Senior Specialist, Category Management (R&D Services)

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North Chicago, IL, USA
Hybrid
85K-162K Annually
Senior level
Healthtech • Pharmaceutical
The Role
Executes subcategory procurement strategies, supplier relationship management, contracting, negotiations, risk mitigation, sustainability initiatives, and continuous improvement programs. Partners with category leaders and cross-functional stakeholders to monitor supplier performance, drive savings, support strategic sourcing, ensure compliance, and deliver procurement projects. Provides analysis and market insights to inform decision-making while building category expertise and achieving team objectives.
Summary Generated by Built In
Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

The Senior Specialist, Category Management executes sub-category procurement strategy as part of the larger category management team, reporting up to Category Managers and Directors. This role contributes to the end-to-end procurement process including contracting and supplier relationship management, ensuring that activities comply with defined processes and in line with broader category strategy. The Senior Specialist also enables the execution of procurement projects and continuous improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

  • Partner with Category Directors and Associate Directors to execute subcategory-specific procurement strategies.
  • Implement and monitor effectiveness of strategies for the relevant category, ensuring alignment with overall business goals.
  • Report on supplier process and operational health, informing Category Leaders to enable strategic decision-making, incorporating industry trends, emerging technologies, and market dynamics.
  • Monitor initiatives to drive value with category suppliers, tracking cost savings and enhancing overall procurement value.
  • Enable sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures, working alongside suppliers to enhance sustainable and responsible sourcing practices.
  • Execute Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) strategies, managing relationships with category suppliers and collaborating to enact creative and cutting-edge solutions that deliver on long-term business needs.
  • Implement mitigation strategies to proactively manage procurement risk across the relevant category, maintaining process and policy compliance.
  • Ensure effective project management from initiation to completion, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver strategic category-related projects. Assist category leaders with opportunities for process optimization and efficiency gains, executing continuous improvement programs that achieve strategic objectives.
  • Assist with the end-to-end procurement process from sourcing strategy to contract negotiation and execution, enabling negotiations with category suppliers and facilitating decisions by developing the required analysis and gathering relevant data.
  • Develop own capabilities and accumulates category expertise in accordance with individual learning path. Actively enable team goals, ensuring performance targets and objectives are delivered successfully.

Qualifications

 

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Mgmt or related field. In lieu of degree, equivalent, relevant years of experience may suffice.
  • Minimum of 5 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or related business or operations function.
  • Previous experience in category management, contract negotiation, and supplier relationship management.
  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Power Platform).
  • Fast learner comfortable navigating across a range of industries and sectors.
  • High cross-functional collaboration abilities and teamwork skills, effectively navigating and coordinating diverse team dynamics.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, facilitating empathetic interactions, effective communication, and robust relationship-building across a matrixed organization.
  • Impactful executive functioning abilities and autonomous work ethic, maintaining efficient performance in challenging situations and building consensus in decision-making.

Key Stakeholders 

Business Leads, Business Partners, Category Leads, Procurement Leads/Managers, Procurement Strategy & Capabilities Office

Additional Information

​Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

  • The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​
  • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​
  • This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs. ​

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of  any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. ​

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. 

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may substitute.
  • At least 5 years of experience in procurement, supply chain, or a related business or operations function.
  • Experience in category management.
  • Experience with contract negotiation.
  • Experience with supplier relationship management.
  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office and Power Platform.
  • Ability to learn quickly and navigate multiple industries and sectors.
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration and teamwork skills.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.
  • Effective communication and relationship-building skills in a matrixed organization.
  • Strong executive functioning, autonomous work ethic, and consensus-building abilities.

AbbVie Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about AbbVie and has not been reviewed or approved by AbbVie.

  • Retirement Support Retirement programs are portrayed as a standout, with a dollar‑for‑dollar 401(k) match up to 6% and an additional annual company contribution based on age and service. Feedback suggests this materially boosts perceived total compensation for many U.S. employees.
  • Parental & Family Support Paid parental and caregiver leave are emphasized, including up to 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all parents and 4 weeks of paid caregiver leave in the U.S. Feedback suggests these policies are a meaningful differentiator for employees balancing family needs.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth Time off is described as extensive, with tiered vacation that scales with tenure, 17 company holidays, and two paid volunteer days in the U.S. Feedback suggests the breadth of leave contributes notably to overall benefits satisfaction.

AbbVie Insights

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The Company
HQ: North Chicago, IL
50,000 Employees
Year Founded: 2013

What We Do

AbbVie is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on creating medicines and solutions that put impact first — for patients, communities, and our world. We aim to address complex health issues and enhance people's lives through our core therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, aesthetics and other areas of unmet need.

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