Category Manager, IT & Corporate Services

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company's innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive company, Eastman employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2024 revenue of approximately $9.4 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. For more information, visit www.eastman.com.

The Role

This is a full-time position that will report to Director, Indirect Sourcing and COE. The Sourcing Manager,

Corporate

Services and IT has primary sourcing responsibilities for Tier 1 Vendors, with leadership responsibilities for their team

supporting

Corporate

Services and IT Sourcing.

Deliverables include Tier 1 supplier engagement, leading sourcing events and conducting category management activities of spend, while maintaining/improving product quality and supplier service levels. The successful candidate will continuously apply the 4-step procurement framework to categories and identify efficiency and cost reduction opportunities in alignment with key stakeholder priorities in functional member organizations and in

corporate

functions.

Responsibilities

Oversee Information Technology and Professional Services category strategy development with a cross-functional, category team to:

Create the situation assessment for the category including internal and external assessments, analysis of the business requirements, value chain and capability assessments (SWOT, 5-Forces, SCP, cost curves, etc.)

Lead option generation that includes commercial, specification and demand levers and choices of what we will do and what we will not do

Prioritize

category strategy option execution in alignment with business, technology and manufacturing requirements

Conduct IT/Professional Services category management activities

Lead initiatives that deliver the value (cost savings or value to functional area) utilizing project management skills and change management techniques

Track the performance of spend to understand price and volume variances; make adjustments to approaches based on results.

Develop and lead supplier relationship teams, where applicable, to drive continuous performance improvement (annual target development, quarterly progress, etc)

Develop supplier engagement plans for major suppliers.

Conduct supplier development activities to identify additional potential suppliers.

Lead sourcing events for the IT and Professional Services category

Lead and conduct RFI?s and RFP?s utilizing an eRFx tool as the preferred method of engagement.

Negotiate contracts and amendments as necessary to deliver the category strategy and deliver initial and ongoing cost advantage.

Ensure pricing is managed per the contract and approve all price increase requests by suppliers.

Qualifications

Bachelors Degree required (business, engineering, science, or supply chain) with Masters Degree preferred.

A minimum of 5 years commercial experience is required.

Previous exposure to purchasing, sourcing or commercial experience such as contract negotiations, market assessments, strategy frameworks (e.g. Porter analysis, SWOT analysis, etc) is strongly preferred.

Five years project and/or program management background.

Required Skills and Capabilities

Strong ability to communicate verbally and in writing to build consensus with individuals and stakeholder groups in a variety of situations.

Experience dealing with complex vendor relationships to deliver optimum value for Eastman

Experience with Information Technology ERP Software (SAP) or Systems specification, capability, and normal commercial offer terms for large enterprises (>1000 users).

Experience with problem solving in a structured manner using data and problem-solving frameworks.

Demonstrated Capability to learn new techniques and quickly applying them (action orientation).

Experience leading cross-functional teams in challenging situations.

Eastman Chemical Company is an equal opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, pregnancy, veteran status or any other protected classes as designated by law.

Eastman is committed to creating a powerfully diverse workforce and a broadly inclusive workplace, where everyone can contribute to their fullest potential each day.