Senior Category Strategist

Posted 7 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
Plano, TX
80K-180K Annually
5-7 Years Experience
eCommerce • Fintech • Analytics • Financial Services
Bread Financial is a tech-forward financial services company. We provide payment, lending and saving solutions.
The Role
The Senior Category Strategist develops and implements procurement strategies for various categories, focusing on cost optimization and risk mitigation while collaborating with internal teams and external suppliers. Key responsibilities include analyzing spend data, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring compliance with category strategies and initiatives for value maximization.
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Job Summary

Global 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. 


 

Essential 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 methodologies 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 RF 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 position is hybrid with an onsite schedule of 3 - 4 days per month. 

  • In-office requirements are subject to change based on business need.

  • This position is currently available to candidates that reside within 60 miles of a Bread Financial location.

  • 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 Qualifications 

  • Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience  in 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 Qualifications: 

  • Masters in Business Administration, Finance, Business Analytics, Procurement, Project Management 

  • Seven or more years experience in a banking, insurance or other regulatory environment  

Other Duties

This job description is illustrative of the types of duties typically performed by this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive listing of each and every essential function of the job. Because job content may change from time to time, the Company reserves the right to add and/or delete essential functions from this job at any time.

Typical Starting Range:

$79,500.00 - $144,100.00

Full Salary Range for position:

California: $91,500.00 - $180,100.00Colorado: $79,500.00 - $151,300.00New York: $87,500.00 - $180,100.00Washington: $83,500.00 - $165,700.00Maryland: $83,500.00 - $151,300.00Washington DC: $91,500.00 - $165,700.00

The actual base pay within this range may be dependent upon many factors, which may include, but are not limited to, work location, education, experience, and skills.

Bread Financial offers medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and other voluntary benefits (including basic and optional life insurance, supplemental medical plans, and short and long-term disability) to eligible associates (regular full-time associates scheduled to work 30 hours per week or more) and their spouses/domestic partners, and child(ren) under the age of 26. New associate elected coverage begins on date of hire (with the exception of disability coverage which has a 6-month waiting period). Six weeks of 100% paid parental leave for eligible parents is available after a 180-day waiting period. Hired associates can immediately enroll in Bread Financial’s 401(k) plan.

All associates receive 11 paid holidays. Associates have discretion in managing their time away from work through the Flexible Time Off (FTO) program and may need to notify and receive approval from their manager prior to taking the time off. Associates (except those located in Illinois) receive 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time (“PSST”) upon hire and at the beginning of each subsequent calendar year. Illinois associates receive 40 hours of Illinois PSST upon hire and at the beginning of each subsequent calendar year and 40 hours of Illinois Paid Leave upon hire and at the beginning of each subsequent calendar year. Illinois Paid Leave must be used before associates in Illinois will be approved to take FTO.

Hired associates will be able to elect the purchase company stock during offering periods in June and December. You will be eligible for an annual incentive bonus based on individual and company performance.

Click here for more Benefits information.

About Bread Financial

At Bread Financial, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community, and be part of our award-winning culture. We’ve been consistently recognized as a best place to work nationally and in many markets and we’re proud to promote an environment where you feel appreciated, accepted, valued, and fulfilled—both personally and professionally. Bread Financial supports the overall wellness of our associates with a diverse suite of benefits and offers boundless opportunities for career development and non-traditional career progression.

Bread Financial® (NYSE: BFH) is a tech-forward financial services company providing simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions. The company creates opportunities for its customers and partners through digitally enabled choices that offer ease, empowerment, financial flexibility and exceptional customer experiences. Driven by a digital-first approach, data insights and white-label technology, Bread Financial delivers growth for its partners through a comprehensive suite of payment solutions that includes private label and co-brand credit cards and Bread Pay® buy now, pay later products. Bread Financial also offers direct-to-consumer products that give customers more access, choice and freedom through its branded Bread Cashback® American Express® Credit Card, Bread Rewards™ American Express® Credit Card and Bread Savings® products.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Bread Financial is powered by its approximately 7,000 global associates and is committed to sustainable business practices. To learn more about Bread Financial, visit breadfinancial.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, X and Instagram.

  • Bread Financial offers competitive pay, a comprehensive selection of benefit options including 401(k).
  • The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
  • Any applicant offered employment will be required to establish that they are legally authorized to work in the United States for the Company.
  • The Company participates in E-Verify.
  • The Company will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act. Applicants with criminal histories are encouraged to apply.
  • The Company complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended, and all applicable state/local laws. The Company will provide accommodations to applicants needing accommodations to complete the application process. Applicants with disabilities may contact the Company to request and arrange for accommodations.  If you need assistance to accommodate a disability, you may request an accommodation at any time. Please contact the Recruiting Team at [email protected].

Job Family:

Purchasing

Job Type:

Regular

The Company
HQ: Columbus, OH
6,000 Employees
Hybrid Workplace
Year Founded: 1996

What We Do

Bread Financial is a tech-forward financial services company providing simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions. The company creates opportunities for its customers and partners through digitally-enabled choices that offer ease, empowerment, financial flexibility and exceptional customer experiences. Driven by a digital-first approach, data insights and white-label technology, Bread Financial delivers growth for its partners through a comprehensive product suite, including private label and co-brand credit cards, installment lending, and buy now, pay later (BNPL). Bread Financial also offers direct-to-consumer solutions that give customers more access, choice and freedom through its branded payment, lending and saving products.

Formerly Alliance Data, Bread Financial is an S&P MidCap 400 company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and committed to sustainable business practices powered by its 6,000+ global associates.

Why Work With Us

At Bread Financial, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your career, give back to your community, and be a part of our award-winning culture. We’ve been consistently recognized as a best place to work in many markets. We’re proud to promote an environment where you feel appreciated, accepted, valued, and fulfilled.

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