Category Manager

At Motiva, our employees' energy, passion, and dedication to excellence are what make us who we are and what allows us to generate energy that makes a house a home, gets us from point A to point B, and enables our health and wellbeing. We invest in every aspect of our employees' lives because, at Motiva, our people matter.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products throughout the Americas. The company's Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex in Port Arthur, TX, is comprised of North America's largest refinery with a total throughput of 720,000 barrels per day, the largest base oil plant in the western hemisphere, and an integrated chemical plant. Under exclusive long-term brand licenses with Shell and Phillips 66 (for the 76® brand), Motiva's commercial operations supply more than 12 billion gallons of fuel to customers annually. Motiva is wholly owned by Aramco, one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemicals companies.

As a key member of Motiva's Supply Chain team, the Category Manager - Materials

plays a critical role in managing Motiva's Materials Category portfolio. This position is responsible for developing sourcing strategies, executing purchasing activities, managing supplier and stakeholder relationships, and driving continuous improvement to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective material availability for operations at the Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex.

The Category Manager collaborates closely with Maintenance, Turnaround, Reliability, Engineering, Warehouse Operations, and the broader Supply Chain team to enhance value delivery, optimize third-party spend, ensure supply continuity, and promote process excellence.

This role positions Supply Chain as a strategic, value-adding business partner by proactively engaging stakeholders and suppliers, championing sourcing initiatives, and implementing Motiva's Supply Chain policies, processes, and best practices. This role reports to the Lead Category Manager - Materials

Responsibilities:

Category Management

- Develops and implements comprehensive strategic category strategies that align with overall business objectives and follow approved processes and sourcing strategy methodology

- Implements measurement systems used to track and evaluate category performance and identify continuous improvement opportunities to enhance category performance

- Conducts spend analysis by collecting, validating and analyzing spend data

- Performs market analysis by doing market research and understanding the supplier landscape, capabilities market trends and pricing models and by doing benchmarking which includes comparing current prices and supplier performance against market standards to identify potential improvements

- Brings proven expertise in strategic sourcing, contract management, negotiation, and sourcing strategy execution to successfully deliver category objectives

- Demonstrates strong presentation skills and effectively communicates with senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders

Value & Cost Optimization

- Identify and implement value chain improvements to maximize cost efficiency and deliver added value.

- Conduct economic analyses to evaluate bids, optimize sourcing decisions, and support strategic procurement events.

- Develop credible business cases for sourcing initiatives supported by market data and relevant business and technical factors.

- Proactively seek opportunities for cost savings, cost avoidance, revenue enhancement, and risk reduction within assigned categories.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

- Engage proactively with stakeholders across Maintenance, Turnaround, Reliability, Engineering, and Warehouse Operations to gather requirements and incorporate them into sourcing strategies.

- Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to continuously improve value delivery through Category Management.

- Promote Procurement as a strategic, value-adding partner within Motiva.

Supplier Relationship Management

- Lead supplier engagement efforts, including performance reviews against KPIs and implementation of continuous improvement initiatives.

- Drive value through innovative supplier collaboration and strategic partnerships.

Negotiation & Conflict Resolution

- Negotiate legal and commercial terms, including pricing, during contract development and execution phases.

- Manage strategy approval processes, align stakeholders, and resolve escalations efficiently.

Experience and Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, or related field. - 7+ years of experience in supply chain, procurement, materials management, or related areas. - 5+ years of experience with commercial business processes.

- Proven experience in developing procurement strategies.

Preferred Education and Experience:

- Master's degree (or equivalent).

- Strong understanding of SCM ERP/MRP systems; experience with Ariba or SAP.

- Supply chain experience supporting refining and/or chemicals operations.

- Previous experience in the oil and gas industry.

- Hands-on experience with material categories such as rotating equipment (pumps, compressors, mechanical seals) and MRO materials.