Exploration Manager Jobs in Athens, TN (NOW HIRING)

What we offer

Explore a world of opportunities with us. Look ahead with us and help shape innovative solutions to make our world more sustainable and life healthier, more vibrant and more comfortable. At Evonik, you have the chance to explore, thrive, and grow alongside 33,000 colleagues. Among attractive career paths and high-quality development programs, we not only offer performance-based remuneration and occupational health benefits but also hybrid and flexible working environments with #SmartWork. Bring your fresh perspective, develop your strengths, break out your mold, and find a career that fits your dreams with us.

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https://careers.evonik.com/en/about/meet-the-team/

Job Summary

The Procurement Business Partner (PBP) Manager serves as the key link between Indirect Procurement and assigned sites, business units, and functions. This role drives early procurement engagement, demand shaping, governance, and value creation by partnering with stakeholders to identify cost optimization opportunities, improve compliance, and support procurement strategies.

The PBP Manager works closely with site leadership, Category Managers, and cross-functional teams to align procurement activities with business needs, improve sourcing effectiveness, and maximize value delivery supporting smart effects business line.

Key Responsibilities

Business Partnering & Demand Shaping

• Act as the primary point of contact between Indirect Procurement and assigned sites, engaging stakeholders early to understand business needs, challenge requirements, and shape procurement demand.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Build strong partnerships with site leadership and cross-functional teams, including Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance, and Category Management, to align procurement activities with business priorities.

Cost Optimization & Value Creation

• Partner with stakeholders to identify cost-saving opportunities, optimize demand, support value creation initiatives, and contribute to site-level cost improvement plans.

Procurement Strategy Deployment

• Support the execution of category strategies by driving adoption of preferred suppliers, contracts, sourcing initiatives, and supplier transition activities.

Procurement Governance & Compliance

• Promote procurement policies and processes, improve sourcing discipline, and guide stakeholders in reducing non-standard, unmanaged, or after-the-fact purchasing.

Sourcing Support & Execution

• Coordinate business requirements, specifications, and timelines with Category Managers to ensure sourcing activities are aligned with site needs and priorities.

Supplier Performance & Issue Resolution

• Support resolution of supplier performance concerns, availability challenges, and operational issues in partnership with Category Managers and procurement teams.

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor procurement KPIs, stakeholder satisfaction, compliance, and value realization while identifying opportunities to improve procurement effectiveness and business partnership.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Procurement, or a related field.
• 5-8 years of experience in Procurement, Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, or a related operational role.
• Experience supporting Indirect Procurement within a manufacturing, industrial, chemical, pharmaceutical, or similar environment is preferred.
• Strong understanding of procurement processes, sourcing governance, supplier management, and contract adoption.
• Experience partnering with cross-functional teams, including Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance, and site leadership.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills with the ability to drive alignment and challenge requirements constructively.
• Ability to identify cost optimization opportunities, support procurement initiatives, and improve compliance and process effectiveness.
• Experience with procurement transformation, category strategy deployment, or additional language skills (Spanish, Portuguese, or German) would be considered an asset.
• This role requires an on-site presence four days per week and approximately 20-40% travel to support assigned sites and business stakeholders.

The Evonik Group adopts an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) approach. Candidates are assessed based on their educational qualifications, experience, job competencies and potential and shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation or other classifications protected by local, state, or provincial regulations.

Your Application

To ensure that your application is proceeded as quickly as possible and to protect the environment, please apply online via ourcareersportal. Further information about Evonik as Employer can be found at www.evonik.com/en/careers.html.

Please address your application to the Talent Acquisition Manager, statingyour earliest possible starting date and your salary expectations.

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