Supplier Development Specialist

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution · Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

We have an immediate opportunity for a Supplier Development Specialist in our Easton Square, Columbus, OH location. 

Primary Function / Goals / Objectives: 
The Supplier Development Specialist is responsible for supporting supplier development initiatives, including Design for Supply and Supply Resiliency. The role will prioritize, streamline, and track KBR (Keep Business Running) qualifications, drive Margin & Profitability (M&P) cost savings initiatives, and ensure consistent supply of managed ingredient categories. This position plays a critical role in strengthening the supply chain and enabling business continuity. 

Major Responsibilities: 

• Execute supplier development strategies to enhance supply resiliency, reduce risk, and optimize ingredient sourcing, minimizing downstream issues and rework via strengthening of front-end supplier readiness. 

• Perform upfront ingredient pre‑qualification screening, including issuing technical RFIs, reviewing specifications, conducting ingredient characterization, assessing probability of technical success, and prioritizing candidates—supporting and facilitating the Technical Review Board process. 

• Accelerate supplier onboarding by leading and monitoring Agriculture and Nutritional ingredient qualification projects, and by creating and maintaining a qualification readiness checklist and roadmap that support reliable, uninterrupted supply. 

• Ensure compliant, high‑quality ingredient supply as sourcing strategies expand and diversify. Proactively resolve supply chain issues impacting ingredient availability or quality. 

• Serve as the functional representative for Agriculture and Nutritional Ingredients on prioritized and approved ingredient qualification projects. 

• Drive M&P cost savings initiatives across ingredient categories. 

• Collaborate cross‑functionally (R&D, Manufacturing, Legal, Logistics, Customs, Purchasing, Production Planning) and with suppliers to ensure effective qualification, integration, and long‑term success of new and existing suppliers. 

• Analyze cost/benefit scenarios and provide recommendations to senior management. 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with ingredient suppliers, including negotiation and problem resolution. 

• Manage Agriculture and Nutritional categories. 

Education: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Food Science, Engineering, or related field. 

• MBA desirable but not required. 

• Education should enable management of diverse business, technical, financial, and operational challenges. 

Background: 

• Proven history of delivering results with a strong work ethic. 

• 4+ years of Technical, Manufacturing, or Procurement expertise preferred. 

• Candidate must be a team player, dynamic, organized and self-motivated with an ability to manage several projects simultaneously. 

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with ownership and accountability for the Agriculture/Nutritional ingredient supply chain. 

• Experience collaborating across multiple functional areas and understanding operational disciplines (R&D, Manufacturing, Legal, Logistics, Customs, Purchasing, Production Planning). 

• Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to convey technical information to non-technical audiences. 

• Excellent problem-solving and logical thinking skills. 

• Frequent interaction with senior management at ingredient suppliers to negotiate, support qualification, and resolve issues. 

• Ability to listen to and understand others’ points of view and articulate tactfully and respectfully one’s own perspective orally, in writing, and in presentations. 

• Ability to travel to supplier locations on short notice as business needs require.  About 20%

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives: www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity. Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott, and on Twitter @AbbottNews.