Senior Manager, Category Management - (24-PROC-301003-136)

Job Description

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties, locations, and responsibilities performed by incumbent(s) in this job. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties in this description, and incumbent(s) may be required to perform work-related tasks other than those specifically listed in this description. This job description is not a "contract" between the employee and the Authority. The job duties and essential functions may be changed at the discretion of the General Manager.

General

Job Title: Senior Manager, Category Management Job Code: OA0411 Supervises Directly: Yes New or Revised: Revised Regular or At-Will: At-Will Date Last Revised: 4/24/2024 Exempt or Non-Exempt: Exempt Compensation Approval Signature: Union/ Non-Union: Non-Union Department Name and Division: Procurement-Goods and Services Salary Schedule: Executive Grade Cost Center Code: 301003 Grade: ESSA Essential Position: Yes Reports To: Director of Procurement, Goods and Services EEO Code: Officials and Administrators Work Format Hybrid

Who We Are & What We Do:

At DC Water, we provide more than 700,000 District of Columbia residents and 24.6 million annual visitors with essential water, wastewater, and stormwater services. DC Water also provides wholesale wastewater treatment services for 1.8 million people in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland, and Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. We aspire to be known for superior service, ingenuity, and stewardship to advance the health and well-being of our diverse workforce and communities. To achieve this vision, we commit to our shared mission every day-exceeding expectations by providing high quality water services in a safe, environmentally friendly, and efficient manner.

Role Description:

The Senior Manager, Category Management, is responsible for developing, leading, and overseeing strategies for procurement across a wide range of categories(including but not limited to Chemicals, IT, Fleet, Maintenance,Facilities, Finance/HR,) which efficiently improve the organization's sourcing, contracting, and business relationships. The role involves optimizing procurement processes, conducting market research, managing vendor relationships, negotiating terms, optimizing product selection and pricing, building strategic partnerships with key suppliers, purchasing cooperatives, and other industry associations to ensure cost-effective acquisition of goods and services critical to DC Water's operations. The role also provides guidance and support to Category Managers and acts as an escalation point for internal customers and external suppliers.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Establishes and leads programs to identify supply chain risks and strengthen supply chain security.
• Plans and organizes the development and implementation of category strategies and goals for assigned categories to support the department's and DC Water's strategies and business goals.
• Monitors and oversees sourcing and contracting activities for the assigned categories.
• Provides procurement services to the departments within DC Water and serves as a principal category expert to the internal business stakeholders.
• Leads the development and implementation of procurement business plans, new business initiatives and process improvement initiatives.
• Leads strategic sourcing events to build relationships with vendors and to drive efforts to optimize sourcing process.
• Promotes and oversees initiatives related to supplier diversity, fostering a diverse and inclusive vendor base.
• Engages to support escalations from both internal business partners and external suppliers.
• Oversees contract negotiations with vendors, ensuring favorable terms, compliance with regulations, and alignment with organizational requirements.
• Supports creation, modifying and management of risk management objectives, statements of work, NDAs, RFP/RFI/RFQ requests, and manages dispute resolution for commercial needs.
• Supports business relationships with internal customers, including maintaining stakeholder engagement to ensure strategies are aligned with current and future requirements
• Monitors and reports on key performance metrics for procurement categories, including cost savings, vendor performance, and contract compliance.
• Ensures compliance with DC Water's updated procurement manual, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Identifies and implements cost reduction initiatives within procurement categories, maximizing value for DC Water.
• Supports risk management objectives, oversees bid packages, statements of work, RFP/RFI requests, and manages dispute resolution for commercial needs.
• Develops and oversees training strategies for procurement staff, recommends and implements training for DC Water on procurement.
• Supports the annual budgeting process, and aids in the department's overall budget submission.
• Provides recommendations to eliminate barriers to strategic and operational success in sourcing and procurement for the assigned categories.
• Presents and explains sourcing decisions and pricing to internal customers, the Director and Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer, and other senior management concerning contract pricing and other contractual matters. Works with General Counsel on specific contract language as required.

• Performs other related duties and projects as assigned at the discretion of the Director, Procurement, and the VP and Chief Purchasing Officer.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Provides daily planning and administration, through subordinate staff and consulting staff, in the selection, assignment, supervision, promotion, discipline, and training of personnel within the area of responsibility.

Key Working Relationships: Interfaces with internal customers to assure compliance with procurement policies and procedures, address and resolve escalations, and to ensure that equipment, supplies, and services are readily available to meet overall demands of DC Water. Interfaces with external suppliers to support contract negotiations and escalations.

Skills & Qualifications:

The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and ability necessary for an individual to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable amounts of training are provided.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Required Experience: Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in category management, vendor management, contract management and/or strategic sourcing, with at least 5 years of managerial/supervisory experience. Experience in RFX process, proposal evaluation, deal negotiation, and contract negotiation. Experience in creation, modification, negotiation and compliance of common contractual documents (Master Service Agreements, Statements of Work, NDAs,) Experience in handling multiple complex sourcing projects and achieving consistent cost savings, timely completion, internal/external customer satisfaction. Minimum Education Requirements: Bachelor's degree in a business, technical, or related field from an accredited college or university. Required Skills: Category Management Strategic Sourcing Contract Negotiation and Management Supplier/Vendor Management RFx Development and Management Cost Savings/Avoidance Program and Project Management Communication - Interpersonal, Verbal and Written Stakeholder Management Analytical, planning, problem solving, cost/spend analysis Required Licenses & Certifications: None Required Languages: English Physical Requirements: General office conditions and sometimes in an outdoor environment visiting DCW facilities. The person in this position must be able to travel up to 10% as required.

* Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided to ensure the safety of the employees. This may include, but is not limited to gloves, safety glasses, shoes, earplugs or muffs, hard hats, respirators, or coveralls, vests, and full body suits.

Preferred Skills & Qualifications

Preferred Experience: Minimum 15 years experience in category management, vendor management or contract management with at least 8 years of managerial/supervisory experience Private sector and consulting experience. Prior experience in managing and executing sourcing strategies for targeted categories that align with the company's and the internal stakeholders' goals and objectives for supply chain continuity and budget requirements. Preferred Education Requirements: Master's in Business Administration, technical, or related field from an accredited college or university. Preferred Licenses & Certifications: Professional certification from the Institute for Supply management (ISM), APICS, the National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP), or National Contracts Management Association (NCMA), or the ability to obtain certification from any of these organizations within one year of employment. PMP certification from PMI or comparable organization Preferred Skills: Oracle Cloud platform Procurement & Contract Modules experience Risk Management (related to supply chain) Problem Solving Change leader; Cultural Adaptability Leadership & Influencing Skills Industry research, and identification and analysis of suppliers

*The work environment characteristics described in the physical requirements section of the required skills & qualifications table are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential responsibilities.

Your Experience at DC Water:

At DC Water, our people make us an industry leader. Join a group of thinkers, innovators, and problem solvers focused on protecting life's most precious resource in the nation's capital.

• Take pride in your work. We provide an essential service and do work that matters. A career at DC Water is an exciting opportunity to help improve the environment and make a lasting difference for the community.

• Connect to a strong culture. Everything we do is grounded in our shared values-accountability, trust, teamwork, customer focus, safety, and wellbeing.

• Be your true self. We are an inclusive organization that embraces diversity, and we recognize and celebrate employees' individuality and unique contributions.

• Build your skills and career path. We are committed to developing a future-ready workforce by helping our employees develop skills for the jobs of tomorrow.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V.

We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against "qualified individuals with disabilities".

If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to

perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please

email [email protected].