Category Manager – Packaging & Indirect at Gaia Herbs – Mills River, North Carolina

Job Summary

The Category Manager – Packaging & Indirect owns the sourcing strategy and commercial performance of Gaia Herbs’ packaging and indirect spend categories. This role leads supplier selection, strategic sourcing initiatives, contract management, and supplier performance oversight to ensure reliable supply, competitive pricing, and alignment with Gaia’s sustainability and operational objectives.

The Category Manager partners closely with all relevant business functions to manage supplier relationships, mitigate supply risk, and support the successful commercialization of packaging and indirect materials. This role focuses primarily on strategic supplier management and sourcing governance while coordinating closely with supply planning and materials teams responsible for purchase order execution. Occasional purchase order placement may be required to support operational continuity.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Sourcing

• Develop and maintain sourcing strategies for packaging components and assigned indirect spend categories.
• Lead competitive sourcing events including RFIs, RFPs, and supplier bidding processes.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, cost structures, geographic risk exposure, and capacity alignment.
• Maintain visibility into category spend, supplier concentration, cost drivers, and supply risk, and develop strategies to optimize cost, resilience, supplier leverage, and performance.
• Research and develop secondary sourcing options to mitigate supply risk.

Supplier Management

• Establish and manage strategic supplier relationships for packaging and indirect categories.
• Lead supplier onboarding in partnership with Quality, Regulatory, and Operations teams.
• Maintain strong supplier communication and act as primary commercial point of contact.
• Monitor supplier performance metrics including cost, quality, sustainability, and service levels.
• Lead supplier performance reviews and annual supplier scorecard processes.
• Coordinate closely with Supply Planning and Materials Management teams responsible for purchase order execution and supplier delivery performance.
• Occasionally place purchase orders as needed to support operational continuity or during supply disruptions.

Contracting & Commercial Governance

• Negotiate and manage strategic supply agreements in partnership with Legal and Regulatory teams.
• Ensure pricing, terms, lead times, and service expectations are clearly defined in contracts.
• Identify opportunities for long-term supply agreements or strategic partnerships.
• Support contract compliance and cost governance across assigned categories.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Marketing, Creative, and R&D teams on packaging component development and supplier coordination.
• Support commercialization of new packaging components and supplier transitions.
• Collaborate with Supply Planning and Materials Management teams to ensure supplier commitments support operational needs.
• Assist in managing change control processes for packaging specifications, suppliers, or materials.

Risk Management & Continuous Improvement

• Identify and manage risks related to supply availability, cost volatility, sustainability requirements, and regulatory considerations.
• Lead root cause analysis and supplier corrective actions for performance issues.
• Support initiatives to improve sourcing discipline, supplier transparency, and operational resilience.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives within supply chain processes and systems.

Systems & Data Governance

• Maintain accurate supplier and category data within ERP systems to support planning and purchasing activities.
• Support reporting related to supplier performance, spend analysis, and sourcing initiatives.
• Assist in developing tools and dashboards that improve sourcing visibility and decision making.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None directly; however, this role provides category leadership and commercial guidance to supply planning and materials teams executing purchase orders.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

One of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, packaging science, or related field and three (3) years of strategic sourcing experience, or
• Associate’s degree and five (5) years of sourcing or procurement experience, or
• Seven (7) years of relevant experience in procurement, packaging sourcing, or supply chain within consumer-packaged goods, food, natural products, or similar industries.

Preferred:

• Experience in packaging procurement within consumer packaged goods
• Experience with international sourcing and supplier relationship management
• Experience working within ERP/MRP systems, preferably IFS
• Experience negotiating supplier contracts and supply agreements

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong understanding of strategic sourcing and category management principles
• Ability to analyze spend data, supplier performance, and market trends
• Experience leading supplier negotiations and commercial agreements
• Ability to manage multiple cross-functional projects and priorities
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and data analysis tools
• Familiarity with Power BI or similar reporting platforms preferred
• Understanding of sustainability and sourcing compliance considerations

Physical Demands

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

The employee is regularly required to sit, communicate with others, and operate a computer. Occasional lifting of materials up to 50 lbs. may be required.

Work Environment

The primary work environment of this position is a standard office environment at Gaia Herbs’ Mills River, NC facility. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may occasionally be exposed to warehouse or manufacturing environments.

Domestic travel may be required periodically to support supplier visits, packaging development activities, or industry events.

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The above statements are meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required of personnel so classified.