Category Manager, Software

Optiver • Chicago, IL

1d • $107,000 - $140,000

About The Position

We are building a dedicated Software category within Global Procurement's Tech Sourcing organization. The Category Manager - Software is a hands-on sourcing position who can manage and execute sourcing and category strategies for specific software categories. In this role you will own 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. You will translate category plans into sourcing events, commercial analysis, contract execution, and measurable outcomes. You will partner closely with business and technology stakeholders and Procurement colleagues to ensure we are extracting maximum value from supplier and reseller relationships, managing renewals, licensing, and consumption, and driving measurable business impact across a complex and fast-moving spend category. This is an individual-contributor role where the impact will span globally across multiple regions, partnering with other software category managers to ensure one of our fastest-growing and most visible categories is managed optimally.

Requirements

• 5+ years of technology procurement or strategic sourcing experience, with substantive exposure to software categories (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 (subscriptions, enterprise agreements, true-ups, consumption commitments, renewals, and license optimization).
• Proven 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; 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 - able to distil complex technical and commercial trade-offs for business and leadership audiences.
• Organization and prioritization 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.
• 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 development of 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 (commercial and contract), and award recommendations.
• Support negotiations on agreements; 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 (TCO).
• Track licensing models, price inflation, vendor consolidation, and consumption trends; surface risks and opportunities to stakeholder teams.
• Ensure software purchases follow Optiver Procurement policy and controls; 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

• 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: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed