Category Team Manager Core IT and Infrastructure

Citizens Financial Group•Johnston, RI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Citizens has transformed the Strategic Sourcing experience across the enterprise. As a Category Team Manager within Strategic Sourcing, you will direct a team of Sourcing colleagues, leverage advanced spend analytics, forward-looking market intelligence, and an integrated source-to-pay ecosystem to serve as a trusted strategic advisor to business line executives. This role owns the development and execution of multi-year category strategies that drive measurable enterprise value across cost optimization, demand management, supplier performance, risk mitigation, and innovation. The Category Manager acts as the enterprise category expert—aligning business, technology, finance, and risk stakeholders around a common strategic direction. As a team manager you will have responsibility to knowledge share category insights with both direct and indirect reports. Develop and influence negotiation strategies, promote an environment of collaboration and team development, lead and coach strategic vendor negotiations. Success in this role requires strong commercial acumen, executive presence, negotiation leadership, and the ability to operate effectively in a regulated banking environment. We are seeking an Enterprise Services and Cloud Strategy Category Manager to support the sub categories of Enterprise Platforms, including ERP, Data Analytics, AI, and Governance and Risk Platforms, as well as Cloud Infrastructure & DevOps and Cloud Observability & Monitoring.

Requirements

6+ years of progressive experience in category management, vendor management and strategic sourcing.
Demonstrated experience leading complex negotiations and enterprise-wide sourcing initiatives.
Strong commercial acumen and financial modeling capability.
Advanced analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
Experience working cross-functionally and driving consensus across stakeholders.
Structured, organized, and methodical planning skills.
Executive-level communication and presentation skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience in financial services or other regulated industries.
Knowledge of third-party risk management frameworks and regulatory environments.
Experience managing large, complex spend portfolios.
MBA or professional certification (CPSM, CIPS, or similar).

Responsibilities

Develop and execute multi‑year category strategies aligned to business and enterprise objectives.
Define category vision, value targets, performance expectations, and strategic guardrails.
Maintain a comprehensive category strategy that includes demand forecasts, supplier and contract landscapes, market intelligence, and a savings and value roadmap.
Own annual category value targets, including cost savings, cost avoidance, and productivity improvements.
Identify opportunities for demand management, specification optimization, and supplier rationalization.
Track, measure, and report realized savings and category performance outcomes.
Participate complex, cross‑functional sourcing initiatives, including RFIs, RFPs, and supplier negotiations.
Inform fact‑based negotiation strategies supported by financial analysis and market insights.
Partner closely Business, Strategic Sourcing, Risk, and Compliance teams to ensure appropriate commercial, regulatory alignment and performance levels and penalties.
Manage strategic supplier relationships through structured governance, including performance scorecards and regular business reviews.
Define and monitor supplier KPIs aligned to business outcomes.
Proactively address supplier performance issues and mitigate operational, financial, concentration, and resiliency risks.
Collaborate with third‑party risk, compliance, and information security partners to support effective risk management in a regulated environment.
Serve as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders.
Influence sourcing and demand decisions early in the planning cycle.
Constructively challenge demand and assumptions to optimize enterprise outcomes.
Present clear, executive‑ready insights and strategic recommendations.
Lead, coach, and develop a team of sourcing professionals to strengthen category management capabilities and drive consistent execution.
Set clear performance expectations, priorities, and accountability measures aligned to enterprise sourcing objectives.
Provide day-to-day guidance on complex sourcing strategies, stakeholder engagement, supplier negotiations, and issue resolution.
Foster a collaborative, high-performing team culture focused on continuous improvement, professional growth, and measurable business impact.
Support resource planning, workload prioritization, and talent development to ensure effective delivery across assigned categories and initiatives.