Senior Category Strategist

Company: Alliance Data card services - Know More Sell More
Location: Columbus
Posted on: September 16, 2020

Job Description:

Alliance Data develops market-leading private label, co-brand, and business credit card programs for many of the world's most recognizable brands. As one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For in the US and consistently recognized as a best place to work in markets we serve, our associates choose us as an employer to feel appreciated, accepted, valued and fulfilled - both personally and professionally. That's why we are driven to grow - seeking a diverse mix of individuals who will propel the company forward through challenging, enriching experiences that enable our associates, and our organization, to grow together--.Title: Senior Category StrategistLocation: Columbus--Job SummaryGlobal Sourcing partners with internal team members and external suppliers of goods and services to ensure optimized cost, favorable contractual business terms, statements of work that that ensure successful services engagements, and overall risk mitigation related to the use of third parties to fulfill both direct and indirect procurement objectives for the organization. The Senior Category Strategist works with minimal supervision to develop, champion, implement, and communicate strategies aligned with business requirements, while maximizing optimized value from the overall spend. This position oversees many categories including, but not limited to IT, Facilities, HR, Travel, etc. and will report directly to a Senior Manager or Director in the organization.?--Job DescriptionEssential Job Functions--Category Strategy:--On-going planning and analyzing--for--multiple categories,--using internal and external--category spend--data, market trends and--insights.--Assess future business needs of--the business, and align--with the overall objectives of the enterprise--to determine an appropriate multi-year category strategy.--Develop robust category strategy that identifies key areas of opportunities - leverage value benchmarks and other key metrics (i.e. % spend under management, % of contract compliance, total savings and savings as a % of spend, category coverage, etc.).--Adapt category strategies--and collaborate with--primary decision makers--in the business to determine course of direction.--Adapt and manage initiatives across multiple categories and strategies.--Develop forward-looking category strategies based on enterprise spend trends and--changing external market trends.--Build, manage and drive category pipelines through analyzing and deciphering spend data.----Relationship Management:--Collaborate with both internal and external procurement stakeholders, while fostering long-term partnerships.--Share--information, best practices and lessons learned. Influence and drive opportunity at higher levels of management (for presentation to--Sr. Manager, Director, VP level).--Prepare, coordinate, and present assigned category reviews with--stakeholders and leadership, as required.--Collaborate with--business--constituencies--on certain categories to achieve economies of scale and drive higher operational efficiency.--Establish measures and methods to monitor and ensure continuous improvement for key suppliers.--Leverage relationships within the organization to build support for procurement initiatives or address challenging situations.--Understand organization structure, procurement transactions, trends and supply market conditions and develop strategies that can be--successfully--implemented.--Master the use of--professional verbal, written, and presentation skills when working with internal and external partners.----Initiative Support:--Develop and implement strategies to track and monitor the progress of the initiatives across categories--to ensure savings are achieved.--Devise methodology(ies)--to calculate and track savings achieved for the different initiatives.--Participate in sharing information, best practices and lessons learned.--Translate analytical findings into insights or strategies that can be implemented with our lines of business to meet key company objectives and/ or savings targets.--Report spend analysis opportunities and develop strategy plans to implement new initiatives to senior leadership to drive change?.----Contract Management:--Manage the commercial issues relating to contracts (SOW, SLA development, etc.) payments and non-performance and support the business--with knowledge related to--commercial issues--in--contracts.?Lead or coach?internal constituents on--the--full sourcing process which includes strategy development, supplier selection, negotiation and contract execution. Project Management:--Drive project closure from a procurement perspective, escalating--issues--at--appropriate times--to ensure resolution among stakeholders and/ or suppliers.--Build and maintain relationships with project teams--based on category analysis.--Assist with other projects, as requested.--Identify, prioritize, plan and execute analytical work that delivers insights across all spend categories in line with the (leveraging data from various systems including OBIEE, Concur, etc.)?.--Take in multiple components of consideration and demonstrate an analytical mindset to thoroughly explore all considerations before--coming to--logical or--multiple--rational--conclusions--for which a final path is chosen. Present information--and findings--in a professional and articulate manner to leadership.------Procurement--Support:--Support the procurement process for:?Develop of--RFX's,?Identify suppliers to--include in the RFX----process,?Develop evaluation methodologies for the submitted responses,?Communicate with stakeholders--regarding--preferences to be considered during supplier selection,--Act as primary point of contact for suppliers during the selection process,--Communicate with suppliers during the RFX--process, Respond to questions/concerns raised,--Communicate and schedule supplier demos based on stakeholder and supplier availability. Drive the agenda of the demos to ensure stakeholders see what the solution is offering and how it fits with their unique needs.--Use procurement tools and templates competitive bidding and supplier scorecards,--the provided tools--for spend analytics and PeopleSoft financials to establish and compare various options available for the client organization.------Reports to:--Senior--Manager or above----Working Conditions/ Physical Requirements:----Normal office environment, some travel may be required.----This job requires that you are able to sit for up to 7 hours in an 8-hour day while using a computer and/or telephone, and to lift up to 10 pounds,--as necessary.----Direct Reports:--none----Minimum Requirements:----Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience----Area of Study:----Finance, Business Administration, Business Analytics, Procurement, Project Management----Seven or more years--understanding budget cycles, lowest cost of ownership, lease/buy analyses,--analytics tools such as OBIEE, Tableau,--Expert level Excel user (pivot tables, Macros, etc.)----Preferred--Requirements:--Masters--in Business--Administration,--Finance,--Business Analytics, Procurement, Project Management----Seven or more years--experience--in a banking, insurance or other regulatory--environment------Education Requirements:--Bachelor's Degree (Required)--Work Experience--Seven or more years--Skills--Budgeting Finance, Category Strategy, Change Management, Contract Management, Excel Pivot Tables, Finance, Financial Analysis, Lease Analysis, Microsoft Excel Macros, Oracle OBIEE, Procurements, Project Management, Risk Management, Spend Analysis, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)--To--learn more, visit www.KnowMoreSellMore.com/careers

Keywords: Alliance Data card services - Know More Sell More, Columbus , Senior Category Strategist, Accounting, Auditing , Columbus, Ohio