America Procurement Category Manager - Electrical

Volta•Palo Alto, CA

1d•$190,000 - $260,000

About The Position

Volta is seeking a Procurement Category Manager to build a strong, resilient supply chain for the Electrical category in the America region. The role develops category and sourcing strategies to secure equipment and services needed to deliver Volta campuses on time. It reports to the Regional Procurement Director and partners with Global Procurement Operations and onsite procurement teams at each project. The role develops long-term supplier relationships and master goods and services agreements that secure capacity for Volta’s future project pipeline. It runs procurement processes for the category and brings business stakeholders together to define requirements and select providers. As a first-of-fleet role, it will help establish supplier panels, agreements and processes that can be repeated across sites as Volta grows. The Electrical category includes medium- and low-voltage switchgear, switchboards, transfer switches, transformers, UPS, generators, turbines, exterior busway/cable bus, power distribution units, battery energy storage, modular and prefabricated power solutions such as eHouses and skid-mounted power modules, and associated electrical equipment.

Requirements

4–7 years of experience in procurement, category management or supplier relationship management.
Direct experience buying in Electrical and a good understanding of the supplier market and how relevant equipment, works or services are specified, manufactured and delivered.
Track record of building strategic supplier partnerships and establishing master agreements, frameworks or capacity arrangements to support a project pipeline.
Strong relationship-management skills and credibility with senior supplier contacts; ability to handle escalations calmly and lead effective business reviews.
Experience running structured procurement processes and working with stakeholders to define requirements and support decision-making.
Working knowledge of commercial contract terms, including liability, warranties, liquidated damages, payment terms and change control, and standard-form contracts such as NEC, JCT, FIDIC, GMP or AIA.
Strong analytical and cost-modelling skills, including total cost of ownership analysis.
Comfort using ERP, AI-based systems, procurement systems and Excel.

Nice To Haves

Experience in data centers, mission-critical facilities, energy, construction or large-scale infrastructure.
CIPS or CPSM qualification, or working towards one.
Experience across both European and North American markets.

Responsibilities

Develop and deliver category and sourcing strategies that support on-time campus delivery and create a resilient supply chain with sufficient depth, capacity and geographic coverage.
Identify, develop and manage strategic supplier partnerships, serving as Volta’s main point of contact for key category suppliers.
Establish master goods and services agreements and framework arrangements, including pipeline, capacity reservation, manufacturing slot and volume commitments.
Make approved suppliers available to onsite teams through clear call-off routes, pricing and contacts.
Run end-to-end procurement processes, from market engagement and supplier pre-qualification through RFI, RFQ and RFP, evaluation, negotiation and contract award.
Engage stakeholders across engineering, design, preconstruction, construction, commissioning, controls, operations, project controls and finance to define requirements and support timely, informed provider selections.
Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, lead times, delivery schedules, payment milestones, warranties and service levels, working with Project Controls and Procurement Legal Counsel on contract drafting and non-standard positions.
Resolve supplier delivery, quality, commercial and performance issues escalated by onsite procurement teams.
Plan and facilitate regular supplier business reviews covering performance, KPIs, pipeline, capacity, risks, innovation and continuous improvement.
Identify and manage supply chain risks, including single-source dependencies, capacity constraints, multi-supplier award scenarios, price volatility, tariffs, supplier financial health, and ESG or compliance concerns; develop dual-sourcing and contingency measures where needed.
Work with Global Procurement Operations to maintain accurate supplier records, agreements, purchase orders and spend data, and report category spend, savings, pipeline and supplier performance to the Regional Procurement Director.