plans, and execute on these opportunities
• Work closely with the company’s Asia-based sourcing team to identify new potential sources, coordinating testing, supporting ordering / logistics, & following-up on issues
• Collaborate with MDM, IT, and Analytics teams to prioritize needs and work towards the best-in-class approach to MRO and equipment data. Support business teams in leveraging and enriching data
• Lead team assessing potential approaches to and benefits of sharing warehouse space and spare parts inventories across units
• Advise teams on best practices with respect to spare parts inventory management and policies, including controls, setup processes, min/max levels, seasonality, consignment/VMI, and segmentation
• Lead negotiations and contracting process for spare parts purchases, service and maintenance agreements. Provide input as needed in capex equipment purchases. Ensure that suppliers are complying with the terms of their agreements. Collaborate with business unit teams to determine how to handle upcoming contract expirations. Renegotiate OEM spare parts and maintenance agreements, as required
• Interact with stakeholders to develop, engage and lead supplier relationships for extracting the greatest value in supplier quality, total cost effectiveness, enhanced service levels, risk management, sustainability, and innovation. Oversee the ongoing performance of our suppliers including objective setting, scorecard management and ongoing relationship management
• Lead cross-functional meetings with various business units and develop a communication strategy to keep stakeholders informed about procurement processes, supplier strategy, and procurement policies
• Execute category strategies including development and execution of RFI’s and RFP’s, document bid events through correspondence to suppliers; develop selection criteria and drive the selection and approval process of suppliers in collaboration with cross-functional teams; conducts supplier negotiations and ongoing supplier management. Develop negotiation strategies, gain alignment from stakeholders, lead cross-functional, category-based negotiation teams, and implement appropriate supplier risk analysis
• Effectively document, communicate, and gain buy-in for the strategies from local executive leadership, and global procurement organization. Prepare supplier recommendations for decision-making by Company Purchasing Board and executive level
• Work with various business stakeholder groups to identify and qualify suppliers, initiate requests for proposals/quotations, advise requestors with respect to contract terms and conditions

• Minium of 5 years of experience leading maintenance teams and/or managing the MRO category in a complex plant / production environment.
• Degree in Engineering or other related technical field preferred
• Experience maintaining and/or procuring parts for relevant equipment, including (but not limited to):
  • Produce: Roasters, Hullers, Sorters, Graders, Pattern Packers, 
  • Beverage: Beverage Fillers and Cappers, Pressure Sensitive Labeling
  • Packaging: Injection Blow Molding, Case Forming Equipment, Case Packing, Shrink Wrapping, Palletizers
• Experience with coding / classification standards for parts and spend (e.g. UNSPSC, IMA)
• Experience managing vendors and negotiating agreements for equipment purchases and service
• Demonstrated experience in managing multiple projects across different areas of the business.
• Demonstrated experience in developing, using and presenting financial information to get consensus and elicit buy-in for data-based decisions. Incorporates qualitative factors appropriate for the decision making.
• Strong customer service mindset. Engages stakeholders and decision makers appropriately,
• Exceptionally strong written/verbal communication skills.
• Advanced computer skills including proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and PowerPoint).
• Ability to perform duties and responsibilities in a manner consistent with the company’s values.
• Experienced in negotiation, RFQ development and execution.
• Experienced in purchasing/procurement activities such as tenders, negotiations and contracts.
• Experience with complex contract negotiations including facilitating Legal reviews of contract terms and conditions.
• Knowledgeable in benchmarking, indexes and competitive data.
• Strong commercial acumen.
• Strong Supplier Relationship Management skills.
• Change agent with ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Innovative thinker with problem solving experience in reducing total costs, improving processes, and reducing supplier risk.

Competitive benefits package including Medical (including 24/7 online access to a physician), Vision, Dental and 401k with match eligibility

• Opportunities for development and internal mobility
• Manager and leadership training, biweekly L&OD webinars, and eLearning offerings
• Companywide problem solving and continuous improvement training
• Wonderful Giving (wonderfulgiving.com) - allowing you to donate company money to a cause of your choice
• Company focus on health and wellness including WonderfulNow, a robust suite of company wellness offerings focused on supporting our employees

Headquartered in Los Angeles, The Wonderful Company is a privately held $5 billion company dedicated to harvesting health around the world through its iconic consumer brands. The company's 10,000 employees worldwide are committed to bringing consumers everywhere the freshest, most wholesome pistachios, citrus and pomegranates; bottling the finest water and wines; and creating colorful bouquets that are sure to touch the heart. This commitment is reflected in the company's market share: Wonderful Pistachios® is America's No. 1 tree nut and America's fastest-growing snack; Wonderful® Halos® is the No. 1 mandarin orange in America; POM Wonderful® is the No. 1 100% pomegranate brand in America; FIJI® Water is America's No. 1 premium imported bottled water brand; JUSTIN® Wine has the No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon in California; and Teleflora® is the world's leading floral delivery service.

The Wonderful Company's connection to consumers has health at its heart and giving back at its core. The company has a long-standing commitment to corporate social responsibility, including more than $1 billion invested in environmental sustainability; $65 million in charitable giving, education initiatives, and innovative health and wellness programs each year; and $143 million toward the construction of two charter school campuses in California's Central Valley.

To learn more about The Wonderful Company, its products and its core values, visit www.wonderful.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To view the current Corporate Social Responsibility report, visit www.wonderful.com/csr.

The Wonderful Company is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

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