Sr. Category Leader, Marketing & Communications

Sr. Category Leader Marketing & Communications

Work Mode:Onsite

Location:Onsite four days per week - Kohler WI

Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to shape how Kohler invests in media and marketing partnerships that build our brands reach consumers and drive business impact. The Senior Category Leader Marketing & Communications will serve as a strategic partner to Marketing bringing commercial discipline supplier insight and market expertise to help maximize value improve transparency and enable smarter faster decisions across a dynamic and evolving media landscape. This senior role will focus on all kinds of marketing media planning development execution and distribution.

Scope and Responsibilities

• Lead media procurement strategy and sourcing execution for Kohlers marketing organization including paid media digital programmatic social search retail media agency services measurement and related marketing technology.
• Partner with marketing brand finance legal privacy analytics and agency stakeholders to translate business needs into sourcing strategies scopes of work contract requirements performance expectations and supplier governance plans.
  
• Lead competitive sourcing events supplier evaluations bid analysis negotiations award recommendations renewals and contract changes for media agencies platforms and related suppliers.
  
• Analyze spend supplier proposals rate cards agency fees media pricing models contract terms market dynamics and performance data to support fact-based decisions and total value recommendations.
  
• Manage supplier relationships and governance routines including scorecards business reviews issue resolution escalation paths performance commitments renewal planning and continuous improvement actions.
  
• Deliver category value through cost avoidance savings risk reduction improved transparency supplier accountability and stronger return on marketing investment including Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
  
• Provide media procurement expertise on agency models fee structures commercial terms brand safety content rights and evolving media market trends.
  
• Communicate sourcing activity supplier performance risks value delivered and recommended improvements to procurement marketing and senior business leaders.

Key Media/Marketing Subject Matter Expertise:

• Strong understanding of paid media categories agency models media platforms fee structures retainer and rate cards media markups and other key commercial levers.
• Strong understanding of marketing performance and value metrics (e.g. return on ad spend cost per acquisition engagement and conversion)
  
• Ability to evaluate supplier proposals using business impact service quality performance risk and total cost of ownership metrics.
  
• Familiarity with digital marketing ecosystem supplier landscape and compliance considerations (data privacy IP rights and content usage).
  
• Connect sourcing decisions to Kohlers brand priorities marketing objectives risk mitigation value creation and budget effectiveness.
  
• Manage complexity by making sense of complex media supplier contract budget and performance information to define issues and solve problems.

Key Procurement Subject Matter Expertise:

• Contract Proficiency
  

• Understand the importance of contract quality and deliver to high standards
  
• Interpret business commercial and legal contract terms and conditions and communicate them so that associates of all levels can understand them
  
• Independently manage and lead sourcing and contracting processes
  

• Negotiation
  
  • Negotiate marketing and communications services engagements and agreements with a focus on media
    
  • Seek to increase the amount of negotiation power and leverage in every opportunity and when that is not possible negotiate well within varying degrees of power and leverage
    
  • Analyze commercial aspects of proposals and contracts with a focus on delivering against appropriate marketing/communications metrics and overall value (not just reductions in cost)
    
• Category and Supplier Management:
  
  • Develop media category strategies that balance cost quality speed innovation compliance supplier performance and business outcomes.
    
  • Use spend data supplier insights benchmarks market intelligence and risk assessments to build fact-based sourcing recommendations.
    
  • Govern supplier relationships through scorecards business reviews issue resolution accountability routines and continuous improvement plans.
• Interpersonal Competencies and Capabilities:
  
  • Delight internal customers and stakeholders by accepting responsibility and holding self suppliers and stakeholders accountable to timelines commitments service levels compliance expectations and performance outcomes.
    
  • Build and maintain key internal and external relationships including those with senior leaders including directors VPs and C-suite-level officers
    
  • Proactively keep stakeholders up to date with timely effective communication
    
  • Inspire internal associate teams to always do what is right for Kohler Co
    
  • Boldly innovate through process improvements and through finding new ways to do things
    
  • Work independently and own workstreams as if this was your company
    
  • Be comfortable asking questions when the desired outcome is unclear
    
  • Prioritize competing workstreams according to their real level of urgency anticipates risks improves processes and drives timely execution.

Skills/Requirements

• Bachelors degree in marketing supply chain business finance communications or related field required; advanced degree preferred.
  
• Minimum of 8 years of combined experience in strategic sourcing focused on marketing categories category management media procurement media agency management marketing operations or related roles.
  
• Experience managing media marketing agency communications or technology-related contracts and sourcing projects with $1M-10M in annual spend
  
• Proficiency with supplier management contract management eSourcing spend analytics Microsoft Excel Power BI Microsoft Copilot and related procurement or analytics tools.

#LI-SW1

#LI-Onsite

Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

We believe in supporting you from the moment you join us which is why Kohler offers day 1 benefits. This means youll have access to your applicable benefit programs from your first day on the job with no waiting period. The salary range for this position is $135600 - $211000. The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidates experience their education and the work addition this position is eligible for a performance bonus/variable incentive compensation.

Why Choose Kohler
We empower each associate to #BecomeMoreAtKohler with a competitive total rewards package to support your health and wellbeing access to career growth and development opportunities a diverse and inclusive workplace and a strong culture of innovation. With more than 30000 bold leaders across the globe were driving meaningful change in our mission to help people live gracious healthy and sustainable lives.

About Us
It is Kohlers policy to recruit hire and promote qualified applicants without regard to race creed religion age sex sexual orientation gender identity or expression marital status national origin disability or status as a protected veteran. If as an individual with a disability you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process please contact . Kohler Co. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Required Experience:

Senior IC