About the role
Overview
The Senior Associate Specialist, Procurement Operations is responsible for independently managing sourcing, contracting, and supplier performance for a broad portfolio of products and services, including full ownership of the U.S. mid-size MRO accounts and Packaging categories. Leads competitive bids, drafts and negotiates commercial contracts, and manages suppliers with annual spend exceeding $2M USD. Partners with business and functional leaders to develop and execute sourcing strategies that optimize cost, quality, delivery, and risk mitigation. Ensures security of supply through effective contract management, vendor oversight, and proactive issue resolution. Provides guidance to Associate-level Buyers and contributes to broader supply chain initiatives.
Responsibilities
- Lead sourcing events (RFQs, RFPs) and manage end-to-end bid processes
- Develop, write, negotiate, and execute supply agreements and service contracts
- Manage supplier relationships and performance
- Develop and execute on cost savings opportunities for the business
- Develop and execute dual sourcing strategies, reducing supply risk
- Global alignment with European counterparts on Packaging and other areas where synergies exist
- Conduct supplier qualification, evaluations, and ongoing risk assessments
- Manage purchase orders and ensure compliance to contract terms
- Resolve invoice discrepancies and commercial issues
- Negotiate pricing, commercial terms, service levels, lead times, and freight terms
- Support forecasting, inventory strategies, and supply continuity
- Oversee vendor-managed and consignment inventory programs
- Monitor market conditions, cost drivers, and risk indicators
- Partner with cross-functional teams (Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, EH&S) on sourcing initiatives
- Support capital project procurement requirements
- Support to regional sourcing strategy development and execution
Qualifications
- High School Diploma required
- BA/BS in Business, Economics, Supply Chain, or related field strongly preferred
- 2-5 years of Procurement/Supply Chain experience required; contract negotiation experience strongly preferred
- Strong knowledge of Procurement processes and Requisition-to-Pay (RTP) workflow
- Experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts
- Proficiency in MS Office, SAP, Outlook, SharePoint
- Strong analytical capability; ability to gather and interpret complex data
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong planning, time-management, and organizational abilities
- Knowledge of local, regional, and national supplier markets
- Ability to work across all organizational levels and build strong stakeholder relationships
- Understanding of Safety, Health, and Environmental standards
- Demonstrated ethical decision-making
- Flexibility to support occasional evening/weekend work.
Competencies
- Problem identification and resolution
- Information gathering and analysis
- Strategic option development
- Timely decision-making and execution
- Stakeholder engagement and collaboration
- Customer focus and service orientation
- Understanding of supply chain and business operations
- Adaptability, openness to change, and situational flexibility
- Effective communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to prioritize and operate with a “continuous improvement” mindset
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