Position Summary:
This role will provide leadership and management to a team of category management professionals and subject matter experts based across different geographies (globally). Overall responsibility for multiple areas of spend (direct and indirect categories) within the global portfolio of Sterilisation in Procurement. Responsible for achieving supply chain resiliency strategy development, cost reductions and year-over-year productivity improvements in the total cost of goods and services procured while maintaining or improving product quality and vendor service levels. Liaises with key stakeholders in member organisations and in corporate functions to develop effective cost reduction strategies and implementation plans.
What you will do:
Provide leadership of category strategy activities for Sterilisation for a significant portion of global category spend. Lead overall category direction and ensure effective strategy development and execution for the category portfolio. Develop a succession plan and onboard the talent needed to build a strong organisation. Partner and coordinate with Divisional Procurement, Supplier Quality, Global Engineering, Advanced Operations, Materials Management, Operations, Senior Leadership, Legal, and Compliance.
Obtain the best Quality, Service, and Value for products and services through effective bidding, negotiation, and supplier management. Responsibility for leading cross-functional efforts to develop and implement Global Category Plans that include cost reduction initiatives, new product development, supply base and optimisation and rationalisation, quality improvement, risk assessment, contract negotiation, and may include responsibility for cross-divisional, group-wide, and/or global strategies and initiatives. Resident expert in strategic sourcing and procurement practices and serves as a mentor to others. Engagement at all levels within the organisation to drive change engagement and ensure the actions and decisions are aligned to the broader category strategy. Where not aligned, they will engage the right cross-functional teams to generate a communications plan to influence decision-making.
Lead the development and implementation of enterprise-wide strategies and goals for assigned commodities in support of overall divisional business objectives.
Drive year-over-year productivity improvements and cost savings while maintaining or enhancing quality, compliance, and service levels.
Collaborate with Global Sterilisation Services, Engineering and Finance to enhance processes and governance frameworks that clearly demonstrate the long-term strategic and financial value of indirect procurement initiatives
Establish and maintain contractual and business relationships with the senior management of key suppliers.
Champion supplier-enabled innovation in sterilisation technologies and support sustainability and regulatory compliance goals.
Lead critical program initiatives.
Formulate and implement processes to build a best-in-class strategic sourcing organisation.
Lead sourcing analysis and selection process and perform cost analyses and make vs buy analyses as required.
Advise others on selection/cost analysis.
Align on strategic investments for new technologies or capabilities externally at suppliers and internally with R&D or Business Development Teams.
Negotiate, establish, monitor, and enforce supplier contracts and agreements.
Drive negotiation with large-scale, high-impact suppliers
Develop strong partnership relationships with key suppliers as well as other disciplines within the businesses.
Mobilise teams to deploy risk mitigation strategies, including dual sourcing, IP acquisition, market assessments, suppliers' financial assessments, social responsibility, environment, ethics etc.
Partner with finance to drive total cost of ownership strategies and react to changing market conditions. Obtain and communicate market condition information and technology trends related to commodities and suppliers.
Utilise market trends to identify and implement appropriate cost controls and business strategy changes.
Ensure cost standards are established for annual operating budgets.
Organise and lead scorecard review meetings and executive business reviews.
What you will need:
8-10 years of / Sourcing / Procurement Supply chain experience, preferably in medical devices or other highly regulated environments.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, supply chain, operations or equivalent.
Prior experience within sterilisation is preferred.
Strategic thinker – understands the details but can operate at a higher level.
Strong leadership & interpersonal skills with the ability to engage & influence senior stakeholders.
Strong leadership and talent management skills.
Experience with world-class strategic sourcing & category management practices
Strong negotiation skills, negotiating and implementing commercial contracts to include supply and quality agreements (QAA).
Strong written & verbal communication skills across all levels
Ability to multi-task and coordinate initiatives with a virtual, global/regional team.
Persuasive ‘change agent’ capable of challenging conventional wisdom.
Track record of success in capturing value and driving spend to preferred suppliers.
Demonstrated ability to manage and improve vendor performance.
Hands-on mentality.
Ability to align with peers / stakeholders and build and maintain strong networks.
Must be willing to work in a results-based, fast-paced environment, with minimal supervision.
Travel: 30-40%
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Skills Required
- 8-10 years of sourcing/procurement supply chain experience
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, supply chain, or operations
- Experience with strategic sourcing and category management practices
- Strong negotiation skills for commercial contracts
- Prior experience within sterilisation preferred
Stryker Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Stryker and has not been reviewed or approved by Stryker.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, with multiple medical plan options and added protections such as critical illness, accident, and hospital indemnity, plus mental health resources. Wellbeing programs, onsite gyms, and fitness/nutrition classes further reinforce the perceived strength of health benefits.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are seen as strong, highlighted by a competitive 401(k) plan with company matching and potential discretionary contributions. These elements are often viewed as valuable pillars of total rewards.
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Strong & Reliable Incentives — Variable pay is viewed positively, with annual bonuses and sales commissions often lifting total compensation. Incentive plans are seen as a meaningful contributor to pay satisfaction in roles where performance drives earnings.
Stryker Insights
What We Do
Stryker is a global leader in medical technologies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in MedSurg, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. Alongside its customers around the world, Stryker impacts more than 130 million patients annually. More information is available at www.stryker.com. Together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better.
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