Category Team Leader

Employee Value Proposition: At JCI, we are committed to becoming the global leader in smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings. Our mission is to redefine building performance to better serve people, places, and the planet. We invite you to join our winning team and build your best future with us! Our diverse teams have the opportunity to support a wide range of industries worldwide, and we are dedicated to your professional development through impactful projects and continuous learning. Enjoy our supportive work environment focused on enhancing your physical, financial, and emotional wellbeing.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and bonus

• Paid vacation/holidays/sick time

• Comprehensive benefits package including 401K, medical, dental, and vision care starting day one!

• Developmental opportunities

• Encouraging and collaborative team environment

• Dedication to safety through our Zero Harm policy

Category Team Leader

We're seeking a strategic and results-oriented Category Team Leader to join our Residential and Light Commercial HVAC Americas Procurement team, leading a team of category managers across both direct and indirect categories. As a high-visibility leader, you'll play a pivotal role in overseeing a team responsible for ~ $1B of spend. In addition, you will keep abreast of best practices in maintaining reporting and analysis on market industry for all respective categories.

In this role, you’ll be expected to manage ambiguity, make decisions with or without data, manage multiple priorities and can effectively manage and drive change. You believe that the best work is done in teams – you’re seen as a cooperative leader, candid yet fair. You can manage multiple priorities simultaneously because of your excellent project management, organization, and time management skills. You are intellectually curious – driving continual learning for you and your team. You’re also interpersonally curious – understanding that internal and external collaboration fuels improvement and best practice. You are seen as a leader and have strong indirect people management skills to influence multidisciplinary teams and peers, and to drive R&LC business success.

Responsibilities and how you will do it

• Provide leadership, mentorship and support to a team of category managers to develop comprehensive Global Category Strategies

• Supervise all global pricing and volume fluctuations

• Effectively engage with senior leaders of the Residential and Light Commercial business and ensure alignment of Category Strategies to meet and/or exceed business objectives

• Facilitate execution of Category Strategies across all plants that consume the respective categories

• Drive accountability and deliver results on key financial metrics - cost savings and trade working capital improvement, using enablers like low Cost Country sourcing, supplier rationalization, value engineering, knowledge-based sourcing etc

• Strive towards achieving outstanding supplier performance by driving continuous improvement initiatives and active collaboration with strategic suppliers. Lead major Supplier Contract/ Price negotiations

• Act as the center of excellence for the respective categories through complete understanding of the products, their application, industry trends, competitive landscape, future technologies & innovations etc

• Support the business units in resolving Supplier Delivery, Quality or Commercial issues which have been called out to the Category team

• Support of Make vs Buy decisions

• Be a driver of procurement process improvements and automation. Be an authority of creating a benchmark procurement organization.

What you will need

Required

• Bachelor's degree required. Master degree preferred.

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in a global, multi-industry manufacturing environment, ideally within R&LC HVAC.

• Proven track record of success in global strategic sourcing and a strong understanding of market dynamics and best practices.

• Excellent negotiation, communication, and influencing skills.

• Proficient in project management methodologies and various sourcing tools.

• Data-driven with a keen eye for cost optimization and risk mitigation.

• Very strong negotiation skills.

• Experienced in supplier relationship management

• Indirect people management skills to influence dotted lines.

• Capability to interface with senior leadership across regions both internally & externally.

• In-depth understanding of purchasing tools and practices.

• Strong MS Office skills; including advanced spreadsheet skills and ability to lead virtual meetings in Microsoft Teams

• Working knowledge of Oracle / SAP or other equivalent ERP systems.

• Travel up to 20% domestic and international.

• Location: Wichita, KS and Norman, OK preferred but remote is possible.

• Language skills not required but preferred: Spanish.

Johnson Controls International plc. is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law. To view more information about your equal opportunity and non-discrimination rights as a candidate, visit EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit here.