Category Manager

The Opportunity

Position Overview

This is an opportunity to have a direct impact on the technologies that restore health and improve lives. As a Category Manager within Abbott Vascular, you will lead global sourcing strategies and supplier partnerships for critical categories that support innovative, life‑saving medical devices.

The role offers significant visibility and influence across a global, matrixed organization. Success requires strong commercial judgment, the ability to translate market insight into strategy, and a passion for building supplier partnerships that deliver quality, innovation, and operational excellence in a regulated environment.

What You’ll Work On

Category Strategy & Business Alignment

• Develop and execute global category strategies aligned with Abbott Vascular, division, and enterprise priorities.
• Identify and realize opportunities for cost reduction, value optimization, innovation, and process improvement.
• Understand and forecast key commodity cost drivers, market trends, and technology developments that impact the business.
• Translate external market intelligence into actionable sourcing and supplier strategies.

Supplier & Contract Management

• Build, optimize, and manage a world‑class supplier base capable of meeting Abbott Vascular’s current and future needs.
• Lead negotiation and management of medium‑to‑high risk, complex supplier contracts and commercial agreements.
• Establish long‑term, collaborative supplier partnerships that drive quality, delivery, cost, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Monitor supplier performance to ensure adherence to quality, service, pricing, regulatory, and contractual commitments.

Risk Management & Supply Continuity

• Develop and implement robust supply risk mitigation strategies, including alternate sourcing and contingency planning.
• Assess supplier risk across short‑ and long‑term horizons with clearly defined risk and benefit tradeoffs.
• Ensure continuity of supply for critical commodities while balancing cost competitiveness and compliance requirements.

Cross‑Functional Leadership & Collaboration

• Partner closely with R&D, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, and Corporate Procurement teams.
• Lead and participate in cross‑functional and cross‑site teams to align supplier capabilities with division‑wide requirements.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and functional leadership to purchasing and category management team members, reinforcing Abbott procurement policies and best practices.
• Lead sourcing and supplier‑related projects, ensuring execution in compliance with Abbott governance, ethics, and quality standards.

Financial & Performance Management

• Manage category budgets and perform detailed cost and total cost of ownership analyses.
• Support business cases and sourcing decisions through strong financial, analytical, and data‑driven insights.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Finance, or related field (MBA preferred).
• 7-10+ years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, sourcing, or 5-8+ years of deep category/commodity management.
• Expertise in contract terms and conditions structuring, negotiating with suppliers and contract execution
• Experience operating within a highly regulated industry, preferably medical devices, healthcare, or life sciences.
• Proven ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed, global organization.
• Strong influencing, relationship‑building, organizational and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage at all levels of the organization.
• Strong analytical capability; comfortable working with cost models, market data, and Excel‑based analyses.
• Flexible and adaptable to change - does not require rigid rules; functions in an fast pace environment
• Highly Collaborative - partner with colleagues and customers to arrive at best solutions
• Deliver Innovative Solutions - ability to recognize possibilities to create greater profitability and growth
• Generate Customer Value - Listening, understanding, anticipating and solving
• Cultivate a broad network of relationships with key internal and external constituents
• Ability to travel up to approximately 20%, including internationally.