Manager Procurement Operations

Career Area: Procurement Job Description: Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc. When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it. We are seeking a Procurement Operations Manager to lead the North America Procurement Contracting Center of Excellence team in Peoria, IL. This role is ideal for an experienced procurement operations leader who enjoys developing teams, standardizing processes, strengthening compliance, improving service delivery, and driving continuous improvement across contracting operations. As Procurement Operations Manager, you will oversee contract execution support, purchase-order management related to contracting requests, systems, data, reporting, compliance, and operational performance. You will partner with Procurement, Business Units, Category Management, Suppliers, Legal, and other functional teams to align priorities, mitigate risk, resolve issues, and improve service quality across North America. What You Will Do Lead, coach, and develop the North America Procurement Contracting Center of Excellence team. Set clear expectations for quality, responsiveness, service, accountability, and ethical business conduct. Establish performance goals aligned with regional and enterprise objectives. Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and knowledge sharing. Oversee contract execution support, purchase orders related to contracting requests, operational transactions, systems, data, workflows, reporting, and issue resolution. Ensure effective execution of requisition-to-purchase-order processes, contract approvals, purchase-order compliance, and procurement governance. Partner with sourcing, category management, contracting, legal, business, supplier, and functional teams to align procurement processes and priorities. Monitor contract requests, workloads, service levels, cycle times, quality, compliance, and business performance indicators. Identify operational risks, implement corrective actions, and maintain documentation and audit readiness. Standardize and simplify North American procurement processes to improve quality, efficiency, cycle time, and stakeholder experience. Use metrics and analytics to identify trends, prioritize improvements, and communicate performance, risks, and opportunities to leadership. Support adoption of procurement tools, systems, controls, and best practices. Resolve escalated operational and customer-support issues while providing guidance regarding procurement policies, sourcing strategies, and contracting decisions. Support major business initiatives and regional projects requiring procurement leadership. Promote a culture of inclusion, collaboration, engagement, continuous improvement, and strong team performance. What You Will Bring Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. Advanced English proficiency. Strong procurement, purchasing, supply chain, contracting, shared services, or procurement operations experience. Demonstrated experience leading teams, operational execution, and continuous improvement initiatives. Knowledge of procurement systems, contract management processes, supplier onboarding, purchase-order management, and purchasing workflows. Strong understanding of procurement policies, controls, governance, compliance, and risk mitigation. Experience managing operational metrics, analytics, reporting, performance reviews, and service-level expectations. Ability to standardize processes, improve cycle times, and strengthen customer and stakeholder experience. Excellent communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder-m…

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