Procurement Category Manager

Your Job

As a Procurement Category Manager, you will support the execution of global sourcing and procurement strategies while independently managing supplier relationships, category initiatives, and costsaving opportunities. This role partners closely with global procurement teams and crossfunctional stakeholders to optimize supplier performance, material availability, and total cost of ownership across the business.

Our Team

You will work as part of the global Procurement and Supply Chain organization, collaborating with Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations, and regional procurement teams across the Americas, UK, Europe, and APAC. The team is focused on building resilient supplier networks, driving continuous improvement, and enabling business growth.

What You Will Do

• Support the Global Procurement Manager in delivering sourcing and procurement strategies aligned with business objectives
• Identify, source, and develop new and existing suppliers to drive cost, capacity, and performance benefits
• Manage RFQ processes and Product Price Variance (PPV) activities to support sound commercial purchasing decisions
• Partner crossfunctionally with operations, engineering, and new product development teams to build a balanced and agile supplier portfolio
• Support supplier onboarding, maintain the Global Approved Vendor List (AVL), and ensure alignment with ESG requirements
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders across regions and functions
• Develop and manage supplier relationships through regular communication, feedback, and performance reviews
• Support delivery of key KPIs including OTIF/OTD, sales revenue, DHOP, PPV, working capital plans, and leadtime reduction
• Assist in resolving supply constraints and critical shortages through effective stakeholder communication
• Support supplier performance monitoring, improvement plans, and scorecards
• Participate in supplier capability and capacity assessments, including onsite evaluations
• Support Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), reporting, and procurement performance updates
• Identify and implement alternative sources of supply to mitigate material risks
• Prepare progress, costsavings, and financial procurement reports as required

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in sourcing, purchasing, or buyer roles, including cost management and negotiation
• Experience working to tight deadlines in a fastpaced, resultsdriven environment
• Global mindset with experience working with suppliers or teams across APAC, UK, Europe, and the Americas
• Knowledge of international trade, tariffs, and global sourcing considerations
• Strong ability to influence and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and Microsoft Teams
• Willingness to travel approximately 15-20%

What Will Put You Ahead

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Economics, or a related field
• Experience supporting category strategies, supplier business reviews, and market trend analysis
• Demonstrated success driving costreduction and processimprovement initiatives
• Experience administering supplier scorecards and supporting continuous improvement programs
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problemsolving skills
• Ability to drive change and process improvements across global teams

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are
With a strong legacy of engineering excellence, Smiths Interconnect, a Molex company, is part of Molex's Aerospace & Defense Solutions Division and represents the Signal Technologies business unit. Smiths Interconnect delivers missioncritical connectivity solutions-including ruggedized connectors, cable assemblies, Fiber & RF, and highreliability technologies-designed to perform in the most demanding environments. From aerospace and defense to space, medical, and industrial applications, our innovative products enable reliability where it matters most. Join a passionate, global team helping shape the future of highreliability interconnect solutions.

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aqui, or tu).