Category Manager, IT Software and Services

McKesson•The Woodlands, TX

About The Position

The Category Manager, IT Software and Services develops and executes strategic sourcing and category management strategies across enterprise technology spend, including software, SaaS, cloud solutions, IT professional services, technology consulting, implementation services, managed services, and other technology-related services. The role leads the end-to-end sourcing lifecycle, from demand planning and market analysis through competitive sourcing, supplier evaluation, contract negotiation, supplier relationship management, and cost and performance optimization. The position partners with IT, Information Security, Privacy, Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders to align sourcing strategies with technology roadmaps, business objectives, risk requirements, and financial goals. It manages complex technology agreements, optimizes total cost of ownership, mitigates third-party risk, and builds strong relationships with technology leaders and suppliers. The role also manages supplier performance and renewals, supports cybersecurity, data privacy, regulatory, and compliance reviews, maintains procurement documentation, and identifies measurable savings, cost avoidance, demand-management, and supplier-consolidation opportunities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, Finance, or a related discipline.
Degree and typically 7+ years of relevant experience.
5–7 years of procurement, strategic sourcing, or category management experience, with significant experience sourcing enterprise technology.
Demonstrated experience negotiating complex enterprise software, SaaS, and IT services agreements.
Strong understanding of software licensing, subscription pricing, technology services contracting, and supplier commercial models.
Demonstrated ability to lead competitive RFPs and complex supplier negotiations.
Strong analytical, financial, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to influence and collaborate with senior business and technology stakeholders.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree, MBA, or advanced supply chain/procurement education.
CPSM, CSCP, CIPS, or similar procurement/supply chain certification.
Experience sourcing technology within a large, complex, or highly regulated organization.
Familiarity with contract lifecycle management, procurement, spend analytics, and supplier management platforms.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute category strategies for IT software and technology services, including multi-year sourcing plans and roadmaps aligned with IT strategies, budgets, projects, and renewals.
Analyze spend, supplier markets, market conditions, emerging technologies, and industry trends to identify sourcing, consolidation, and cost-optimization opportunities.
Maintain visibility into demand and upcoming technology initiatives to enable proactive sourcing and leverage enterprise purchasing power.
Lead end-to-end sourcing initiatives, including requirements gathering, RFI/RFP development, supplier identification, competitive bidding, evaluation, negotiations, award recommendations, and contracting.
Negotiate commercial terms for software and IT services agreements, including pricing, licensing structures, service levels, renewals, termination rights, and payment terms.
Apply total cost of ownership principles and market intelligence, competitive benchmarks, supplier leverage, and business requirements to sourcing and negotiation decisions.
Manage procurement across SaaS and cloud applications, enterprise software, cloud platforms and infrastructure, data and analytics, cybersecurity technology, IT professional services, consulting, implementation and integration, managed IT services, application development and support, technical staffing, and other technology services.
Lead commercial development and negotiation of MSAs, SOWs, Software/SaaS Agreements, Order Forms, SLAs, and related technology agreements.
Partner with Legal and business stakeholders to establish appropriate contractual terms and commercial protections.
Evaluate supplier pricing models, license metrics, resource models, rate cards, deliverables, milestones, service levels, and acceptance criteria.
Proactively manage contract renewals to reduce unnecessary spend and avoid unfavorable automatic-renewal conditions.
Serve as a strategic sourcing partner to IT and technology leadership; understand roadmaps, budgets, project pipelines, business requirements, and sourcing priorities.
Collaborate with Information Security, Privacy, Legal, Finance, and other stakeholders throughout supplier evaluation and contracting.
Provide procurement recommendations and commercial insights, and facilitate cross-functional sourcing teams with clear timelines, responsibilities, and decision criteria.
Develop strategic relationships with key technology suppliers; conduct business reviews and monitor contractual commitments, service levels, pricing, and supplier performance.
Identify supplier consolidation, renegotiation, innovation, and continuous-improvement opportunities; manage commercial or contractual supplier escalations.
Support supplier segmentation and strategic supplier management initiatives.
Partner with relevant stakeholders to identify and mitigate third-party technology risk and address cybersecurity, data privacy, regulatory, compliance, licensing, data ownership, supplier access, audit, and regulatory obligations.
Maintain sourcing and contracting documentation to support procurement governance and audit readiness.
Identify and deliver measurable savings, cost avoidance, demand management, and supplier-consolidation opportunities.
Analyze supplier proposals and pricing structures, partner with Finance to validate benefits and financial impacts, and track spend, sourcing activity, renewals, savings, and other procurement metrics.