Category Manager - Associate

Sonoco Products Company
paid time off, tuition reimbursement, 401(k), retirement plan
United States, Illinois, Arlington Heights
Oct 15, 2025
From a small family business to a multi-billion-dollar global company, Sonoco has been changing the face of products and packaging since 1899 - all while keeping the heart of "People Build Businesses" alive. Our talented people are at the core of our growth, constantly reinventing the Sonoco wheel with brilliant solutions every year. Today we are a world leader in global packaging solutions with diversified operations in over 34 countries. We're extremely proud of our portfolio of brands, our achievements in sustainability and industrialization and the groundbreaking work accomplished by our people. Reporting directly to the Category Manager, as an Associate Category Manager you will be responsible to ensure the business units have goods and services to operate at the most competitive cost. What you'll be doing: Create a clear vision and develop long term strategic plans for the specific category spend area to support overarching category plans. Ensure that the category strategies are highly aligned to current and future business needs (and overall category strategy) and that the supply base is aligned with and capable of supporting these strategies. Drive communication/reporting of strategy to keep internal clients informed of progress and benefits Identify and initiate focused projects (sourcing, demand management, etc) and manage pipeline of projects within selected categories to ensure results meet targets Engage strategic sourcing team and tactical sourcing team to drive execution of projects in support of category strategies Lead supplier relationship management for strategic suppliers within category Define KPIs and Targets and manage scorecards Become subject matter expert in this functional area and provide commodity knowledge to internal clients on spend data, supply base, industry trends, benchmarking, and best practices This is a remote position reporting into our Arlington Heights, IL USA location. We'd love to hear from you if: Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Business, Operations or Supply Management; MBA preferred 5 or more years of experience in Supply Management or related Leadership. Annual spend is $25-$100MM Compensation: The annual base salary range for this role is from $118,000 to $130,000. At Sonoco Products Company, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including competitive pay and benefits. Benefits listed below are for employees located in the U.S. Specific benefits and wellbeing programs may vary depending on your location (within the U.S. or global), or if you are a union employee. Benefits* Medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents, including FSA and HSA options 401(k) retirement plan with company match Wellbeing tools and resources to support holistic health, including an Employee Assistance Program with a variety of services Paid time off and holidays to recreate, rejuvenate and care for the health of yourself and family Variety of company paid and voluntary employee-paid insurance plans including life, personal accident, and disability insurance Tuition reimbursement We are an equal opportunity employer, and we strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any legally protected characteristic.