Category Manager

Avera•Sioux Falls, SD

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Category Manager is responsible for developing and executing category sourcing strategies, managing supplier relationships, and delivering value across assigned categories within the enterprise procurement model. This role partners with clinical, operational, IT, and business stakeholders to define requirements, lead sourcing initiatives, and ensure alignment to organizational standards, contracts, and performance expectations. This role is responsible for executing procurement contracts end-to-end within defined contract standards and guardrails. The Category Manager operates within a structured procurement model, owning category strategy and supplier outcomes while collaborating with Sourcing Agents for intake and Managers for oversight and escalation.

Requirements

4-6 years Experience in sourcing, procurement, contracting, or category management and/or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Visual acuity adequate to perform position duties.
Ability to communicate effectively with others.
Ability to hear, understand and distinguish speech and other sounds.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's in business, healthcare, supply chain, or related field
Experience working with stakeholders, suppliers, and contracts.
Demonstrated skill in negotiation, analytical, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute category sourcing strategies that drive standardization, cost optimization, quality outcomes, and supplier performance across assigned categories.
Lead sourcing events and supplier negotiations, owning commercial strategy, pricing, and service level expectations, and executing procurement contracts within defined contract standards and guardrails.
Partner with stakeholders to define clear requirements while guiding decision-making toward standardized, value-based solutions aligned with procurement strategies.
Own supplier relationships and performance, driving accountability for service levels, quality outcomes, and continuous improvement across assigned categories.
Ensure sourcing decisions align with approved contracts, suppliers, and enterprise standards, guiding stakeholders toward compliant solutions and enforcing adherence to preferred suppliers and contract requirements and ensures accurate documentation, metadata, and submission into the CLM system in accordance with enterprise standards.
Partner with Sourcing Agents to support intake validation and request routing, ensuring alignment to existing contracts, standards, and defined procurement processes.
Drive standardization, utilization, and category optimization efforts to reduce variation, improve contract compliance, and enhance overall value.
Monitor and report on category performance including savings, contract utilization, supplier performance, and service outcomes to support data-driven decision making.
Support continuous improvement of sourcing, category management, and procurement processes to improve efficiency, consistency, and compliance.
Execute procurement contracts end-to-end using approved templates and defined contract standards, escalating non-standard terms, high-risk provisions, and regulatory or data-related considerations through established Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) governance processes.