Who We Are
Johns Manville is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality insulation and commercial roofing, along with glass fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. Our products are used in a wide variety of industries including building products, aerospace, automotive and transportation, filtration, commercial interiors, waterproofing and wind energy.
A proud member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, we serve customers in more than 80 countries around the globe. We are committed to delivering positive and powerful experiences, because we are successful only when our employees and customers thrive. We are passionate, we care about people, we perform at a superior level, and we protect others and our environments.
Pay Range
This is the base salary pay range that an applicant can expect to make upon hire. Pay within this range will vary based upon relevant experience, skills, and education among other factors. In addition, this position is eligible for an incentive bonus.
The Category Manager for Chemicals & Sizings is a critical role supporting Johns Manville’s Engineered Products and Insulation Systems businesses. Managing upwards of $50M+ spend across distributed chemicals and sizings, you will shape sourcing strategy, supplier partnerships, and cost competitiveness for some of JM’s largest manufacturing facilities. This role is ideal for a strategic, analytical professional who can turn data into decisions, influence stakeholders, and build resilient supply solutions.
What Success Looks Like (and What You’ll Do to Achieve It)
Strategic Sourcing & Category Leadership
Outcome: JM maintains a cost-competitive, high-quality, and secure supply base across two business units.
Actions: Build and execute multi-year sourcing strategies; conduct market and cost-driver analyses; proactively identify risk and dual/multi-source opportunities; manage RFPs/RFQs and TCO-based award recommendations.
Measurable Value Creation & Cost Reduction
Outcome: You deliver trackable savings and productivity improvements without compromising quality or supply assurance.
Actions: Lead cost-reduction initiatives; conduct supplier workshops and should-cost reviews; standardize specifications where feasible; implement monthly scorecards and savings pipelines; drive continuous improvement.
Supplier Relationship & Performance Management
Outcome: Suppliers are collaborative, innovative, and accountable—supporting JM’s operational reliability and growth.
Actions: Negotiate high-impact contracts and SLAs; manage performance through KPIs (OTIF, quality, lead time, service, ESG metrics); escalate and resolve issues; qualify and onboard new suppliers.
Supply Assurance & Risk Mitigation
Outcome: Materials flow uninterrupted, even during volatility.
Actions: Implement risk-mitigation strategies (e.g., safety stocks, dual sourcing, alternates); monitor market shifts (feedstocks, logistics, regulatory); partner with plants and planning to maintain continuity.
Innovation, Alternatives & New Product Development (NPD) Enablement
Outcome: JM leverages supplier innovation and alternative materials/processes to improve cost, performance, and sustainability.
Actions: Partner with suppliers, R&D, and operations to evaluate alternates; support trials and qualifications; contribute to NPD gates with sourcing plans and risk assessments.
Cross-Functional Influence & Stakeholder Alignment
Outcome: The business trusts your recommendations and acts on them.
Actions: Collaborate with manufacturing, engineering, quality, finance, legal, EHS, and sustainability; communicate complex sourcing topics to non-experts; lead projects that span plants and functions.
Contracting Excellence & Compliance
Outcome: JM’s contracts protect value and reduce risk.
Actions: Draft, negotiate, and manage contracts; ensure compliance with terms (pricing, indices, quality, service, confidentiality); partner with Legal on T&Cs, IP, warranties, and change management.
Data-Driven Insights & Tools
Outcome: Clear visibility to spend, performance, risks, and opportunities.
Actions: Own category analytics (spend, PPV, usage, freight, working capital); maintain dashboards and scorecards; leverage ERP (SAP or similar) and e-sourcing tools to enable decisions.
Why You’ll Want This Role
You’ll own a high-impact category at enterprise scale, influence two core business units, negotiate with strategic suppliers, and see your work translate into plant reliability, cost leadership, and product innovation. It’s the perfect blend of strategy, analytics, leadership, and relationship-building.
Requirements (Education, Skills, and Abilities)
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree (Supply Chain, Engineering, Chemistry/Chemical Engineering, Business, Finance, or related field).
- 5+ years of supply chain or related experience with 3 years of sourcing experience (chemicals/raw materials strongly preferred).
- Proven supplier relationship management and contract negotiation experience (price mechanisms, indices, SLAs, risk and liability terms).
- Analytical strength with demonstrated ability to interpret spend data, cost drivers, and usage trends; convert insights into actionable strategies.
- Financial acumen: understand TCO, PPV, working capital/levers (payment terms, inventory), and basic cost modeling/should-cost logic.
- Communication excellence: able to present recommendations to stakeholders who may be non-technical; concise written and verbal communication.
- ERP proficiency (SAP or similar) and strong skills in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook.
- Willingness to travel ~15% (JM plants, supplier sites, industry events).
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with chemicals and sizings categories.
- Working knowledge of contract law, including commercial terms, confidentiality/IP, warranties, remedies, and governance.
- Background partnering with R&D/Engineering/Quality to qualify alternatives and support NPD.
- Experience implementing risk mitigation (dual sourcing, safety stock strategies, business continuity plans) and sustainability/ESG criteria in sourcing decisions.
Success Traits
- Strategic thinker with a bias for action; comfortable setting direction and executing.
- Influential collaborator who builds trust and alignment across plants, functions, and leadership levels.
- Curious and improvement-oriented, seeking better ways to buy, measure, and partner.
- Calm under pressure, especially in volatile markets or supply disruptions.
Please Keep in Mind
If you do not meet 100% of these requirements, we at JM still want to hear from you. So, if you are interested in the role, we encourage you to apply so we can learn how your skills and talents can contribute to our team.
Benefits
Johns Manville (JM) offers a wide range of benefits to employees. Some are subsidized by the company and others are fully employee-paid. Health benefits include a choice of comprehensive medical plans, a dental plan, vision plan, wellness program and critical illness insurance. JM sponsors a 401(k) plan which includes a sizeable company match. JM offers paid vacation and also provides paid sick and parental leave for eligible employees.
Additionally, Johns Manville provides basic life Insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an employee assistance program, and business travel accident coverage. Supplemental life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance are available as well. The company also offers a variety of tax saving accounts; health spending account, traditional flexible spending account, and a dependent care spending account. JM also offers a tuition reimbursement program for undergraduate and certain graduate programs.
Johns Manville supports employee growth with vast educational opportunities and a company-wide mentoring program. This program pairs employees and leaders to grow skills, build stronger internal networks and strengthen the company’s succession planning process. Johns Manville also offers soft and hard skills training facilitated by internal and external presenters. Our talent management team prioritizes the holistic growth of our workforce.
Diversity & Inclusion
Johns Manville believes diversity and inclusion in our workplace is critical for the long-term success of our company. We are committed to retaining, developing and attracting a diverse workforce that fosters an inclusive work environment in which all employees are treated with dignity and respect. This is the right thing to do for our employees, our company and our communities.
Incumbent must be physically able to perform essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.
Johns Manville Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Johns Manville and has not been reviewed or approved by Johns Manville.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for local markets and is often viewed as a relative strength compared with other aspects of the experience. Earnings potential in certain hourly and skilled roles is supported by overtime opportunities.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is broad, including medical, dental, vision, low‑cost telemedicine, EAP, and wellness resources. Insurance quality stands out within the overall package.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with a company match is emphasized, and some hourly groups participate in a defined‑benefit pension, strengthening long‑term financial support. Together, these elements enhance the long‑term value of the package.
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What We Do
At Johns Manville, we build on decades of experience to manufacture commercial roofing, premium-quality insulation and a variety of engineered products for our customers. We are proud to be part of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the most respected companies in the world. Our values of People, Passion, Perform and Protect drive the way we work as we strive to deliver positive and powerful JM Experiences to our employees and to our customers. Our company is based in Denver, CO, where you will also find our global research and development facilities. With over 8,000 employees and 44 manufacturing and sales locations across North America and Europe, we serve customers in over 80 countries. Our employees are united across business functions and work globally with other JM employees. We encourage you to explore what JM has to offer employees. It’s not just a job when you join JM; you join a JM family with unquestionable integrity and stability. We are PEOPLE champions! Our PASSION is in going the extra mile! We PERFORM at a superior level! And we PROTECT today to ensure tomorrow. Check out our current positions today, connect with a JM recruiter, follow us on LinkedIn, (@JohnsManville on Twitter and Facebook) and learn why we love working at JM!
