Category Manager, IT Software and Services

McKesson•The Woodlands, TX

10d•$109,500 - $182,500

About The Position

The Category Manager, IT Software and Services develops and executes strategic sourcing and category management strategies for 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, negotiation, contract management, supplier relationship management, and ongoing 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 effective relationships with technology leaders and suppliers.

Requirements

Degree and typically 7+ years of relevant experience.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, Finance, or a related discipline.
5–7 years of procurement, strategic sourcing, or category management experience, including 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.
Create multi-year sourcing plans and category roadmaps aligned with IT strategies, budgets, projects, and anticipated renewals.
Analyze spend, supplier markets, market conditions, emerging technologies, and industry trends to identify sourcing, consolidation, and cost-optimization opportunities.
Reduce supplier fragmentation and leverage enterprise purchasing power; maintain visibility into demand and upcoming technology initiatives to enable proactive sourcing.
Lead end-to-end sourcing initiatives, including requirements gathering, RFI/RFP development, supplier identification, competitive bidding, evaluation, negotiations, award recommendations, and contracting.
Negotiate software and IT services agreements, including pricing, licensing structures, service levels, renewal terms, termination rights, payment terms, and other commercial provisions.
Apply total cost of ownership principles and market intelligence, competitive benchmarks, supplier leverage, and business requirements to sourcing and negotiation strategies.
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, project-based resources, and related 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 evaluate pricing models, license metrics, resource models, rate cards, deliverables, milestones, service levels, and acceptance criteria.
Establish commercial protections that support performance accountability and flexibility, and proactively manage renewals to reduce unnecessary spending and avoid unfavorable automatic renewal conditions.
Serve as a strategic sourcing partner to IT and technology leadership; understand technology roadmaps, budgets, project pipelines, business requirements, and sourcing priorities.
Collaborate with Information Security, Privacy, Legal, Finance, and other stakeholders during supplier evaluation and contracting; provide procurement recommendations and commercial insights.
Facilitate cross-functional sourcing teams and establish sourcing timelines, responsibilities, and decision criteria.
Develop relationships with key technology suppliers, conduct supplier 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 and support supplier segmentation and strategic supplier management.
Partner with stakeholders to identify and mitigate third-party technology risk and ensure appropriate cybersecurity, data privacy, regulatory, and compliance review during sourcing and contracting.
Evaluate risks involving software licensing, supplier access to company information, data ownership, audit rights, and regulatory obligations; maintain sourcing and contracting documentation for procurement governance and audit readiness.
Deliver measurable savings, cost avoidance, demand management, and supplier consolidation opportunities; analyze proposals and pricing to improve commercial value.
Partner with Finance to validate sourcing benefits and financial impacts; track category spend, sourcing activity, contract renewals, savings, and other applicable procurement metrics.