Purchasing Manager

Who We Are

Essity is a global leader in health and hygiene headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with a North American headquarters located in Philadelphia, PA. We are a multi-billion-dollar company with a purpose to break barriers to well-being for the benefit of consumers, patients, care givers, and customers across the globe. We do this through innovations in our Professional Hygiene, Consumer

Goods, and Health & Medical business units that provide hygiene and health solutions to over a billion people every day worldwide.

Working at Essity is more than a career, it is where you will play your part in a better future, to improve well-being for people and have opportunities to drive positive change for society and the environment.  As an employee at Essity, you will belong to a team where you feel valued, are safe, supported to grow and challenged to generate business results in a friendly and open atmosphere.

About the Role

The Essity Global Procurement Group is currently seeking a Procurement (Purchasing) Manager for our Central Region consisting of two manufacturing plants in Middletown (OH) and Harrodsburg (KY). This position will be based in our Harrodsburg facility.

Incumbent is responsible for the coordination, organization, leadership, and negotiation of regional/site procurement agreements with strategically chosen vendors that provide maximum value and benefit for the region/site in a manner that supports the philosophies and business practices of the Essity Procurement strategy.

We're looking for people who embody our values, aren't afraid to challenge the status quo, innovate, experiment, and move at a fast pace. We're always looking for ways to improve our products and ourselves. If this is you, we'd love to talk. 

What You Will Do

• High degree of understanding of region’s required commodities and appropriate vendors and their offerings, maintaining organized records of commodities, agreements, vendors and their performance, and their primary stakeholders at each Essity site;

• Education and execution of Purchasing processes and systems for the assigned Region and Site(s) and its procurement personnel. This would include Operational effectiveness, general understanding/application of business procurement law including using approved forms/templates, and appropriate Internal Controls for processes including: requisitioning, vendor negotiations, bidding, PO/commitments, receiving PO exceptions, and Accounts Payable PO exceptions;

• Lead, train, and optimize procurement personnel at the assigned region’s sites;

• Effective high impact Collaborator, working between Regional/Site Operations, Corporate Procurement, and Regional Finance to implement and oversee appropriate Procurement Processes at the Region/Site. The incumbent would create and lead Cross Functional Teams as a regular part of this position function;

• Strong positive impact on assigned Regional/site cost-side budgets as it pertains to procured materials, services, and equipment. Provide budget and forecast information to Finance and Operations in a timely an accurate manner;

• Development, Leadership, and Documentation of local Sourcing Strategies, and participation, support, and implementation of Corporate Sourcing Strategies at the Region/site(s), utilizing the corporate standards so that;

• Correct Regional stakeholders have up-front involvement;

• Procurement Strategy teams are created, with appropriate participation and leadership by incumbent;

• Goals and Benefits of the Strategies are clearly defined and support the regional and its sites;

• Requests for regional Quotes are clearly and professionally communicated to potential vendors using our Sourcing systems & Tools (SAP ERP & SAP ARIBA)

• The Operational portion of Vendor Proposals that support Essity requirements and benefits are reviewed with the local or regional Procurement team;

• Incumbent leads the Regional Procurement Team to Procurement decisions that support the Corporate Procurement Strategy and affected sites;

• Incumbent manages the Regional and site(s) relationships with the vendors in a manner whereby their performance supports the benefits and requirements of the sites and the contracted agreements;

• This would include active participation in working with Corporate Procurement, who will lead the development of multi-site agreements;

• Incumbent leads regular vendor performance reviews with local vendors, and participates in the reviews of vendors covered under Corporate agreements;

• Understanding and leadership of the proper use of the electronic Procurement business system (SAP) for the region/site(s). The incumbent is considered the region/site owner and expert on the procurement portion of the system;

• Leads in implementing the Environmental, Health and Safety, Quality/Food Safety System (QRESH) policies and procedures to meet or exceed our customers product quality, service and sustainability expectations, including certification requirements such as ISO:14001, SFQ, and others as applicable;

• Demonstrates leadership in the prevention of pollution, compliance with applicable legal and other requirements, and continual improvement of environmental performance especially in the areas of recognized Environmental Significant Aspects and Essity’s established corporate sustainability goals;

• Practice commitment to the philosophy that Environmental, Health and Safety, Quality/Food Safety (QRESH) stewardship is everyone’s responsibility;

• Perform other essential responsibilities deemed as necessary.

Who You Are

• A bachelor’ degree in Business Administration and a minimum of five to seven years of directly related work experience, or an equivalent combination of training and experience and a proven record of effectiveness in a same or similar role;

• A minimum of five years of experience in Purchasing, Contract Administration, Planning with vendor interface or Marketing. The individual must have demonstrated and effective leadership experience;

• Strong Organizational, Communication, Negotiation, Collaboration, Project Management, general understanding of Financial Systems, Customer Focus, Improvement Orientation, strong Interpersonal and Diplomatic Skills, Effective Leadership, Planning, and Results Orientation;

• Understanding of Procurement market, pricing, usage and contracting for assigned commodity group(s);

• Strong knowledge and ability to work with Microsoft Excel, Word, and Access.

• Strong knowledge of SAP ERP, SAP ARIBA, SAP BW & Power BI

• Strong Financial Acumen is essential in this role.

What We Can Offer You

At Essity, we believe every career is as unique as the individual and empower employees to reach their full potential in a winning culture motivated by a powerful purpose.

Compensation and Benefits:

Expected Compensation:

Competitive annual salary + annual incentive bonus + benefits

Pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors such as knowledge, skills, and experience.

Along with competitive pay you will be eligible for the following benefits:

• United Healthcare PPO / EyeMed Vision Insurance / Delta Dental Insurance
• Wellness program provided through Rally
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) with employer match and annual employer base contribution
• Company paid Basic Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance
• PTO offering with Paid Holidays
• Scholarship program for children of Essity employees.