Category Specialist

Category Specialist – Direct Materials/New Product Introduction

The Opportunity 

This is a cross-functional role responsible for managing and coordinating raw material approvals within the Procurement Department, directly supporting business performance and the successful execution of new product launches. The Procurement Category Specialist serves as a key liaison across Category Support, R&D, Quality, Marketing, Supply Chain, Legal, and Regulatory to ensure alignment and timely project execution. This role requires strong project management skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. This is a hybrid role with a minimum of 2 days per week in the Downers Grove, IL office and will report to Senior Procurement Category Specialist.

What You’ll Do

• Leveraging leadership guidance and category strategy to identify, source, qualify and set-up new raw materials for innovation and second sourcing opportunities.


• Manage end-to-end raw material and supplier approval processes, including collecting, reviewing, and validating required documentation.


• Serve as the primary Procurement representative in assigned POD meetings, maintaining visibility into brand innovation pipeline, specific project timelines, and potential risks.


• Own Procurement deliverables across NPI stage gates to ensure launch readiness.


• Lead weekly project meetings involving raw material approval status, facility approvals, form updates, samples, and process improvement.


• Demonstrate understanding of financial metrics with the ability to identify and quantify business impact, including cost savings, cost avoidance, customer satisfaction, and quality improvements.


• Evaluate situations and escalate to management as needed to ensure efficient utilization of both Glanbia and supplier resources.


• Build and maintain a reputation for trust and credibility with both internal stakeholders and external partners.

The Skills You Will Bring To The Team

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations, Business Management, Engineering or equivalent.


• 2-3 years’ experience in a strategic procurement role preferred.


• Understanding the procurement process, from identifying needs and supplier selection to negotiating contracts and managing relationships. A strong foundation in procurement principles is crucial.


• Ability to quantify cost impact, cost avoidance, and trade-offs related to NPI, sourcing decisions, and supplier changes.


• Ability to identify opportunities to improve procurement workflows, master data accuracy, and system efficiency across NPI and raw material approval processes.


• The ability to clearly communicate with suppliers, internal stakeholders, and team members. Writing clear emails, reports, and making presentations are important in this role.


• Ensuring that procurement activities, contracts, and data delivered is accurate.


• Superior organization to allow managing multiple tasks and deadlines efficiently.


• Being able to manage small projects or tasks within the procurement process, such as sourcing, risk mitigation, or supplier management, in a timely and organized manner.


• Building rapport with suppliers and handling day-to-day communications/operational requirements.


• Requires significant interaction and cooperation with those outside of Procurement including suppliers, supply chain, R&D and others.


• Being adaptable and open to feedback will help improve performance.


• Being comfortable using procurement software, Excel, or other dashboard tools to support tasks such as reporting, process routing and raw material management.

Where And How You Will Work

The opportunity will be based in Downers Grove, IL with hybrid working arrangements available through our  Smart working model  which allows you a greater choice in how you work and live, giving you a better work-life balance.

What we would like to offer you!  

The opportunity to develop your career on a global stage, continuous learning through an on-demand learning platform, and a competitive compensation package including staff discounts, generous family leave policy, health & dental plan, competitive salary, 401K. Glanbia provides a reasonable range of compensation for roles; the salary range for this role is $65,000-85,000 plus an annual bonus. This range may not be applicable to other locations and targeted salary is midpoint of range. Factors that could be used to determine your actual salary may include your specific skills, years of experience and comparison to current employees already in this role. 

Apply now and make a difference in the world of health and wellness!

Glanbia has a unique portfolio of better nutrition brands and ingredients, addressing growing consumer demand in major health and nutrition categories. We play into the growing market trends of active lifestyles and, health and wellness.

At Glanbia, we celebrate diversity, because we know that our individual strengths make us stronger together. We welcome and encourage interest from a wide variety of candidates, and we will give your application consideration, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status. 

At Glanbia, our culture celebrates individuality, knowing that together we are more.