Global Category Manager IM

Nouryon•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Category Manager – IT leads the development and execution of global category strategies, strategic sourcing, and supplier management for the company’s IT indirect spend, optimizing cost, quality, and value across software, SaaS, cloud services, hardware, and IT professional services. The role delivers value through cost optimization, supplier innovation, risk mitigation, and strong contract execution. The category focuses on information technology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity software, licenses, and services. Partnering closely with IT, Information Security, Legal, Finance, and senior functional stakeholders, the Category Manager aligns sourcing strategy with enterprise technology priorities, translates business requirements into effective sourcing decisions, manages supplier performance, and drives governance and compliance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Information Systems, or another relevant discipline OR Master’s degree or MBA; Master’s degree in Information Technology or related field
Minimum of 5 years of work experience in Category Management of Indirect Services Procurement in a global environment; experience in enterprise IT sourcing and category management (software, SaaS, cloud, hardware, and IT services); demonstrated success negotiating complex, high-value enterprise technology agreements
Experience sourcing AI and cybersecurity solutions; knowledge of software asset management (SAM) and IT asset management (ITAM)
Strategic category leadership, supplier relationship management (SRM), stakeholder influence and business partnering, financial and analytical acumen, risk and contract management, data-driven decision making, project management
Strategic sourcing and RFx execution (RFI/RFP/RFQ), contracting and commercial negotiation, total cost of ownership (TCO) modeling and business case development, analytical skills, problem solving, interpersonal skills
Tech savvy: strong understanding of software licensing models, SaaS, cloud platforms (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud), cybersecurity, and IT professional services; proficiency with procurement platforms (e.g., SAP Ariba, Coupa); Ops Fintech experience

Responsibilities

Own and continuously evolve global IT category strategies and execute multi-year sourcing roadmaps aligned to business and technology priorities
Establish the right roster of preferred suppliers and drive supplier consolidation, cost optimization, and efficiency improvements
Design and run end-to-end sourcing events, including RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, and negotiations
Build total cost of ownership (TCO) models and business cases to support sourcing decisions
Evaluate emerging technologies and sourcing models to support digital initiatives
Negotiate and finalize complex enterprise agreements across software, SaaS, cloud, hardware, and services, ensuring terms and conditions meet business objectives.
Ensure strong commercial terms, including pricing, service level agreements (SLAs), security, intellectual property, and risk protections
Lead supplier negotiations and deliver continuous, sustainable productivity, cost savings, and cost avoidance
Run supplier relationship management (SRM) with strategic technology suppliers, monitoring Key Performance Indicators, service levels, and innovation contributions
Resolve high-risk escalations and manage contractual and reputational risks proactively
Partner with Legal, Information Security, and Risk teams on supplier governance, third-party risk, and due diligence
Manage senior-level relationships across IT, Information Security, Legal, Finance, and Compliance to ensure alignment of procurement goals with business priorities
Collaborate with the functions to continuously optimize spending; monitor and optimize IT spend, licensing, and cloud utilization; and drive adoption of procurement processes with a customer-focused approach
Ensure compliance with procurement policies and regulatory standards
Promote ethical sourcing, sustainability/ESG criteria, and supplier diversity initiatives