Procurement Manager

Caterpillar Inc.•Peoria, IL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc. When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it. The Indirect Procurement team within the Finance Services Division has an opening for a Manager, Procurement, located in Peoria, IL. In this role, you will provide leadership and strategic support to internal Business Unit customers globally across a defined portfolio of strategic suppliers within the Software category, partnering closely with IT and business stakeholders to deliver sourcing, buying, contract negotiation, and spend analytics solutions. You will also lead and develop a small team of procurement professionals that support both Software and Hardware request, including both internal resources and external support, while also serving as the senior functional lead for all buyers within the team. This role is a key escalation point for complex commercial discussions and negotiations and plays a critical role in enabling sound procurement decisions, best-in-class category execution, and strong supplier partnerships.

Requirements

Degree or equivalent experience desired
Negotiating: Knowledge of successful negotiation concepts and techniques; ability to negotiate successfully across the organization and with external vendors and clients in a constructive and collaborative manner.
Contracts Management and Administration: Knowledge of policies, standards and processes of how to manage and administer contracts; ability to use proper processes and practices for managing and administering a variety of contractual agreements.
Data Analytics: Knowledge of techniques and processes for inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data; ability to discover useful information, draw logical conclusions, and support decision-making.
Effective Communications: Understanding effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.

Nice To Haves

Typically requires a bachelor's degree (preferably in Business, Finance, Purchasing/Supply Chain, Law or IT) or equivalent (CIPS Level 6 / NVQ Level 4) or progressive experience in sourcing/purchasing for Indirect, Direct or IT Categories.
High-level understanding of business and IT strategy/planning and overall understanding of IT solutions, capabilities and project lifecycle.
Expert communicator: proficient in building collaborative and trusted partnerships to work across an internal matrix organization and external Supplier network.
Well-developed interpersonal skills, acting with integrity in tough and emotive situations; able to mediate and reach consensus within a group environment.

Responsibilities

This role is responsible for leading the development, governance, and execution of sourcing strategies for a defined portfolio of key strategic suppliers within the Software category.
The role owns outcomes related to supplier performance, commercial alignment, cost management, and risk mitigation and ensures sourcing strategies are aligned with business, IT, and procurement priorities.
The position provides oversight for agreements, procurement policies, source catalogs, and special procurement programs within its scope and serves as the primary liaison with Category and Platform based Buyers, as well as the Center of Excellence (COE) and Regional Buying Center (RBC) teams.
In addition, this role manages a small team of internal and external procurement resources and provides people leadership for a buyer responsible for the Hardware category, ensuring alignment and coordination across categories without directly owning the hardware strategy.
Provide people and functional leadership across the procurement team by setting direction, priorities, and clear expectations for strategic sourcing execution, supplier risk management, and business continuity support.
Lead and develop a small team through coaching, performance management, and capability building, while serving as the senior functional escalation point for complex commercial or contracting matters.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives within Purchasing that strengthen processes, tools, and cross functional collaboration in support of Business Unit customers.
Demonstrate leadership by guiding contract management, partnering with Legal on negotiation and risk assessment strategy, and promoting disciplined decision making across supplier engagement, onboarding and offboarding, spend analysis, and resource management.
Consistently model and promote the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and business ethics.
Must possess strong expertise in drafting, negotiating, and executing a broad range of complex procurement and legal agreements and serve as a senior commercial and contracting expert for the team.
This role is responsible for independently drafting, negotiating, and executing Master Software License Agreements (MSLAs), Master Cloud Service Agreements (MCSAs), Schedules and Statements of Work (SOWs), End User License Agreements (EULAs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and other procurement related contractual documents, while partnering closely with Legal to assess risk, ensure compliance, and achieve commercially sound outcomes.
Handle a substantial flow of procurement activities and projects with challenging or expedited timelines.
Actively manage procurement efforts end to end with a hands-on approach, guiding contracts through completion by working effectively with Business Unit stakeholders, Service Owners, Subject Matter Experts, Legal, Tax, and other partners as needed to resolve negotiation issues and execute agreements.
Develop and maintain strong relationships built on trust and accountability with internal Business Units.
Manage day to day execution and ongoing engagement with a defined portfolio of global strategic software suppliers, including supplier performance monitoring, cost optimization, risk awareness, and category network participation.
Partner closely with Business Units, the Vendor Management Office, and suppliers to drive continuous improvement initiatives, strengthen supplier capabilities, and foster mutually beneficial relationships across organizational levels.