Category Manager - Flexible Packaging (Labels, Bags, Sleeves)
The Clorox Company
Alpharetta, GA, USA
Clorox is the place that’s committed to growth – for our people and our brands. Guided by our purpose and values, and with people at the center of everything we do, we believe every one of us can make a positive impact on consumers, communities, and teammates. Join our team. #CloroxIsThePlace
Your role at Clorox:
The Category Manager is responsible for the strategic management and execution of sourcing activities across multiple Direct Materials categories, representing approximately $100M in annua Flexible Packagingl spend. The role develops and implements category strategies, analyzes market and commodity trends, leads sourcing events, negotiates supplier agreements, and ensures continuity of supply. Experience leveraging AI and digital analytics to enhance procurement decision making, supplier performance, and category strategy is strongly preferred. This position partners closely with Business Operations, Procurement Operations, R&D, Quality, and Supply Chain teams.In this role, you will:
- Develop and execute category strategies that optimize cost, quality, and supply assurance
- Lead the identification and execution of projects to improve value delivery across the spend portfolio
- Lead key strategic relationships with suppliers by providing insights on how to best develop and leverage supplier capabilities to meet business needs
- Proactively identify continuous improvement opportunities to advance the category such as design to value, cost models, and process mapping
- Monitor market dynamics, supplier competitive landscape, standards, and pricing/costing strategy for categories to understand sourcing and continuous improvement opportunities
- Lead competitive sourcing events (RFPs/RFQs), supplier evaluations, and award recommendations
- Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, and contract agreements that protect company interests
- Maintain supplier contracts, SLAs, pricing files, and category documentation
- Act as the bridge between R&D and Procurement, ensuring the needs and wants of the business are reflected into the category strategies and executed as planned
- Support actions required to resolve P2P (Procure‑to‑Pay) issues, including pricing discrepancies, payment delays, and invoice errors
What we look for:
- 5+ years of experience in a global, matrixed environment managing Direct Materials categories (raw materials, chemicals, packaging, specialty materials, or similar)
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field
- Experience operating in a manufacturing environment
- Experience presenting recommendations, updates, and insights to senior leadership and effectively engaging with executive stakeholders
- Experience with Sourcing/Procurement tools and methodologies, including RFPs, Cost Models/Should Cost/Clean Sheet, Negotiations, and Contracts
- Knowledge of procurement best practices, sourcing methodologies, and supplier performance management
- Leadership – Demonstrated experience driving positive results through teams in a challenging and fast-paced environment. Assertive and diplomatic, self-directed, able to manage up and down the organization effectively, and willing to hold self and others accountable. Ability to drive change and breakthrough performance improvement across a team. Sets or influences direction beyond own area of responsibility. Drives performance improvement across company
- Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving – Sorts through complex issues and proposes path to solution. Integrates information from different sources and can evaluate, interpret, and communicate it properly. Strong data analysis skills. Comfortable drawing conclusions and making recommendations with ambiguous or incomplete data
- Initiative – Identifies opportunities and drives to resolution. Sets high standards of performance for self and others. Self-starter, eager to drive improvement and change. Seeks out opportunities to learn about developments in industries and markets within area of opportunity
- Collaboration/Responsiveness – Enjoys and thrives working with others. Able to respond promptly to urgencies. Values diversity of thought. Incorporates others’ ideas into decision making
- Communication – Excellent English verbal and written skills with ability to craft message to fit intended audience at all levels within an organization both internally and externally. Experience managing and strategically influencing stakeholders and driving accountability
- Agreement Negotiation – Able to understand and negotiate supplier agreements
- Systems – Strong knowledge of MS Office, particularly PowerPoint and Excel, and MRP systems (SAP preferred)
- Experience leveraging AI tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT) to improve productivity, synthesize insights, and accelerate analysis and content development
- Travel – ability to travel up to 25%
Workplace type:
Hybrid - 3 days in the office, 2 days WFHOur values-based culture connects to our purpose and empowers people to be their best, professionally and personally. We serve a diverse consumer base which is why we believe teams that reflect our consumers bring fresh perspectives, drive innovation, and help us stay attuned to the world around us. That’s why we foster an inclusive culture where every person can feel respected, valued, and fully able to participate, and ultimately able to thrive. Learn more.
[U.S.]Additional Information:
At Clorox, we champion people to be well and thrive, starting with our own people. To help make this possible, we offer comprehensive, competitive benefits that prioritize all aspects of wellbeing and provide flexibility for our teammates’ unique needs. This includes robust health plans, a market-leading 401(k) program with a company match, flexible time off benefits (including half-day summer Fridays depending on location), inclusive fertility/adoption benefits, and more.
We are committed to fair and equitable pay and are transparent with current and future teammates about our full salary ranges. We use broad salary ranges that reflect the competitive market for similar jobs, provide sufficient opportunity for growth as you gain experience and expand responsibilities, while also allowing for differentiation based on performance. Based on the breadth of our ranges, most new hires will start at Clorox in the first half of the applicable range. Your starting pay will depend on job-related factors, including relevant skills, knowledge, experience and location. The applicable salary range for every role in the U.S. is based on your work location and is aligned to one of three zones according to the cost of labor in your area.
–Zone A: $106,700 - $204,900
–Zone B: $97,800 - $187,900
–Zone C: $88,900 - $170,800
All ranges are subject to change in the future. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
This job is also eligible for participation in Clorox’s incentive plans, subject to the terms of the applicable plan documents and policies.
Please apply directly to our job postings and do not submit your resume to any person via text message. Clorox does not conduct text-based interviews and encourages you to be cautious of anyone posing as a Clorox recruiter via unsolicited texts during these uncertain times.
To all recruitment agencies: Clorox (and its brand families) does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to Clorox employees, including any members of our leadership team. Clorox is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.