Category Manager III, Sr

Williams•Houston, TX

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Williams, we’re powering a cleaner, more connected future, and that starts with you. Here, your work fuels communities, drives innovation, and helps deliver reliable energy the world depends on. Join a Fortune 500 team that invests in your growth, values your contributions, and challenges you to make a lasting impact every day. The Category Manager is responsible for driving teamwork across our organization to develop supply chain solutions. This role will lead cost savings projects, demonstrate market conditions and price dislocations, lead contract disputes with suppliers, and bring forward value propositions for our business. The ability to think beyond the status quo to develop solutions to sophisticated problems that improve performance, efficiency and safety and make decisions that impact business and project objectives are keys to success in this role! This role represents ownership of the spend within Pipe, Valves, and Fittings (PVF) and Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO). These responsibilities cover significant spend, operational risk, and value creation opportunities that warrant dedicated strategic ownership. PVF and MRO support nearly every field operation, maintenance activity, and capital project across Williams. The category is highly transactional, fragmented, and dependent on distributor relationships, creating opportunities for supplier consolidation, standardization, inventory optimization, and improved sourcing discipline. Existing category strategies identify substantial savings opportunities through agreement optimization, spend visibility, and enterprise standardization initiatives.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Finance, Business, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering or technology field
minimum of seven (7) year's experience handling a diversified supply chain environment
Demonstrates excellent organizational/interpersonal skills and safety as the utmost priority
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Application and PC skills
Experience working in a cross-functional environment
Demonstrates conceptual and practical expertise in category and supplier management
Demonstrates materials planning experience

Nice To Haves

Certification from Institute of Supplier Management (ISM) or American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS)
minimum of nine (9) year's experience handling a diversified supply chain environment

Responsibilities

Interprets business challenges and recommends standard methodologies/strategies to improve category, processes or services
Collaborates with business partners to develop comprehensive supplier and category strategies
Develops and leads cross-functional supplier qualification and management processes
Builds Key Performance Indicators for supplier performance reviews
Identifies and establishes strategic supplier partnerships to handle costs and optimize resources
Develops and maintains category and subcategory structures
Negotiates and implements contract terms and conditions
Conducts spend analysis and develops measurable supplier management and risk mitigation processes
Other duties as assigned

Benefits

Strong pay plus an annual incentive program
Hybrid work for most office roles, plus real flexibility in many field positions
Medical, dental, and vision coverage with options that fit your life, not the other way around
401(k) with company match and an annual company contribution
Paid time off, including company and floating holidays
Paid parental leave (up to six weeks per parent), plus fertility and adoption support
Advanced AI tools and resources to help level up and work smarter
Clear paths to grow your career, with a strong culture of promoting from within
Tuition reimbursement and support for continuing education
HSA and FSA options
Company-paid life insurance and disability coverage
Employee stock purchase plan
Domestic partner benefits
Employee resource groups, wellness support, paid volunteer time, and company matching for causes you care about