At Gerdau, we empower our people to grow, thrive, and make a difference—together. With a culture built on trust and teamwork, we offer meaningful work, continuous development, and opportunities to shape your future. We invite you to come work with us, where your contributions are valued, your voice is heard, and your career is forged with purpose

Category Management Specialist I | Best Cost Country 

Ready to grow your career in strategic procurement? We’re looking for a Category Management Specialist I to help execute sourcing strategies for Best Cost Countries, strengthen supplier partnerships, support negotiations, and identify opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership across our manufacturing operations.

This is a great opportunity for a procurement professional who enjoys working with suppliers, analyzing markets, partnering with operations, and contributing to sourcing decisions that impact facilities across the organization.

We Have:

• A strong global presence with mini-mills that transform millions of metric tons of raw material into steel products used across the automotive, appliance, construction, machinery, and equipment industries.
• A culture that welcomes diversity, encourages innovation, and creates products that serve humanity.
• An environment that values teamwork, safety, sustainability, and ethical business practices.
• A commitment to continuous improvement and investing in our people, processes, and technology.
• A procurement organization where you can gain exposure to strategic sourcing, global suppliers, manufacturing operations, and category management.

We Offer:

• Comprehensive Medical, Prescription, Dental & Vision Plans, eligible on your first day of hire
• Health & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• 100% Matching 401(k) up to 6%
• Life and Accidental Life Insurance
• Health Advocate Services
• Employee Assistance Program
• Tuition Reimbursement Program
• Career Path System and Training
• An empowering and open culture with opportunities to learn, grow, and build your career

Your Purpose:

The primary function of this position is to effectively coordinate and manage the strategic procurement process by developing effective supply programs that decrease the total cost of ownership.  These activities include but are not limited to the development and execution of procurement strategies, bid process and negotiations, team-based supplier selection and development, and contract management. You will be responsible for incorporating sustainability principles in its sourcing parameters and in the management of suppliers as a way to promote sustainable development. As part of this effort, when acquiring products and services, you will work to ensure the adherence of its suppliers and contractors to Gerdau’s Sustainability Policy and Code of Ethics for Third Parties. Gerdau seeks to disseminate the culture of sustainability throughout its value chain through partnership, communication, awareness and engagement initiatives.  

What You'll Do:

• Support and execute procurement strategies for assigned categories across global, national, and regional operations
• Support procurement activities across 11 steel mills and 99 downstream and recycling locations
• Analyze supplier markets, cost drivers, logistics, technology, competitiveness, and supply-chain risks
• Partner with internal stakeholders to understand operational needs and identify sourcing and cost-optimization opportunities
• Lead Requests for Quotations (RFQs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), competitive bidding, and supplier selection activities
• Support negotiation strategies and participate in negotiations with global suppliers
• Manage supplier relationships, contracts, pricing, lead times, Incoterms, and other key information in SAP
• Monitor supplier performance and KPIs and work with suppliers and internal stakeholders on corrective actions and continuous improvement opportunities
• Gather and analyze supplier and market intelligence to support sourcing decisions and reduce supply-chain risk
• Partner with operations and procurement teams to identify opportunities to lower total cost of ownership
• Support inventory strategies and procurement process improvements
• Prepare monthly commodity reports and presentations for Procurement leadership
• Incorporate sustainability, ethical sourcing, and responsible supplier practices into procurement activities

Qualifications Required:

• Four-year degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field
• Up to 3 years of procurement experience, preferably within an industrial or manufacturing environment
• Experience working with cross-functional teams
• Working knowledge of strategic sourcing and contemporary procurement practices
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work effectively with suppliers, internal customers, and multiple levels of management
• Strong Microsoft Office skills
• Experience or exposure to global sourcing
• Experience with MS Excel and Databricks

Preferred Qualifications:

• SAP experience
• Crystal Reports experience
• Professional certification in Procurement or Supply Chain Management

What Will Help You Succeed:

You’ll thrive in this role if you’re analytical, collaborative, and comfortable working in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. You enjoy digging into data, understanding supplier markets, building relationships, and finding smarter ways to improve cost, performance, and supply reliability.

This role has no direct reports, making it a strong opportunity for someone who wants to deepen their strategic sourcing and category management experience while gaining exposure to a large manufacturing network.

Join a team where procurement goes beyond purchasing. You’ll help build stronger supplier partnerships, improve total cost of ownership, and support manufacturing operations across the business.

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Gerdau believes in equal employment opportunity related to all employees and applicants for employment. It is the policy of Gerdau that there will be no discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status. All external applicants must be legally eligible to immediately work in the country of hire without current or future sponsorship.  

If you are vision-impaired or have some other disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act / Accessible Canada Act or a similar law, and you wish to discuss potential accommodations related to applying for employment at Gerdau, please contact our Talent Acquisition Team at (866)-788-2798 or recruiting@gerdau.com