Manager, Technology Category Management

Cencora • USA > TX > Remote, TX

1d • $76,200 - $119,460

About The Position

The Manager, Technology Category Management executes category strategy and sourcing activity for assigned technology spend within one of three categories: Hardware/Telecom/Cloud, Software, or Technology Services. The role identifies, negotiates, and delivers productivity; manages supplier relationships; and partners with business and IT stakeholders to capture value. The Manager partners with peer category leads and may guide analysts supporting the category. This role supports enterprise savings, risk reduction, and supplier performance.

The position manages category strategies, sourcing plans, opportunity pipelines, sourcing events, negotiations, contracts within delegated authority, supplier performance, budgets, savings tracking, and delivery plans. It coordinates stakeholders across business, IT, Legal, Finance, Security, and sourcing teams; provides updates and recommendations to the Director; monitors technology markets and vendor capabilities; supports MA&D and corporate initiatives; contributes to process improvement and standardization; and provides day-to-day guidance to analysts and other team members.

The assigned category may cover hardware, networking, telecom and carrier services, public cloud and hosting; enterprise, SaaS and infrastructure software; or IT consulting, systems integration, application development, managed services, staff augmentation, outsourcing and offshore delivery models.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Information Technology, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or procurement, including at least 3 years focused on technology categories.
• Experience in the assigned category—hardware/telecom/cloud, software, or technology services.
• Demonstrated success negotiating technology contracts and delivering measurable savings.
• Working knowledge of technology commercial models, including licensing, subscription, consumption, SOW/T&M/fixed-price, and SLAs, and related risk, data privacy, and security considerations.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency with spend analytics and sourcing tools, such as Ariba, Power BI, and Excel.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence business and IT stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• MBA.
• Experience guiding or mentoring team members; formal people management is not required.
• Experience with MA&D sourcing support and experience in healthcare, pharma, or another regulated industry.
• Professional certification such as CPSM, CPP, ISM, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Manage category strategies, sourcing plans, pipeline priorities, and annual plans for assigned technology spend, aligned with business demand, service, quality, and cost objectives.
• Analyze spend, demand, and market data to identify cost savings and cost avoidance opportunities, and maintain the productivity opportunity pipeline.
• Lead sourcing events, supplier evaluations, negotiations, and award recommendations; manage contracts within delegated authority and escalate complex or high-value commercial and contractual issues to the Director.
• Apply expertise in technology contract terms, including pricing models, licensing rights, intellectual property, and governance practices, to support compliance and long-term value.
• Deliver negotiated productivity by validating savings against baseline spend with Finance, driving implementation and business adoption, and tracking benefits to completion.
• Manage supplier performance, contract compliance, and issue resolution; conduct supplier reviews, track SLAs and KPIs, and flag financial and cybersecurity risks.
• Coordinate business, IT, Legal, Finance, Security, and Regional Sourcing/Country Lead stakeholders to align requirements, specifications, timelines, and handoffs.
• Serve as the primary contact for business and vendor counterparts for assigned spend, and provide timely status updates, risks, and recommendations to the Director.
• Manage budgets, savings tracking, and delivery plans using financial, capacity, and quality metrics; report performance to the Director and leadership.
• Monitor market trends, emerging technologies, and vendor capabilities to inform sourcing approaches and negotiation positions.
• Support MA&D and corporate initiatives, including vendor overlap and synergy analysis, due diligence, Day-1 readiness, and post-transaction integration or separation.
• Contribute to process improvement, onboarding, cross-training, local standardization, and maintenance and adoption of category policies, procedures, playbooks, tools, and practices.
• Provide day-to-day guidance and coaching to analysts and other team members on analysis, sourcing events, and best practices; support routines, accountability, and escalation paths.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision care.
• Benefits and resources supporting physical, emotional, financial, and social wellness.
• Support for working families, which may include backup dependent care, adoption assistance, infertility coverage, family building support, behavioral health solutions, paid parental leave, and paid caregiver leave.
• Training programs and professional development resources.
• Mentorship programs, employee resource groups, and volunteer activities.

What This Job Offers

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