Category/Sourcing Manager

Puget Sound Energy•Bothell, WA

1d•$94,300 - $156,900

About The Position

The Category/Sourcing Manager leads Information Technology category management and strategic sourcing across enterprise software, SaaS, cloud infrastructure and platforms (IaaS/PaaS), hardware, telecommunications, IT professional services, and managed services. The role partners with IT, Finance, Information Security, Legal, Contract Management, and business stakeholders to align technology investments with business outcomes, optimize lifecycle costs, and address commercial, licensing, supplier, and contractual risks. The manager maintains current knowledge of AI-enabled software, consumption-based and hybrid pricing, vendor packaging changes, and cloud and SaaS cost optimization to inform sourcing and renewal strategies. The position develops IT category roadmaps, identifies and manages value-generating projects, plans and executes sourcing events, negotiates and supports execution of vendor agreements, and manages supplier relationships. It also translates business and technical requirements into contractual obligations, collaborates with relevant teams on security, privacy, compliance, continuity, and performance needs, and monitors license utilization, vendor commitments, and business value. All PSE employees are expected to uphold applicable safety compliance standards, support a culture of total safety, and conduct business honestly, ethically, and consistently with the company’s core values and Code of Conduct. Duties must comply with applicable regulatory obligations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, supply management, business administration, engineering, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.
5–7+ years of experience in one or more of the following: strategic planning, Source-to-Pay, procurement process or governance, spend analytics, category management, strategic sourcing, or supplier management.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong presentation and negotiation skills.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills to work effectively with teams and all organizational levels and areas.
Strong understanding of procurement governance, processes, and policies.
Strong analytical and interpretive skills to recognize, comprehend, and assess data, complex issues, and industry information.
Excellent customer service, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Strong negotiation skills and demonstrated conflict-resolution skills.
Ability to manage multiple tasks and assignments simultaneously.
Effective and proven strategic planning ability.
Ability to present complex topics clearly and concisely to broad-based audiences, including various levels of management.
Demonstrated ability to influence without positional authority.

Nice To Haves

5–7+ years of experience in direct or indirect spend sourcing, or procurement leadership.
5–7+ years of analytical experience focused on procurement and supply chain.
Experience with spreadsheet, database, and statistical analysis.
Familiarity with eProcurement Source-to-Pay tools.
Experience with eSourcing tools.
Experience in Source-to-Pay transformation.
Ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risk.
Strong change-management skills, including promoting a shared vision and inspiring others to embrace new opportunities.
Familiarity with business and contract law as applied to supplier relationships.
Demonstrated experience sourcing and negotiating IT software, SaaS, cloud, or IT services agreements, including translating business and technical requirements into commercial terms with Contract Management and Legal.
Working knowledge of software licensing models, license entitlements and compliance, SaaS subscription economics, cloud consumption pricing, and renewal mechanisms; ability to assess pricing proposals and lifecycle costs using spend, entitlement, and utilization data.
Ability to review and explain commercial and contractual language in MSAs, SOWs, software and SaaS agreements, order forms, and SLAs; identify material licensing, performance, data protection, liability, renewal, and exit issues; and coordinate review and escalation with appropriate subject matter experts and approval authorities.

Responsibilities

Identify and evaluate potential value-generating category projects based on complexity, resources, risk, implementation time, and estimated financial impact.
Manage a prioritized portfolio of near- and long-term category projects.
Maintain knowledge of category dynamics, including markets, pricing, cost drivers, industry trends, and supplier variables, and communicate changes to business stakeholders.
Develop IT category roadmaps informed by technology demand, supplier concentration, product lifecycle and end-of-support risks, market benchmarks, and changing software licensing and AI monetization models.
Identify and document sourcing strategies, including project scope, stakeholders, opportunities, requirements, sourcing approach, levers, and risks.
Establish pricing methodologies, pricing matrices, mechanisms for changes and adjustments, and sourcing-project KPIs and SLAs.
Develop baseline spend and other data needed for strategic sourcing projects.
Evaluate perpetual, term, subscription, named-user, concurrent-user, device, processor/core, enterprise, and consumption-based licensing models, including AI token, credit, and usage charges.
Develop sourcing event documentation using existing RFI, RFP, and auction templates, including definitions, project overview, timeline, contract template, and financials.
Work with Contract Management to develop supplier negotiation plans and prepare for commercial and contractual discussions.
Lead supplier selection and RFx award processes, developing award scenarios to mitigate risk and optimize total delivered cost.
Monitor financial value achieved by comparing baseline spend with the awarded supply option’s cost or spend.
Partner with Contract Management and Legal to negotiate and execute IT vendor agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, software licensing, SaaS, cloud, support, and maintenance contracts.
Identify contractual risks, non-standard terms, and escalation requirements in accordance with procurement governance.
Translate business and IT requirements into contractual obligations for scope, deliverables, milestones, pricing, service levels, performance metrics, and change management.
Collaborate with Legal, Information Security, Privacy, and IT stakeholders on data protection, compliance, risk management, business continuity, vendor performance, and emerging technology considerations such as AI-enabled solutions.
Work with Supplier Management to segment suppliers at the category level.
Develop and manage supplier bases for assigned categories.
Partner with stakeholders to monitor license utilization, vendor commitments, and business value while mitigating contractual and supplier risks.