Category Manager - IT

Applied Materials • Santa Clara, CA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Global Category Manager is the strategic owner of an assigned category of spend, accountable for defining the global category strategy and delivering outcomes across value capture, stakeholder experience, and risk management. This role sets direction (the “WHAT”) through category strategies, supplier portfolio and segmentation decisions, governance, and demand/value roadmaps, while enabling scaled execution (the “HOW”) through Strategic Sourcing Managers and the Sourcing Center of Excellence (SCoE). Operating in a center‑led ‘one house’ model, the Global Category Manager orchestrates cross‑functional alignment, ensures consistent global standards with regional nuance, and drives measurable business impact for Applied Materials.

Role at a Glance
Job Title: Global Category Manager
Organization: Global Sourcing & Procurement (GSP) – Global Category & Sourcing
Reports To: Category Leader / Portfolio Leader (per org design)
Primary Purpose: Own the category strategy, supplier portfolio, governance, and outcome delivery across the enterprise.
Primary Interfaces: Business Unit leaders/stakeholders, Strategic Sourcing Managers, SCoE Leaders, Supplier Executives, Finance (Value Capture), Risk/TPRM, Contracting CoE/Legal, Operations/BPO
Operating Model: Category defines strategy and guardrails; Sourcing executes and refines through data/insights; one unified global team.
Scope: Anchors Global category strategy + wave plan; supplier segmentation and SRM; demand management; risk and compliance integration; category councils and performance governance.
Mission Alignment (GSP “Definition of Winning”)
Value Capture: establish multi‑year value levers (savings, cost avoidance, productivity, revenue enablement) and deliver results through a governed pipeline.
Client Journey: build proactive stakeholder engagement models and predictable delivery experiences through clear intake, governance, and communication.
Risk Management: embed third‑party and supply‑market risk thinking into category strategies, supplier decisions, and contracting guardrails.
Optimize Capability: enable the organization through playbooks, standards, and a talent pipeline that improves execution quality over time.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Finance, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Demonstrated category management leadership: building and executing category strategies, supplier segmentation, and governance models.
• Strong commercial expertise: negotiations, contract strategy, and total cost/value analysis in complex, multi‑stakeholder environments.
• Proven ability to lead in a global, matrixed organization—driving alignment across regions, functions, and senior stakeholders.
• Experience integrating risk and compliance considerations into supplier and category decisions.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in semiconductor or high‑tech indirect categories (e.g., IT, facilities, technical services, labor/services) and global supplier ecosystems.
• Experience with structured category strategy programs, analytics-enabled decision making, and formal value capture governance.
• Professional certifications (e.g., CPSM, CIPS, CPM) and/or MBA/MS in a relevant discipline.
• Experience leading transformations (process standardization, operating model change, digital procurement tools) and scaling best practices.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain a multi‑year global category strategy that aligns to Applied and GSP priorities, including clear goals, value levers, and execution waves.
• Establish category scope, taxonomy alignment, and a demand/supply perspective (demand signals, business requirements, supply market dynamics).
• Develop and refresh a category roadmap that sequences initiatives by impact, urgency, risk, and capacity, maintaining a forward‑looking pipeline.
• Own supplier portfolio design and segmentation (strategic, preferred, transactional) and define the engagement model for each segment.
• Lead strategic supplier relationship management (SRM) for priority suppliers: performance, innovation, commercial governance, and executive alignment.
• Drive supplier rationalization and consolidation opportunities that improve leverage, simplify operations, and reduce total cost of ownership.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business unit leadership; translate business objectives into category strategies and sourcing priorities.
• Lead category councils and governance forums (e.g., value/risk reviews, supplier performance reviews) to drive decisions, alignment, and accountability.
• Set stakeholder engagement rhythms and communication standards so the category experience is consistent across regions and teams.
• Define and govern the category value pipeline (initiatives, baselines, assumptions, milestones) and partner with Finance for validation and reporting.
• Establish outcome metrics beyond savings (service levels, speed/cycle time, quality, compliance, risk reduction, innovation) and monitor performance.
• Ensure sourcing and contracting approaches are aligned to approved category strategies and buying channel guidance.
• Integrate supplier risk considerations into category plans, including third‑party risk management (TPRM) triggers and mitigation actions.
• Partner with Risk/TPRM, Legal, Privacy/Data Governance, and Compliance teams to ensure category decisions and supplier selections protect Applied.
• Proactively monitor supply market risks and translate signals into actions (dual sourcing, contract protections, contingency plans).
• Translate strategy into sourcing wave plans and clearly defined playbooks/guardrails for Strategic Sourcing Managers and SCoE execution teams.
• Oversee implementation progress and remove barriers; ensure handoffs and workflow between Category and Sourcing are efficient and predictable.
• Continuously refine strategy based on execution learnings, market feedback, and data insights (strategy ↔ execution feedback loop).
• Champion standard ways of working, templates, and governance that reduce variability and improve speed and quality across the category.
• Support the talent pipeline by coaching and developing Strategic Sourcing Managers and SCoE practitioners; enable role clarity and development paths.
• Lead change initiatives within the category (process, tools, supplier operating models) and drive adoption through clear messaging and reinforcement.

Benefits

• Supportive work culture that encourages learning, development, and career growth.
• Opportunities to take on challenges and drive innovative solutions.
• Empowerment to push boundaries and learn every day.
• Programs and support for employee health and wellbeing.
• Support for personal and professional growth.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• Participation in a bonus program.
• Stock award program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees