Sr. Category Manager, Procurement

American Airlines•Fort Worth, TX

8h•Onsite

About The Position

The Professional Services Category is part of American's Procurement organization and manages end-to-end sourcing for Contact Centers, Consulting Services, Benefits, Contingent Labor, Marketing, Legal, and Financial Services. The Category Manager/Sr. Category Manager develops and implements sourcing strategies, leads contract negotiations, optimizes stakeholder engagement, and drives vendor value creation. The role builds relationships with internal partners and vendors, leads sourcing events to deliver measurable savings and improvements, and addresses contracting, financial analysis, risk, legal, and regulatory requirements. The position focuses on strategic sourcing across the benefits vendor ecosystem, including medical carriers, PBMs, TPAs/ASO administrators, stop-loss carriers, brokers and consultants, benefits administration platforms, wellness vendors, voluntary benefits providers, and specialty point solutions. It analyzes supplier proposals and financial and performance data, negotiates commercial and contractual terms, and delivers savings, cost avoidance, value protection, and working-capital improvements. The role partners with Legal, Finance, consultants, IT/security, and business stakeholders; supports compliance-aware vendor management; creates governance tools; monitors vendor performance; resolves issues; and maintains organized, audit-ready sourcing and contract documentation. The job is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The posting describes a growing, high-performing and collaborative Strategic Sourcing team, with opportunities to work on high-impact projects and engage with senior leadership, vendors, and internal stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
At least 3 years of related work experience.
Sourcing experience in indirect categories other than IT or Contingent Labor.
Basic financial analysis and cost-savings skills, including Excel.
Strong project management skills.
Excellent problem-solving, customer service, and communication skills.
Strong business acumen and understanding of supply chain concepts, with work experience applying those concepts.
Negotiating and influencing skills.
Ability to use technical tools for analysis, problem-solving, forecasting, and quality improvement.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Ability to navigate ambiguity, complex stakeholder dynamics, and change.
Self-directed, organized, and resourceful; able to prioritize, manage, and execute multiple simultaneous tasks.
High ethical standards.
Energetic and ambitious approach to developing a career in Procurement.

Nice To Haves

A degree in Procurement, Supply Chain, Business Administration, Business Management, Finance, Accounting, or another related field.
Knowledge of Source to Pay systems.
Knowledge of Coupa and Levelpath.
Experience with benefits, including medical or pharmaceutical benefits.
Process mapping abilities.
Supplier risk analysis experience.
Vendor relationship management skills.
Previous experience with Source to Pay systems.
Good work ethic and a positive attitude.
Executive presence.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage many projects.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing activities, including category strategy development, RFx execution, supplier evaluation, market research, negotiations, and vendor performance monitoring.
Manage sourcing activity across the benefits vendor ecosystem, including medical carriers, PBMs, TPAs/ASO administrators, stop-loss carriers, brokers/consultants, benefits administration platforms, wellness vendors, voluntary benefits providers, and specialty point solutions.
Run RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, renewals, benchmarks, and market checks to support fair supplier comparisons, documented decision-making, competitive leverage, and defensible sourcing outcomes.
Negotiate commercial and contractual terms, including pricing, administrative fees, rebates, guarantees, SLAs, implementation obligations, audit and data-access rights, market-check language, termination terms, confidentiality, and renewal protections.
Analyze supplier proposals, claims and utilization trends, renewal projections, administrative fees, PEPM/PMPM structures, PBM economics, rebate arrangements, stop-loss terms, service levels, and total cost of ownership to identify negotiation levers.
Deliver hard savings, cost avoidance, value protection, and working-capital improvements through competitive sourcing, contract optimization, vendor consolidation, fee transparency, market checks, improved rebates and performance guarantees, and process optimization.
Partner with Legal, Finance, consultants, IT/security, and business stakeholders to align sourcing strategies, contract terms, implementation plans, financial impacts, and risk considerations.
Support compliance-aware vendor management by recognizing when ERISA fiduciary concepts, DOL service-provider oversight, broker/consultant compensation disclosures, voluntary benefit safe harbor requirements, RxDC, gag clause attestation, Transparency in Coverage, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, or plan-document considerations require review.
Create and manage vendor governance tools, including scorecards, performance guarantee trackers, SLA dashboards, QBR/BR materials, corrective action plans, escalation paths, renewal dashboards, and contract compliance reviews.
Monitor vendors against contractual, operational, financial, service, implementation, reporting, member-experience, and compliance expectations; drive timely resolution of performance gaps.
Maintain organized, audit-ready sourcing strategies, RFx materials, evaluation records, negotiation summaries, business cases, financial improvement reports, contract documents, and vendor governance records.
Apply project management, executive communication, stakeholder influence, analytical storytelling, negotiation, and problem-solving skills to high-visibility and regulatory-complex projects.