Job Description Summary

The Category Manager is an experienced, highly autonomous sourcing professional responsible for developing and implementing the sourcing strategy for the Plastics Category in North America, with a focus on leading negotiations and managing high‑impact supplier relationships according to established policies. The selected candidate will operate with a high level of autonomy, quickly taking ownership of critical suppliers in the region. The role is accountable for achieving the best contractual conditions while optimizing cost, quality, delivery, risk, and overall supplier performance to ensure internal customer satisfaction. The scope includes managing ~$40M spend with suppliers in Mexico and the USA, supporting multiple GE HealthCare Business Units globally.
The Category Manager is expected to have strong knowledge of sourcing best practices, deep understanding of competitive dynamics in the plastics market, and the ability to independently drive cross‑functional strategy while influencing stakeholders at all levels.

Job Description

What you’ll do: 

• Full ownership of the Plastics Category strategy for North America, including cost, quality, delivery, risk, and overall supplier performance.
• Lead high‑stakes negotiations to secure best‑in‑class Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and optimized commercial terms.
• Manage the end‑to‑end lifecycle of contracts and supply agreements, ensuring compliance, performance, and strategic alignment.
• Build, sustain, and elevate executive‑level supplier relationships, including structured business reviews and long‑term development plans.
• Partner with internal stakeholders across all GE HealthCare Strategic Business Units to identify supply chain gaps and drive cross‑business synergies.
• Collaborate with Supplier Development teams to identify, qualify, and onboard new suppliers across the region.
• Act as the escalation point for delivery, quality, and risk issues, driving rapid problem‑solving and implementing long‑term fixes.
• Lead early supplier engagement for new product introductions to optimize design‑to‑cost and ensure supply chain readiness.
• Improve payment terms with suppliers in scope.
• Build strong customer/supplier relationships through the execution of periodic business reviews to position GEHC as a customer of choice.

What you need to have: 

• 5+ years of sourcing or category management experience, ideally with plastics or engineered components.
• Technical depth in plastics manufacturing, including resin grades, tooling concepts, and molding/forming processes; understands cost drivers and can challenge suppliers with data.
• Strong commercial acumen: able to analyze quotations beyond price (cost models, drivers, and negotiation levers) to deliver best‑in‑class TCO.
• Proven ability to independently own critical supplier relationships, negotiations, and commercial decisions with minimal oversight.
• Ability to run structured supplier business reviews, identify performance gaps, and drive corrective actions and continuous improvement.
• Strong negotiation, influencing, and problem‑solving skills.
• High proficiency in Excel and data‑driven decision‑making.
• Strong command of English, able to lead high‑level business discussions.
• Knowledgeable of legal terms and capable of holding formal negotiations; experience with U.S. suppliers/laws is a plus.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally (up to 20%).

Desired Characteristics

• Experience leading supplier development initiatives: capability assessments, improvement roadmaps, qualifications, and onboarding.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to translate category strategy into actionable supplier plans and measurable outcomes.
• Ability to rapidly assess supply risk and implement mitigation plans proactively.
• Clear, concise communicator able to synthesize complex commercial/technical topics for senior stakeholders.
• Entrepreneurial, self‑starter mentality with a bias for action and continuous improvement.

Additional Information