Category Specialist Operational Services

• Role impact: Drive procurement excellence and cost optimisation for a manufacturing operation, ensuring strategic sourcing and contract implementation support safe and efficient operations. 
• Career growth: Lead end-to-end sourcing initiatives, influence key stakeholders, and shape procurement processes across multiple spend categories in a dynamic operational environment. 
• Role based in Charlotte, supporting operations in Bessemer City, North Carolina, with exposure to global procurement standards and best practices. 

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other. 

About the role 

We are looking for a Category Specialist Operational Services to support Operations in Bessemer City, North Carolina. In this role, you will provide end-to-end procurement support across sourcing, supplier management, category implementation and operational purchasing activities. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys building strong stakeholder relationships, influencing outcomes, and delivering practical procurement solutions while maintaining high standards of governance and compliance. 

This position is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and follows a hybrid work arrangement, with employees expected to be in the office three days per week. Frequent travel to our Bessemer City operations site will be required to support stakeholders, build operational partnerships, and deliver procurement initiatives.

What you’ll be doing

Reporting to the Procurement Manager and working within a collaborative procurement team, you will: 

• Lead request for proposal (RFP) processes and sourcing activities for manufacturing operations. 
• Identify and deliver value opportunities across multiple spend categories through strategic sourcing and supplier engagement. 
• Develop and manage supplier relationships, including performance reviews and ongoing contract support. 
• Partner with operational stakeholders to understand requirements, forecast demand, and implement category strategies. 
• Provide procurement analytics, reporting, and insights to identify cost optimisation opportunities and monitor purchase price variances. 
• Maintain pricing information and purchasing data within SAP, including Info Records and purchase order processes. 
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance procurement efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. 
• Provide cross-site procurement support and contribute to a strong safety, environmental, and operational culture. 

About you 

We’re looking for someone whose experience aligns with the key requirements below. You do not need to meet every “helpful for success” item to apply. If you bring relevant experience and are excited by the opportunity, we encourage you to submit an application. 

Required for Success 

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team. 
• Skills and Capabilities: Demonstrated capability in procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier negotiations, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven decision making. 
• Experience: Experience supporting manufacturing or industrial operations through procurement, purchasing, or supply chain activities. 
• Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, procurement, or a related discipline. 
• Systems: Strong SAP experience, including purchase order creation, purchasing workflows, and maintaining Info Records. 
• Technical Proficiency: Strong Microsoft Office skills, attention to detail, and experience analysing procurement data. 

Helpful for Success 

• Experience within chemicals, mining, metals, manufacturing, or other heavy industrial sectors. 
• Experience leading continuous improvement or cost reduction initiatives. 
• Exposure to category management and contract implementation activities. 

What we offer 

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress. 

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority. 
• Competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with an annual incentive bonus. 
• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.   
• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program. 
• Attractive share ownership plan. 
• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all the moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave. 
• A generous parental leave policy, which ensures you’re able to spend quality time with your new family.  
• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing.  
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides confidential counselling or expert guidance for you and your family to help get through life’s challenges. 

Where you will be working

Our Commercial function at Rio Tinto connects our product groups, customers and suppliers from mine to market. We bring together Sales & Marketing and Trading (Sell), Global Procurement (Buy), and Marine & Logistics (Move) to buy, sell and move the materials the world needs, by partnering across the value chain to optimise outcomes for our customers and the Group. Headquartered in our global Commercial hub in Singapore, and with a strong presence in Chicago, Frankfurt, Antwerp and across Asia in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul, we work as one team to deliver customer centric value, safely and sustainably.  

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About Rio Tinto
 

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
 

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.