When you join the team at Unum, you become part of an organization committed to helping you thrive.

Here, we work to provide the employee benefits and service solutions that enable employees at our client companies to thrive throughout life’s moments. And this starts with ensuring that every one of our team members enjoys opportunities to succeed both professionally and personally. To enable this, we provide:

• Award-winning culture

• Inclusion and diversity as a priority

• Performance Based Incentive Plans

• Competitive benefits package that includes: Health, Vision, Dental, Short & Long-Term Disability

• Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)

• Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution

• Mental health support

• Career advancement opportunities

• Student loan repayment options

• Tuition reimbursement

• Flexible work environments

*All the benefits listed above are subject to the terms of their individual Plans .

And that’s just the beginning…

With 10,000 employees helping more than 39 million people worldwide, every role at Unum is meaningful and impacts the lives of our customers. Whether you’re directly supporting a growing family, or developing online tools to help navigate a difficult loss, customers are counting on the combined talents of our entire team. Help us help others, and join Team Unum today!

General Summary:

General Summary

The Category Director is part of Unum’s Strategic Sourcing organization and will partner with business unit(s) and corporate leaders to drive and facilitate strategy for select strategic external partner(s), in alignment with enterprise-wide strategy. Responsible for leadership and oversight to include strategy development and implementation, cost and value analysis, contract negotiation and coordination, transition leadership, global market intelligence and best practices, and supplier performance management. Acts as the primary point of contact for executive leadership on all delivery-related matters for assigned categories or external partner(s). Generates value by actively engaging in ‘make vs. buy’ assessments, enhancing or adding to Unum’s capabilities, maximizing Unum’s purchasing power, reducing Unum’s total costs, and mitigating Unum’s risks. The incumbent will be a trusted business partner who works closely with global suppliers and consults with senior leaders and subject matter experts across the enterprise to develop solutions that support Unum’s business objectives and drive optimal results.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage specific relationship(s) at the enterprise level for services and capabilities provided by external partners (ITO, BPO, BPaaS, KPO, etc.), focusing on opportunity identification, operating model design and oversight, and transition leadership.

• Manages work of staff, including assessing staffing needs of the team, hiring, development, performance management, and compensation decisions.

• Partner with senior executives, business stakeholders and external partner leadership to identify and implement valued-based opportunities.

• Engage closely with business partners to develop deep understanding of business goals and objectives and influence supplier alignment

• Establish and foster successful, positive working relationships between internal stakeholders and suppliers

• Develop, influence and implement category strategies across the business, including development and execution of RFX documents; develop selection criteria and drive selection of suppliers in collaboration with cross-functional teams; conduct supplier negotiations and ongoing supplier management.

• Establish a strategic roadmap (3-5 years ahead) that supports business stakeholders’ objectives, with customization by business unit and external partner capabilities.

• Proactively lead market-intelligence gathering and analysis activities.

• Develop and communicate category strategies to leaders and cross-functional teams to ensure that business expectations are met

• Drive consolidation of spending, seek out synergies across the enterprise, and deliver annual budgeted cost savings across the enterprise

• Challenge and influence business stakeholders and budget owners for the business rationale and specifications of required goods and services

• Work with the business partners to create standard Service Level Agreements, metrics and scorecard programs to effectively measure and manage supplier performance

• Develop negotiation strategies, gain alignment from business stakeholders, lead cross- functional, category-based negotiation teams using BATNA and other methodologies, and implement appropriate supplier risk analyses.

• Own contract performance, including monitoring, supplier adherence, measurement, reconciling and overall stewardship of supplier contracts to mitigate risk

• Lead periodic business reviews (e.g., quarterly) with suppliers and business partners where reports, metrics and partner scorecards are shared to drive continuous improvement and consistently high quality, high value results; includes leading development of efficient processes and mechanisms in partnership with Legal, Risk, ISO, Compliance, Global Security, IT architecture, and other corporate functions

• Lead ongoing supplier relationships with regards to change management, business continuity plans, and issue escalation and resolution

• Own the drafting, negotiating, and executing contractual documents including but not limited to Master Service Agreement, Statements of Work, and Letter Agreements

• Performs other duties as assigned

Job Specifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management or related experience and 8 or more years of experience in Procurement, Category Management, Supplier Management or equivalent experience required; MBA, business operations or management experience; insurance or financial services experience preferred.

• Strong people management skills demonstrating effective coaching, mentoring, team building, and leadership.

• Significant experience leading and collaborating with external partners on critical, strategic outsourcing engagements, including opportunity identification, demand aggregation, make vs. buy decision rationales, operating model design, complex high value contract negotiations, performance management, best practices, benchmarking and market intelligence.

• Experience in relationship management, change management, strategy development, and contract negotiations; exposure to Risk, Regulatory Compliance, Audit, and Business Continuity Planning is desirable

• Knowledge of risk management related disciplines Ability to influence peers and senior managers in partner organizations and work at all levels and across organizations to gain buy- in and build consensus to deliver on strategies and objectives; superior oral and written communication and interpersonal skills, with ability to articulate difficult ideas and concepts through concise verbal and written communication

• Demonstrated negotiation, decision-making and presentation skills; proven track record of delivering tangible results in complex and matrix work environment; innovative strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, and strong business acumen and analytical capabilities.

• Ability to successfully manage time pressures, work against deadlines, and deliver strong results on schedule; ability to prioritize based on customer or business needs, urgency, and importance; strong initiative with ability to set and meet stretch goals.

• Demonstrated ability to produce executive management reports; advanced PC skills required (Excel, Power Point, Word, etc.)

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Unum and Colonial Life are part of Unum Group, a Fortune 500 company and leading provider of employee benefits to companies worldwide. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, with international offices in Ireland, Poland and the UK, Unum also has significant operations in Portland, ME, and Baton Rouge, LA - plus over 35 US field offices. Colonial Life is headquartered in Columbia, SC, with over 40 field offices nationwide.

The base salary range for applicants for this position is listed below. Unless actual salary is indicated above in the job description, actual pay will be based on skill, geographical location and experience.

$89,900.00-$161,800.00

Additionally, Unum offers a portfolio of benefits and rewards that are competitive and comprehensive including healthcare benefits (health, vision, dental), insurance benefits (short & long-term disability), performance-based incentive plans, paid time off, and a 401(k) retirement plan with an employer match up to 5% and an additional 4.5% contribution whether you contribute to the plan or not. All benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of individual Plans.

Company:

Unum

Unum is an equal opportunity employer, considering all qualified applicants and employees for hiring, placement, and advancement, without regard to a person's race, color, religion, national origin, age, genetic information, military status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or protected veteran status.