America Procurement Category Manager - White Space

Volta•Palo Alto, CA

1d•$190,000 - $250,000•Remote

About The Position

Volta is seeking a Procurement Category Manager to establish a robust and resilient supply chain for a key infrastructure category within their region. This role is crucial for ensuring the timely delivery of Volta's campuses. The Category Manager will be responsible for developing category and sourcing strategies, cultivating long-term supplier relationships, and establishing master goods and services agreements to secure future capacity. They will manage Volta's procurement processes for their category, collaborating with internal stakeholders to define requirements and facilitate provider selection. This is a foundational role that will help shape repeatable procurement practices as Volta scales.

Requirements

4 to 7 years in procurement, category management, or supplier relationship management.
Experience ideally in data centers, mission-critical facilities, energy, construction, or large-scale infrastructure.
Direct experience buying in White Space, with a strong understanding of the supplier market and how equipment, works, or services are specified, manufactured, and delivered.
Proven track record of building strategic supplier partnerships and establishing master agreements, frameworks, or capacity arrangements to support project pipelines.
Strong relationship management skills with the ability to manage senior supplier contacts, handle escalations, and lead effective business reviews.
Experience running structured procurement processes and collaborating with stakeholders to define requirements and support decision-making.
Working knowledge of commercial contract terms (liability, warranties, liquidated damages, payment terms, change control) and standard form contracts (e.g., NEC, JCT, FIDIC, GMP, AIA).
Strong analytical and cost modeling skills, including total cost of ownership analysis.
Comfort using ERP, AI-based systems, procurement systems, and Excel.

Nice To Haves

CIPS or CPSM qualification, or working towards it.
Experience across both European and North American markets.

Responsibilities

Develop and deliver category and sourcing strategies to ensure timely campus delivery and build a resilient supply chain with adequate depth, capacity, and geographic coverage.
Identify, develop, and manage strategic supplier partnerships, serving as the primary point of contact for key suppliers.
Establish master goods and services agreements and framework arrangements, including commitments for pipeline, capacity, manufacturing slots, and volumes.
Make the supply chain accessible to onsite teams with clear call-off routes, pricing, and contacts.
Manage end-to-end procurement processes, including market engagement, supplier pre-qualification, RFI, RFQ, RFP, evaluation, negotiation, and contract award.
Engage stakeholders across various departments (engineering, design, construction, operations, finance, etc.) to define requirements and facilitate joint provider selection.
Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, lead times, delivery schedules, payment milestones, warranties, and service levels, collaborating with legal counsel on contract drafting.
Act as an escalation point for supplier issues raised by onsite procurement teams, resolving delivery, quality, commercial, and performance problems.
Plan and facilitate regular business review meetings with key suppliers to discuss performance, KPIs, pipeline, capacity, risks, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Identify and manage supply chain risks (e.g., single source dependencies, capacity constraints, price volatility, ESG concerns) and implement dual sourcing and contingency plans.
Maintain accurate supplier records, agreements, purchase orders, and spend data in collaboration with Global Procurement Operations.
Report category spend, savings, pipeline, and supplier performance to the Regional Procurement Director.