Senior Director, Technology Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

Cencora•Harrisburg, PA

2d•$150,000 - $235,070

About The Position

Serves as the single accountable owner for one or more technology categories within Cencora's global data and technology indirect spend portfolio, covering sourcing strategy, negotiation, supplier management, and portfolio and demand management for that scope. Owns the category roadmap for both near-term execution and multi-year delivery, and establishes clear sub-category ownership so every area of spend has a named owner. Directs enterprise-wide negotiations with major technology providers and owns the supplier performance, risk, and value agenda for assigned categories. Leads a team of Director-level category owners and sourcing professionals, building capability and a culture of accountability and commercial rigor. Acts as the defined sourcing business partner to assigned Technology senior leaders, translating their roadmaps and budgets into a forward demand plan so sourcing gets ahead of requirements rather than reacting to them. Establishes the governance, controls, and performance measures that convert category strategy into realized savings, improved service levels, and managed third-party risk.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, computer science, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience required.
12+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, and vendor management, including 6+ years in technology or data sourcing, or a related field required.
8+ years of experience in a management capacity required, including experience leading managers or senior individual contributors.
Demonstrated track record negotiating and managing complex technology supplier contracts and portfolios of $100M+ in annual spend required.
Experience owning a technology category end to end within a category-based procurement or category management operating model required.
Deep expertise in strategic sourcing, outsourcing, and contract development across technology and data categories, including SaaS, cloud services, infrastructure, IT services, telecom, packaged software, cyber security, data solutions, and emerging technologies.
Proven ability to build and own a multi-year category roadmap and hold it current against shifting business and technology demand.
Exceptional negotiation and contract optimization skills with a strong command of commercial and legal terms.
Skilled at operating as a business partner to senior technology leaders, building forward demand visibility and converting roadmaps into sourcing plans.
Deep understanding of global sourcing practices, vendor management, compliance, governance, and risk management frameworks, including third-party and cyber risk.
Strong knowledge of the technology supplier landscape, licensing and consumption models, industry trends, and emerging technologies and their impact on sourcing strategy.
Strategic thinker able to translate business and technology needs into sourcing strategies and drive operational excellence through process optimization.
Strong financial acumen, including analysis of complex cost structures and ROI models, evaluation of supplier proposals, and data-driven decision making.
Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build and sustain senior business relationships.
Ability to lead change, influence at all levels, and drive cross-functional alignment across a global matrixed organization.
Comfort operating with evolving scope and clarifying ownership boundaries while an operating model is still maturing.
Outstanding problem solving skills, applying the appropriate tools and level of analysis to the situation.
Proficiency in procurement tools (such as SAP Ariba or Coupa), contract lifecycle management systems, and data analytics platforms.
Ability to establish spend baselines, category profiles, risk assessments, controls, performance measures, and KPI reporting.
Proficiency in English for business communication across global stakeholders and suppliers.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA, or master's in supply chain, computer science, or a related field) preferred.
Experience leading teams through organizational or operating model change, including transition from a vendor or account-based structure to a category-based structure, preferred.
Experience in a Fortune 500 or similarly complex, large matrixed global organization preferred.
Certification in procurement, supply management, or project management (such as CPSM, CIPS, or PMP) preferred.

Responsibilities

Directs technology category strategies for assigned spend areas, including demand assessment, sourcing approach, supplier segmentation, risk evaluation, and value engineering initiatives.
Leads category planning and sourcing execution by aligning business and technology requirements, market intelligence, financial objectives, and procurement priorities into actionable multi-year strategies.
Oversees supplier selection, negotiation, and contracting to improve commercial outcomes, service performance, and total cost of ownership.
Establishes governance, controls, and performance measures that strengthen policy compliance, implementation discipline, and realization of sourcing benefits.
Leads team performance, capability development, workforce planning, and talent management activities to support business priorities and sustained functional effectiveness.
Acts as the single accountable owner for assigned technology categories, including the category roadmap, in-year execution plan, and multi-year strategy.
Defines and maintains sub-category ownership within the team so every area of spend has a named owner with clear scope, decision rights, and accountability.
Operates the category-based model rather than a vendor-tier model, segmenting suppliers within each category by value, risk, and criticality instead of by relationship status.
Leads completion of the transition from the legacy vendor-tier structure for assigned scope, including scope boundaries, handoffs, knowledge transfer, and stabilization of new ways of working.
Publishes and refreshes the category roadmap on a defined cadence, covering priorities, savings commitments, renewal timing, supplier strategy, and risk posture.
Represents assigned categories in functional planning and coordinates with peer category owners, including the MA&D category, where scope, suppliers, or agreements intersect.
Serves as the defined sourcing business partner to assigned Technology senior leadership team members, acting as their single point of contact for category sourcing.
Runs a standing cadence with business partners to capture roadmap, budget, and demand signals well ahead of need, typically 6 to 12 months in advance of requirement or renewal dates.
Maintains a rolling demand, renewal, and pipeline forecast for the category so spend is planned and proactively managed rather than processed tactically as it arrives.
Aggregates requirements across business units and regions to build leverage, reduce duplication, and rationalize overlapping suppliers and licenses.
Owns designated strategic vendor relationships within the category, including executive cadence, business reviews, roadmap alignment, innovation discussions, and escalation.
Challenges demand, specifications, and consumption with business partners before sourcing begins, using market intelligence, benchmarking, and should-cost analysis.
Develops and executes multi-year sourcing strategies for assigned categories that align to enterprise priorities, technology roadmaps, and the annual financial plan.
Owns the sourcing pipeline and savings commitments for the assigned portfolio, and sequences initiatives to balance value capture against business capacity.
Directs evaluation of vendor solutions to confirm they meet business requirements, technical specifications, security standards, and compliance obligations.
Builds a pipeline of innovative suppliers and emerging technologies, including AI and data solutions, to support growth and digital transformation.
Leads complex, enterprise-wide negotiations with major technology providers to secure favorable commercial and legal terms that optimize total cost of ownership, quality, and service delivery.
Directs structuring of master agreements, statements of work, service level commitments, subscription and license terms, renewal and true-up provisions, benchmarking clauses, and exit and termination rights.
Partners with Legal, Information Security, and Privacy to secure protections for data, intellectual property, audit rights, and regulatory requirements in technology contracts.
Serves as escalation point for contentious negotiations, supplier disputes, and commercial risk decisions within the assigned categories.
Holds suppliers in the assigned categories to agreed performance metrics and service levels.
Implements the vendor management framework for assigned categories, including performance reviews, scorecards, issue resolution, and continuous improvement plans.
Directs supplier assessments to confirm compliance with contractual obligations, security standards, and regulatory requirements.
Manages supplier risk across financial, operational, cyber, continuity, and reputational dimensions, and drives mitigation and remediation plans.
Advances supplier development, consolidation, and rationalization strategies, and leads commercial response to supplier audits and claims.
Oversees spend for the assigned categories, tracks and analyzes category and supplier spend, and identifies cost savings, efficiency, and value creation opportunities.
Builds and applies financial models, ROI analysis, and cost structure analysis to support data-driven sourcing decisions and negotiations.
Validates savings with Finance and business partners, and reports realized value, pipeline coverage, and category performance to senior leadership.
Acts as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, providing insight into supplier capabilities, market trends, and sourcing opportunities for the category.
Partners with Information Security, Legal, Finance, and business leaders to align sourcing and supplier strategies with organizational needs.
Facilitates cross-functional collaboration on supplier onboarding, integration, adoption, and contract implementation to secure compliance and value capture.
Supports technology sourcing requirements for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and integration activity, including transition service arrangements and contract disposition.
Implements policies, procedures, and governance frameworks for technology sourcing and vendor management, including delegation of authority and code of conduct requirements.
Drives process improvement to streamline procurement workflows and improve cycle time, quality, and stakeholder experience.
Adopts AI and automation within the team's workflows to reduce administrative effort and shift capacity toward strategic category work.
Champions supplier diversity, ESG goals, and responsible sourcing practices across the technology supply base.
Strengthens use of procurement systems and analytics, including sourcing, contract lifecycle, and spend platforms, so category roadmaps and demand plans rest on reliable data.
Builds, leads, and mentors a team of Director-level category owners and sourcing professionals, fostering collaboration, accountability, and excellence.
Sets objectives, manages performance, and provides coaching, development, and career pathing so the team has the skills and resources to succeed.
Manages workforce planning, resource allocation, and succession for the assigned categories, including capability build in the new operating model.