Category Manager, Software

Optiver • Chicago, IL

11h

About The Position

The Category Manager, Software is a hands-on sourcing role within Global Procurement's Tech Sourcing organization. The role manages and executes sourcing and category strategies for specific software categories, owning day-to-day sourcing and supplier management across enterprise software deals. The portfolio includes enterprise operations, productivity, and collaboration tools, alongside the wider software estate.

The position translates category plans into sourcing events, commercial analysis, contract execution, and measurable outcomes. It partners closely with business and technology stakeholders and Procurement colleagues to maximize value from supplier and reseller relationships, manage renewals, licensing, and consumption, and drive business impact across a complex, fast-moving spend category. This is an individual-contributor role with global reach across multiple regions, collaborating with other software category managers.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of technology procurement or strategic sourcing experience, with substantive exposure to software categories such as SaaS, enterprise applications, business operations systems, and productivity and collaboration tools.
• Demonstrated delivery of complex sourcing projects from intake through contract signature, including multi-supplier evaluations and executive-ready business cases.
• Experience supporting or leading software provider and/or reseller negotiations with measurable commercial outcomes.
• Working knowledge of software commercial dynamics, including subscriptions, enterprise agreements, true-ups, consumption commitments, renewals, and license optimization.
• Ability to partner with business and technology stakeholders and finance on requirements and commercial decisions.
• Experience operating in a matrixed, global environment with multiple regions and stakeholders.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, and financial skills, including the ability to build and interpret TCO and should-cost analyses for software solutions.
• Proficiency in sourcing methodologies, contract structures, and commercial terms common in enterprise software.
• Clear communication skills, including the ability to distil complex technical and commercial trade-offs for business and leadership audiences.
• Organization and prioritization skills in a fast-paced environment with competing demands and time-sensitive renewal and project needs.
• Familiarity with procurement systems and tooling and disciplined contract and spend data management.
• Collaborative mindset with integrity, attention to detail, and a continuous-improvement approach.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in trading or other technology-intensive industries with demanding uptime, security, and data-protection requirements.
• Exposure to enterprise productivity suites, collaboration platforms, or business-operations application estates.
• Experience supporting software asset management, license optimization, or SaaS lifecycle programs in partnership with IT and business operations.

Responsibilities

• Work with business stakeholders to support category planning and implementation of the software category strategy.
• Plan and run end-to-end sourcing events (RFI, RFQ, and RFP) for enterprise software; prepare commercial evaluation models, negotiation strategies, and award recommendations.
• Support negotiations on agreements and structure pricing, licensing, renewal mechanics, SLAs, and commercial terms in line with Procurement and Legal standards.
• Monitor supplier delivery, service levels, support quality, and renewal risk; manage supplier escalation paths.
• Act as a trusted Procurement partner to business operations, enterprise technology, and other stakeholder teams on software requirements, licensing, timelines, and total cost of ownership.
• Track licensing models, price inflation, vendor consolidation, and consumption trends; surface risks and opportunities to stakeholders.
• Ensure software purchases follow Optiver Procurement policy and controls, and maintain accurate records in sourcing and contract systems.
• Collaborate with Procurement colleagues to align global frameworks, regional exceptions, and consistent ways of working across geographies.
• Contribute to category playbooks, should-cost models, and lessons learned from sourcing events to uplift team capability.

Benefits

• Highly competitive compensation package including performance-based bonus structure
• 401(k) match up to 50%
• Comprehensive health, mental, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage
• 25 paid vacation days alongside market holidays
• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sports leagues and more

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed