IT Category Manager

American Red Cross • Statewide, NC

21h • Remote

About The Position

The American Red Cross (ARC) spends approximately $2 billion annually on goods and services, with a significant portion allocated to strategically sourced items including IT hardware and software. The Supply Management Team collaborates with the IT organization and executives to manage this spend. This role is crucial for ensuring Supply Management meets the needs of ARC's IT and business unit clients by focusing on IT procurement. The IT Category Manager will provide expert support to assigned clients, focusing on global resourcing for application development, support, and maintenance. They will lead negotiations for IT procurement agreements and serve as the subject matter expert for global IT professional services resourcing. The position also supports key technology initiatives involving Salesforce, Informatica, AWS, and Microsoft. This is a 100% virtual/work-from-home position, requiring an East Coast schedule (8 am – 5 pm) and daily video appearances for meetings. A professional workspace is necessary.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Management, Business, Finance, Economics, or related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience, with at least 5 years in Supply Management, Procurement, or IT Business Office roles responsible for IT supplier or category management.
• Experience managing third-party spend within a large organization (annual revenue $1+ Billion) is preferred.
• Solid leadership skills, including advanced collaboration and influence skills.
• Ability to develop business cases, presentations, and stakeholder communications.
• Information Technology experience overseeing IT services and suppliers.
• Strong working knowledge of the IT marketplace, terminology, and industry norms.
• Demonstrable experience with application development and managed services agreements and statements of work.
• Demonstrable experience with off-shore or near-shore service providers and agreements in global regions such as Latin America, South America, Asia-Pacific, or Eastern Europe.
• Adept negotiation skills in pay-for-performance and shared risk allocation in agreements.
• Strong problem-solving, collaboration, and influence skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional business meetings, develop and deliver clear presentations, and communicate with stakeholders.
• Solid business acumen coupled with an understanding of business structures, processes, and information flow in an organization with multiple lines of business.
• Use of Red Cross Supply Management tools such as Coupa.
• Qualified candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.
• The American Red Cross does not sponsor employment visas.

Nice To Haves

• Combined experience in both Supply Management and IT professions.
• Master’s degree.
• Professional certification (e.g., C.P.M., CPSM, CIRM, CPIM, etc.).
• Experience with major IT service providers and suppliers.
• Experience authoring and contracting professional services statements of work.
• Experience with large non-profits, humanitarian services, or biomedical industries.
• A sense of passion, energy, and eagerness to contribute to and support the mission of the Red Cross.

Responsibilities

• Provide Supply Management and IT procurement support to assigned clients, operating independently with a high level of expertise.
• Offer category management expertise in global resourcing for application development, support, and maintenance.
• Lead negotiations for agreements and statements of work to support IT procurement demands.
• Serve as the lead subject matter expert for global IT professional services resourcing from regions such as the Americas, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
• Support and enable critical project resourcing initiatives for key technologies from Salesforce, Informatica, AWS, and Microsoft.
• Work with the Sr. Director and Director of IT Strategic Procurement to ensure demands and priorities are synchronized with expectations of IT and Supply Management leadership.
• Lead, develop, and implement category strategies to enable IT resourcing for on-shore, near-shore, and off-shore demands.
• Collaborate with the CIO, IT VP leaders, and project teams to contribute to business cases, manage spend, and plan project procurement timelines.
• Work with internal partners such as the Office of the General Counsel, Enterprise Risk and Information Security to assess, negotiate, and execute agreements.
• Author and negotiate statements of work and ordering documents with Red Cross clients and suppliers to support good outcomes for project investments.
• Manage an assigned portfolio of clients and suppliers to understand procurement demands, oversee renewals, and perform contract change control.
• Participate in Supply Management processes, including the Stakeholder Advisory Board, Risk Council, P&L Improvement, and Supplier Diversity.
• Contribute to team performance, P&L improvement, and diversity goals within IT Strategic Procurement.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision plans
• Health Spending Accounts & Flexible Spending Accounts
• PTO: Starting at 19 days a year; based on type of job and tenure
• Holidays: 11 paid holidays comprised of six core holidays and five floating holidays
• 401K with up to 6% match
• Paid Family Leave
• Employee Assistance
• Disability and Insurance: Short + Long Term
• Service Awards and recognition

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior