Category Manager

POSITION SUMMARY 

The Tactical Strategic Partnerships; Vendor Manager is responsible for developing and executing the tactical

domain strategy that aligns with the company objectives, as it relates to revenue generation and gross profit

contribution. The Tactical Strategic Partnerships; Vendor Manager will play a crucial role in developing and maintaining

relationships with strategic partners and vendors to enhance business operations, drive innovation, and support

organizational goals. This position requires a dynamic individual with strong negotiation skills, strategic thinking,

and a collaborative mindset. The role is key to leading the company forward in securing relationships with

quality suppliers of tactical products covering contractual, price, delivery, payment and quality targets.

Additionally, to obtain competitive advantages with pricing, terms and conditions.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Reasonable Accommodations Statement

In order to perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential duties outlined

below. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform

these essential functions.

Essential Functions Statements

● Identify and engage potential Tactical strategic partners to support business objectives.

● Develop and maintain tactical vendor partnership strategies that align with the organization’s goals.

Collaborate with Tactical Strategic vendor partners on Pipeline/Forecast, target accounts/markets.

● Foster and maintain strong relationships with existing partners to maximize collaboration.

● Oversee vendor selection, negotiation, and performance evaluation processes.

● Establish and maintain vendor relationships to ensure quality service delivery and compliance with

contractual obligations.

● Monitor vendor performance and implement improvements as needed. Manage VOTD reporting as part

of the strategic vendor program.

● Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on partnership and vendor strategies.

● Support internal Sales Team and other Noble Team Members on Vendor selections for specific

programs, projects, and upcoming IDIQs. Make recommendations based on support, profitability and

access when direction on product is needed.

● Communicate effectively with stakeholders to facilitate partnership initiatives and vendor management

processes.

● Negotiate contracts and agreements with partners and vendors to ensure favorable terms.

● Conduct market research to identify trends, opportunities, and potential threats in the partnership

landscape.

● Analyze competitive offerings and industry benchmarks to inform strategic decision-making.

● Identify potential risks associated with tactical vendor partnerships and vendor relationships. Develop

and implement strategies to mitigate risks and ensure business continuity.

● Develop tactical domain sourcing strategy to drive more market share to Noble @ higher margins.

● Execute NOBLE Strategic Vendor Program with Tactical partners annually.

● Develop & Execute tactical market training plan to drive additional knowledge and pipeline growth for

Industrial partners with sales. If appropriate, schedule and identify vendor training to keep sales up to

date on products.

● ​​Maintain key Vendor Directory information in pertinent company systems (i.e. Salesforce), and relay

competitive advantage information to internal Sales Teams within systems.

● Responsible for maintaining a knowledge of product/capability offerings, as well as contract or sales

opportunities with tactical vendor partners.

● Represent Noble in a professional manner in attendance of vendor training, meetings, workshops, and

tradeshows.

● Analyze margin trends with Tactical strategic vendor partners to track and maximize profitability when

possible.

● Collaborate with Marketing team and Tactical strategic vendor partners for branding and marketing

opportunities on catalog submissions, advertising, and trade show exhibitions. Negotiate marketing

cooperative funds alongside marketing with Tactical vendor partners.

● Lead negotiations with Tactical vendor partners as it relates to discounts, sales territory, customer

access, payment terms, rebates and overall profitability.

● Liaise with Purchasing, Operations, Sales, Training and Service to provide feedback and data to core

vendor partners whenever possible. Support discussions as needed if a core vendor partner is not

meeting desired metrics.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

● Bachelor Degree preferred and equivalent experience

● Tactical Market experience preferred

● 3-5 years of sales and/or business development experience with a track record of capture and program

management within assigned market and region

● 3-5 years of experience with US Government contracting and acquisition prior military experience is a

plus.

● Exceptional understanding of government customers, operations, and requirements coupled with key

industry supplier relationships.

COMPUTER SKILLS 

● NetSuite/Oracle

● Tableau

● Slack

● Salesforce

● Other Business Software

● Excel

REASONING ABILITY 

● Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram

form.  Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

● Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only

limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram,

or schedule form.

● Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an

extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract

and concrete variables.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while

performing the essential functions of this job. 

Normal Office Conditions

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Noble provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, status as a covered veteran, or any other protected category in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Noble complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaen.pdf

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/eppac.pdf

The Company has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee's ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent a contract of employment, and the Company reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as the Company may deem appropriate.