Ashland LLC

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we’d like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Global Category Buyer to join our Ashland LLC business at our Wilmington, Delaware location. This position will support procurement of indirect goods and services and report to the Director of Global Indirect Procurement. The position also oversees various assigned categories of spend and is responsible for securing contracts through a collaborated effort with suppliers, corporate risk, and legal. Key measurement is to ensure low cost and timely supply of product and services to support our manufacturing operations globally.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Develop Category Strategic plans following the 7 Step Strategic Sourcing methodology


• Negotiate, implement, and manage strategic contracts to ensure surety of supply, quality, and lowest total cost


• Identify opportunities for cost savings, improved efficiencies, and other areas of improvement; recommend and implement policy or process changes as appropriate


• Deploy supply risk assessment and mitigation programs to ensure business continuity


• Act as Global Procurement representative in dealing with Senior Management, key internal stakeholders, and external suppliers


• Collaborate with Business Unit's leadership and functional partners on strategy development, innovation, and continuous improvement plans


• Ensuring all procurement services are met for the assigned Ashland plants, labs, and/or facilities


• Facilitating RFP and preparing bid packages according to engineering specs. and business requirement


• Conducting bid analysis and awarding business based on internal team consensus


• Collaborating with corporate legal to initiate contracts in accordance with business objectives


• Facilitating Non-Disclosure Agreement to ensure Ashland’s intellectual property is protected


• Qualifying new suppliers and service providers to support the business needs


• Engaging in continuous improvement initiatives to mitigate business and operational risks


• Extracting and analyzing spend data by various criteria from various ERP/S2P and reporting tools (Coupa, SAP, QlikView)


• Representing as Corporate Agent: Ensuring Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Policies are enforced


• Ensuring strict compliance to Ashland’s Zero Incident Culture and Responsible Care Guidelines

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree; preferably in a science, supply chain, or finance discipline


• Minimum of 5 years of strategic procurement experience in a fast-paced environment


• Experience managing complex multi-category spend up to $75 million plus


• Demonstrated knowledge of Contracting practices and processes in a global environment


• Experience in ERP procurement systems SAP and COUPA preferred


• Demonstrated negotiation experience


• Analytical and strategic thinking


• Capable of drafting moderate non-routine contractual agreements with legal guidance


• Self-starter: Ability to work independently with minimal supervision


• Excellent organizational and project management skills


• Able to communicate effectively and interact with personnel at all levels


• Strong computer skills and desire to learn new software and programs


• Team player with the ability to work among cross-functional teams

The following skill sets are preferred by the business unit:

• MBA


• 3+ years in logistic transportation contracts


• Experience in Chemical or Pharmaceutical industry and/or in Fortune 500 Companies


• SAP/Coupa experience strongly desired

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland LLC. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, personal care and pharmaceutical. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer.
 
At Ashland our vision is to be a leading, global specialty chemicals company whose inspired and engaged employees add value to all we touch. In fact our people, employees, customers and vendors define who we are. They are the driving force behind everything we do.
 
Not only do we value our customers but we value our employees, and we work to offer them a dynamic and challenging environment. We hold ourselves to high standards at Ashland, and we value integrity and honesty.
 
Ashland has a history of attracting the best people and keeping them. The reasons are simple: industry competitive salary and benefits, pay-for-performance incentive plans and a diverse work environment where employees feel challenged and valued. People come to Ashland and stay. As a growing Fortune 500 specialty chemicals company, we offer opportunities for development and advancement throughout our global organization. Our values define who we are and what we care about as a company. If you are looking for a relationship with a company instead of simply a job, this may be a great fit.

Ashland is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled/Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation. 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. NOTE:  We do not accept resumes from external staffing agencies or independent recruiters for any of our openings unless we have a signed recruiting agreement in place to fill a specific position.