IT Procurement Category Management & Strategic Sourcing

Ricoh • Exton, PA

9d

About The Position

The Category Manager develops and executes enterprise-wide category strategies across assigned technology and indirect spend categories. The role leads end-to-end strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, negotiations, category planning, and performance management. As a business partner to IT, Finance, Legal, and other stakeholders, the Category Manager aligns procurement strategies with organizational goals, drives cost savings, fosters supplier innovation, and mitigates risk while maintaining quality and service standards.

The position also manages supplier governance and performance, contract lifecycle and commercial activities, cost and value delivery, and procurement risk and compliance. It champions supplier inclusion, sustainability, responsible sourcing, and supplier development within category strategies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or a related discipline.
• At least 7 years of professional experience in strategic sourcing, contract negotiation, pricing analysis, or commodity management.
• Expert knowledge of category management, strategic sourcing, market analysis, supplier relationship management, bid evaluation, and contract negotiation.
• Strong understanding of technology procurement, software licensing and subscription models, cloud services, cybersecurity requirements, and IT vendor management.
• Strong financial and analytical capabilities, including spend and pricing analysis, business-case development, and total cost of ownership modeling.
• Proficiency in negotiation, influencing, conflict management, and stakeholder management.
• Ability to develop productive relationships with executives, business leaders, internal customers, suppliers, and cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional verbal, written, and presentation skills, including the ability to translate complex information into concise recommendations.
• Strong project and program management skills and ability to lead multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Strategic thinking, sound judgment, customer focus, and demonstrated ability to lead change and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and procurement platforms such as Coupa, SAP Ariba, or comparable systems.
• Expertise in vendor governance, including supplier segmentation, executive business reviews, performance scorecards, service-level agreement governance, and issue escalation.
• Demonstrated capability in technology vendor lifecycle management across software, SaaS, cloud services, cybersecurity, telecommunications, infrastructure, professional services, and managed service providers.
• Experience with third-party risk management, including vendor financial health, cybersecurity, data privacy, regulatory compliance, business continuity, disaster recovery, and concentration risk assessments.
• Ability to design and manage vendor KPIs, corrective action plans, continuous improvement programs, and value-realization measures.
• Advanced expertise in vendor benchmarking, market intelligence, price validation, demand management, vendor rationalization, and supplier consolidation.
• Skill in statement-of-work development, deliverable governance, service acceptance criteria, dispute resolution, and commercial escalation management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage categories and business relationships to create value and minimize risk.
• Expert knowledge of sourcing activities, including market analysis, RFP development, bid evaluation, and contract negotiations.
• Understanding of Supply Chain, Purchasing, Supplier Diversity, and Strategic Sourcing functions, including Procure-to-Pay.
• Ability to perform complex financial analysis of supplier data and organizational spend.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to drive change.
• Planning and organizational skills to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Advanced negotiating and influencing skills.
• Customer service orientation and ability to build productive relationships with internal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies aligned with business objectives, technology roadmaps, budget priorities, and enterprise requirements.
• Conduct market intelligence, supplier benchmarking, and spend analysis to identify emerging technologies, market trends, sourcing opportunities, and potential risks.
• Lead RFXs, supplier evaluations, bid analysis, and contract negotiations for technology and assigned indirect categories.
• Monitor the contract repository and support contract renewals or terminations.
• Optimize total cost of ownership through strategic sourcing, demand management, supplier innovation, commercial structuring, and process improvement.
• Lead enterprise, regional, and global sourcing initiatives requiring cross-functional alignment and facilitation.
• Build and maintain relationships with key suppliers; establish governance frameworks, scorecards, performance metrics, and continuous improvement plans.
• Monitor supplier performance and compliance with contract obligations, certifications, information security standards, and policies.
• Collaborate with suppliers to drive continuous improvement and innovation that improve business and technology outcomes.
• Partner with internal stakeholders on category strategy, supplier selection, and business needs; educate stakeholders on procurement practices, supplier management, risk mitigation, policy compliance, and engagement with Procurement.
• Advise stakeholders on category strategy, supplier selection, and sourcing decisions; assess opportunities, develop business cases, and present recommendations to leadership.
• Influence decisions using financial analysis, market expertise, supplier intelligence, and executive-level recommendations.
• Develop negotiation plans and lead complex contractual negotiations to maximize value and reduce business risk.
• Partner with Legal and internal subject-matter experts on contract review and supplier due diligence.
• Monitor contract obligations, performance, renewals, amendments, expirations, and terminations; identify renewal leverage, consolidation opportunities, risks, and unfavorable terms.
• Deliver and report measurable savings, cost avoidance, risk reduction, service improvements, category performance, supplier performance, contract status, and risk-mitigation activities.
• Develop and improve tools, templates, playbooks, and governance practices for strategic sourcing and category management.
• Lead special projects and strategic initiatives as assigned.
• Ensure procurement activities comply with company policies, procurement standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Develop supplier diversification, contingency, and risk-mitigation strategies for critical categories and services.
• Champion supplier inclusion, sustainability, responsible sourcing, and supplier development objectives within category strategies.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, life, and disability insurance options.
• Retirement Savings Plan (401K).
• Health Savings Account (HSA).
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Team member tuition assistance programs.
• Paid vacation time.
• Paid holidays.
• Other benefits to support health, wellness, and personal and professional development.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior