IT Category Specialist

Cushman & Wakefield

8d•$63,750 - $75,000

About The Position

This position is part of the C&W Procurement team supporting Technology & Data Solutions (TDS), working alongside Category Managers on IT sourcing and procurement activities spanning technology services, software, hardware, data, and related supplier relationships. The IT Category Specialist will assist with strategic sourcing, contract administration, supplier relationship management, spend analysis, negotiations, and procurement operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Information Technology, Finance, or a related field preferred; advanced degree or relevant procurement certification is a plus.
2-4 years of related procurement, sourcing, vendor management, IT category, or equivalent business experience.
Working knowledge of IT procurement categories, including software/SaaS, hardware, cloud, telecom, data, professional services, and technology supplier commercial models.
Familiarity with legal and commercial contracting concepts, including statements of work, renewals, amendments, service levels, licensing, confidentiality, data security, and supplier compliance requirements.
Strong analytical, reporting, and presentation skills, including proficiency with Smartsheet, Excel, and PowerPoint; experience with procurement, supplier administration, and contract management systems preferred.
Strong relationship management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to collaborate across IT, Legal, Finance, business partners, and suppliers.
Highly organized, detail-oriented, and self-motivated with the ability to prioritize multiple requests, manage competing deadlines, and work independently to resolve issues.
Understanding of strategic sourcing processes, supplier relationship management, procurement policy compliance, and preferred supplier program adoption.

Nice To Haves

advanced degree or relevant procurement certification is a plus
experience with procurement, supplier administration, and contract management systems preferred

Responsibilities

Contribute to category strategies for TDS, including software, hardware, telecommunications, professional services, data, and related IT supplier categories.
Assist Category Managers with sourcing events, supplier research, intake review, order form management, statement of work review, and invoice follow-up for IT procurement requests.
Help coordinate supplier selection, onboarding, administration, and relationship management for preferred IT suppliers and strategic technology partners.
Track supplier performance, service levels, contract compliance, renewal timelines, and key metrics to help drive supplier governance and business adoption.
Escalate supplier performance, quality, risk, or commercial issues to Category Managers and business stakeholders as appropriate.
Analyze spend, pricing, usage, benchmarks, and supplier proposals to identify savings, cost avoidance, consolidation, and value improvement opportunities.
Assist with RFPs, RFQs, renewals, and supplier negotiations for IT goods and services, including proposal evaluation, commercial analysis, and stakeholder recommendation materials.
Collaborate with Procurement leadership to improve intake processes, sourcing workflows, supplier governance tools, contract tracking, and reporting for IT procurement activity.
Generate metrics, dashboards, and analysis to enable stakeholder visibility, compliance monitoring, supplier performance reviews, and category planning.
Prepare, review, and facilitate supplier contracts, statements of work, amendments, renewals, extensions, and terminations using approved templates, tools, and processes.
Maintain accurate records in the contract repository and coordinate with Legal, Finance, IT, and business stakeholders to ensure compliance and timely execution.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with IT, business units, Category Managers, suppliers, and cross-functional partners to enable effective procurement execution and preferred supplier adoption.
Conduct meetings with internal and external stakeholders in a professional manner using strong communication, sound judgment, tact, and diplomacy.
Perform other related duties as assigned.