Category Manager, Indirect Procurement

BrightPath Early Learning & Child Care•Westlake, TX

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

BrightPath Kids, part of the Busy Bees family, operates a large and growing network of early childhood education and care centers across the United States and Canada. Its purpose is to give every child the best start in life, supported by values of care, service, quality, and value. We are building a centralized procurement function to make it easier for our centers and support teams to obtain the goods and services they need—reliably, responsibly, and at the best total value. The function will balance disciplined commercial management with an uncompromising commitment to child safety, regulatory compliance, educator productivity, and continuity of center operations. The Category Manager, Indirect Procurement will lead strategic sourcing, contracting, supplier performance, and category-management activities for indirect spend across BrightPath Kids’ multi-site North American operations. This is a hands-on, high-impact role for a commercially astute procurement professional who can convert distributed local buying into scalable, service-led category strategies. The role will initially focus on facilities and operational services, including maintenance and repair, janitorial and sanitation services, waste and recycling, pest control, security and life-safety services, landscaping and snow removal, uniforms and linen services, utilities-related services, and other center-support requirements. The precise category portfolio will evolve with business priorities and may expand into additional indirect categories such as professional services, technology and telecom, fleet or travel. Reporting to the Director of Procurement, the Category Manager will work closely with Facilities, Operations, Finance, Legal, IT, Risk, regional and center leaders, and Accounts Payable. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable negotiating a national agreement and presenting a clear business case to senior stakeholders.

Requirements

At least five years of progressive procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, or supplier-management experience.
Substantial experience leading indirect-service sourcing and complex commercial negotiations.
Experience managing facilities, maintenance, property services, cleaning and sanitation, waste, security, or comparable multi-site operational-service categories.
Ability to translate spend and performance data into practical recommendations.
Ability to conduct total-cost and commercial analyses.
Ability to build compelling, evidence-based business cases.
Experience working in a geographically distributed, multi-location service organization (e.g., childcare, education, healthcare, hospitality, retail, senior living, food service, franchising).
Proven record of working constructively with operational stakeholders.
Proven record of managing third-party supplier performance.
Proven record of implementing sourcing decisions across multiple sites.
Strong experience with procure-to-pay and ERP systems.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel or equivalent spreadsheet tools.
Ability to present findings clearly in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or comparable tools.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, finance, operations, engineering, facilities management, or a related discipline (equivalent relevant experience will be considered).
NetSuite purchasing, vendor, requisition, purchase-order, and reporting experience.
Experience supporting operations across both the United States and Canada, including managing suppliers with national and regional footprints.
A professional procurement certification (e.g., CPSM, CSCP, SCMP, or equivalent).
Experience developing supplier diversity, sustainability, or responsible-procurement initiatives.
Experience operating in a highly regulated setting where safety, hygiene, safeguarding, customer trust, and uninterrupted service are central to the business.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute category strategies, including creating multi-year strategies, establishing baselines, prioritizing initiatives, and maintaining a pipeline of sourcing projects.
Recommend appropriate sourcing models (e.g., national agreements, regional agreements, approved local supplier programs, spot-buy controls) and drive supplier rationalization.
Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing processes, including stakeholder discovery, specification development, supplier qualification, RFP processes, bid analysis, negotiation, business case development, supplier selection, and implementation.
Negotiate agreements that define service levels, pricing, performance remedies, renewal/termination rights, insurance, safety, data, and escalation processes.
Partner with Legal, Risk, Finance, and operational stakeholders to ensure contracts are commercially sound, practical, and aligned with company policy.
Maintain an accurate contract repository, renewal calendar, and supplier documentation record.
Establish supplier-management routines for strategic and high-risk suppliers, including scorecards, business reviews, issue resolution, and corrective action plans.
Monitor supplier performance against service level commitments, safety, compliance, customer service expectations, invoice accuracy, and savings commitments.
Proactively identify and mitigate supply and service risks, including geographic coverage gaps, single-source dependency, price volatility, emergency needs, financial/operational risk, and vendor non-performance.
Ensure actionable escalation and contingency arrangements for services affecting center safety, hygiene, security, or daily operating continuity.
Build trusted relationships with leaders at corporate and center levels to ensure procurement solutions meet operational needs.
Communicate sourcing decisions, implementation plans, supplier changes, and purchasing guidance clearly and respectfully.
Lead implementation and change-management plans to protect service continuity, measure adoption, and capture value.
Prepare concise reports and executive recommendations on category performance, sourcing outcomes, risks, savings, and next steps.