Senior Category Manager

Job Summary

This person is expected to influence technology strategy and understand both commercial and technical dimensions of the IT procurement environment. This individual must be experienced and comfortable in working with CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, enterprise architects, and global technology/software and services providers. This role serves as the strategic procurement lead for enterprise Information Technology spend categories including software, SaaS, cloud infrastructure, telecommunications, managed services, hardware, cybersecurity, engineering systems, and digital transformation initiatives. The IT Category manager partners closely with CIO/IT leadership, Information Security, Enterprise Architecture, Data Privacy, Legal, and Finance teams to optimize technology investments, manage supplier risk, and support scalable enterprise technology strategies.

More generally, the Senior Category Manager role is an experienced category management practitioner accountable for architecting and selling enterprise-wide strategies, orchestrating large and complex transformations, and communicating at the executive level. Leads multi-year value creation agendas, major negotiations, and supplier partnerships that deliver innovation, resilience, and measurable business outcomes across the enterprise.

This individual will also lead or oversee complex enterprise-level RFx and negotiations and stakeholder communications. Partners with senior and executive team members in transformation efforts. Works cross-functionally to manage contract pipelines and align sourcing and category plans with Business objectives. Maintains procurement governance and systems data in accordance with the above. May lead, coach, or mentor strategic sourcing and entry-level procurement professionals in support of the category plan. Partners with finance, accounting, legal, and IT governance to deliver measurable value and risk mitigation.

This role requires relevant market insight, cross-functional collaboration, and proactive stakeholder engagement. The ideal candidate is a trusted procurement advisor and collaborative partner who champions supplier excellence, procurement governance and continuous improvement through clear communication, operational excellence, and strategic influence

Position Overview:

• Owns a complex, high‑spend IT category (or portfolio) with global scope and enterprise impact.
• Influences IT leaders and enterprise technology roadmaps; presents recommendations and status at leadership forums.
• Supports enterprise digital transformation initiatives through sourcing and contracting strategies aligned to cybersecurity, infrastructure modernization, cloud adoption, AI enablement, and operational scalability.
• Leads cross‑functional project teams and external partners to deliver multi‑year roadmaps and operating model changes.
• Primary procurement voice with senior/executive stakeholders; presents at executive committees.
• Shapes policy, standards, and governance; mentors and develops the category talent bench.
• Ensures category plans reflect stakeholder goals, market dynamics, and supplier capabilities
• Champions adoption of preferred suppliers, standards, and policies across the business.
• Leverages analysis to shape strategic insights and market intelligence frameworks that inform category strategy, RFx prioritization, supplier negotiations, and contract terms
• Scrutinizes variable and complex data to identify and prioritize sourcing and planning opportunities that drive competitive advantage and long-term value
• Leads sourcing waves and supplier business reviews; accountable for savings and value realization.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Strategy & Value Creation

• Craft and socialize a bold, evidence‑based multi‑year category strategy tied to enterprise goals (growth, productivity, risk, ESG) in key IT spend domains including:
  • Software and SaaS
  • Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS/PaaS)
  • Telecommunications and networking
  • Managed services and outsourcing
  • Cybersecurity
  • End-user computing and hardware
  • Enterprise applications and platforms
• Drive optimization initiatives related to software license utilization, cloud consumption, vendor consolidation, application rationalization, and enterprise standards adoption.
• Identify and deliver step‑change value levers (portfolio simplification, demand challenge, supplier ecosystem redesign, digital automation).
• Stand up structured value tracking with Finance; validate and publish results to executives.

• Build and maintain a living category strategy (demand, market, supplier, risk, and should-cost).
• Translate strategy into an annual sourcing wave plan and prioritized contract pipeline with mitigation actions for expirations/renewals.
• Owns data quality across procurement systems (e.g., sourcing, CLM, P2P) and audit readiness records
• Reviews and performs analytics and market research that inform strategic planning decisions, RFx, negotiation prep, and category direction
• Manage intake queue; validate requirements; set expectations on timelines and next steps
• Maintain project trackers, savings logs, contract records, and supplier profiles for audit readiness
• Create, refresh, publish, and communicate preferred supplier lists and engagement playbooks

Critical Sourcing & Complex Negotiation

• Experience negotiating with global technology suppliers such as Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, AWS, ServiceNow, Cisco, and primary technology resellers.
• Conduct in-depth market analysis to inform RFx development, supplier negotiations, and contract terms
• Identify and prioritize sourcing opportunities that drive competitive advantage and long-term value
• Own and drive marquee RFx/sole‑source events and renewals with enterprise‑wide implications; negotiate creative commercial constructs (risk‑share, outcome‑based, gainshare).
• Oversee and/or perform total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to sourcing decisions and supplier evaluations
• Set deal architectures and negotiation plays; coach deal teams; engage executive sponsors and legal counsel to closure.
• Establish playbooks and guardrails for rebid/renewal strategies, indexation, benchmarking, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate favorable commercial protections related to data privacy, information security, SLAs, audit rights, intellectual property, indemnification, limitation of liability, price protections, renewal caps, etc.

Supplier Partnership, Innovation, & Risk Management

• Chair executive governance with strategic partners; sponsor joint innovation roadmaps and transformation programs.
• Oversee risk management for the portfolio (cyber, supply continuity, financial, regulatory, ESG) with proactive mitigation and incident response.
• Segment suppliers (Tier 1/2) and implement governance (QBRs/ABRs, scorecards, corrective actions).
• Perform AQSCIR assessments for key suppliers
• Own and drive marquee RFx/sole‑source events and renewals with enterprise‑wide implications; negotiate creative commercial constructs (risk‑share, outcome‑based, gainshare).
• Facilitate supplier-led innovation and continuous improvement initiatives aligned to business outcomes.
• Hold quarterly and annual business reviews (QBRs/ABRs) with suppliers and relevant stakeholders
• Drive adoption of preferred suppliers and manage change communication effectively
• Partner with IT governance areas to ensure suppliers meet enterprise cyber security, regulatory, and data protection requirements.

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Drive continuous improvement in P2P and CLM. Elevate standards, templates, and systems; automate analytics and reporting; ensure data fidelity and audit readiness.
• Continuously improve ways of working across Legal, Security/Privacy, Finance/AP, and business units.
• Track cost savings and avoidance progress against targets and pipeline forecasts
• Coordinate cross-functional approvals (Security/IT, Privacy, Compliance, Finance, AP, Legal) and drive issue resolution.
• Coach and assign work to sourcing resources (analysts/specialists) aligned to the wave plan.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build trusted partnerships with CIO organization leaders, infrastructure teams, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, engineering, PMO, and digital transformation stakeholders.
• Map stakeholder ecosystems and develop engagement strategies based on influence, impact, and business needs
• Engage stakeholders to understand business requirements, pain points, and future needs
• Maintain a cadence of meetings and communications with key stakeholders and their leadership teams
• Act as a trusted advisor and liaison between procurement and business units
• Communicate clearly and professionally across all channels (in-person meetings, email, video calls), tailoring messages to diverse audiences
• Represent procurement in steering committees, executive briefings, and supplier governance forums
• Support stakeholder projects with high responsiveness, strategic input, and proactive problem-solving
• Craft compelling storylines and materials

Financial Performance

• Engage consistently with Finance and stakeholders in the budgeting process, aligning procurement plans with financial goals.
• Coordinate with Finance for savings tracking and bottom-line impact protection.
• Deliver measurable cost savings and avoidance, tracking progress against targets and pipeline forecasts
• Apply Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to sourcing decisions and supplier evaluations
• Optimize contract value through improved terms, pricing structures, and performance incentives

Leadership & Change

• Mentor and support a matrixed and cross-functional team of procurement professionals and governance partners to build skills and succession; promote a high‑performance, inclusive culture.
• Design and execute change management and communications for enterprise rollouts; craft executive narratives and decision memos.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required in supply chain, finance, project management, or related field.
• 8-10+ years of experience in progressive IT category management/strategic sourcing experience, including leadership of large, complex technology negotiations and cross‑enterprise programs.
• Deep expertise across enterprise technology procurement including software licensing, SaaS, cloud, telecom, managed services, and technology professional services.
• Strong understanding of software licensing models, cloud economics, consumption-based pricing, and IT supplier commercial frameworks.
• Demonstrated executive communication and storytelling skills; track record influencing VP/C‑suite decisions.
• Expert fluency in benchmarking, TCO, complex contracting, commercial strategy, and supplier performance governance at scale.
• Expert analytical skills with working knowledge of procure-to-pay, RFx processes, and contract basics/playbooks.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree (MBA or Master’s) strongly preferred in supply chain, finance, project management, or related field.
• 10-12+ years of experience in progressive category management/strategic sourcing experience, including leadership of large, complex negotiations and cross‑enterprise programs.
• Experience working within highly regulated, manufacturing, mobility, automotive, industrial technology, or engineering-driven environments preferred.
• Experience leading transformation (operating model, digital S2P, supplier ecosystem) across multiple regions.
• Certifications: CPSM/CIPS; PMP/Prosci or equivalent change credentials; Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
• Domain depth in one or more enterprise functions (e.g., HR, IT, Finance, Professional Services, Facilities/CRE).
• Experience in large, global enterprise with exposure to both indirect (corporate) and direct (client-facing) procurement models.
• Recent/current experience working across time zones.
• Strong grasp of software licensing models (SaaS/PaaS/IaaS, subscription vs. perpetual) and associated services

Skills & Competencies

Core:

• Deep understanding and ability to negotiate enterprise software licensing, cloud commercial models, IT services pricing structures, technology benchmarking, managed service contracts, SaaS metric, consumption pricing, user and enterprise-based licensing, infrastructure hosting, etc.
• Familiarity with Procurement technology platforms in intake/orchestration, P2P, spend analytics and contract lifecycle management.
• Strategic thinking and structured problem solving; ability to frame choices and drive decisions.
• Executive presence; concise narrative building; board‑quality materials.
• Proven ability to build strong stakeholder relationships and influence at all levels
• Influencing without authority; stakeholder alignment and change management.
• Financial acumen (budget alignment, forecasting, value realization).

Technical:

• Experience with, and hunger for, using AI-based solutions to optimize work efficiency and drive scalable improvements to process and value to projects and negotiations.
• Sophisticated financial modeling (TCO/NPV, scenario analysis, indexation, benchmarking).
• Design of KPIs, supplier incentives, and performance regimes; SRM maturity models.
• Category strategy toolkits; RFx design; commercial modeling (price ladders, indices, incentives).
• Deep fluency in complex contracting (MSAs, SOWs, data protection, service levels, audit/benchmarking clauses).

Leadership:

• Builds capability; mentors; leads through influence; navigates ambiguity, complexity, pressure, multiple priorities, and change at scale.
• Bias for action; ownership of outcomes; adaptability; team-first collaboration.

Work Model & Travel

• Hybrid role based in Mesa, Arizona with standard business hours. Occasional domestic or global travel (<5%) may be required for executive meetings, supplier governance, and transformation workshops.