Category Manager - Utility Procurement

Category Manager - Utility Procurement

LU Service Corp. is seeking a Category Manager for Utility Procurement. Our purpose is sustaining energy and water for life, and it is demonstrated in everything we do as a business, and as an employee team. At Liberty, we hire passionate people who care about doing the right thing for our customers. We are entrepreneurial, creative, and outcome-focused. Here, your natural talent and achievements will flourish in an inclusive environment of teamwork, trust, and continuous learning. We are always pursuing excellence to exceed our ambitions goals, rewarding both the goal outcome and how we achieve it.

Purpose: This is a high-impact category leadership role responsible for capital commodities and support for additional enterprise categories as needed. The Category Manager will shape category strategy, lead complex sourcing and commercial negotiations, and influence key business decisions across cost, risk, quality, reliability, and continuity of supply. This role offers significant visibility across Procurement, Operations, Engineering, Legal, Finance, and senior leadership, and is well suited for a commercially strong, analytically driven leader who thrives in a dynamic, regulated environment.

Accountabilities:

• Own category strategy and execution for capital commodities and assigned spend areas, translating business demand, market conditions, and risk considerations into actionable sourcing plans.
• Own the financial performance of assigned categories, including spend planning, forecasting, savings pipeline development, benefits tracking, and leadership reporting; must demonstrate prior experience managing approximately $50 million to $100 million in annual category spend.
• Lead competitive sourcing events, commercial negotiations, and contract execution, including pricing structures, terms and conditions, service levels, and governance mechanisms.
• Manage supplier performance through scorecards, business reviews, and corrective action plans to improve cost, service, safety, compliance, and resiliency.
• Provide market intelligence, pricing insight, and supplier due diligence to inform decisions, manage volatility, and strengthen continuity of supply.
• Use spend analytics and visibility tools to identify opportunities, monitor results, and recommend corrective actions where performance, savings, or supply assurance is off track.

Education and Experience: University - Bachelor degree or equivalent 8+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or procurement, including complex negotiations, contract management, and supplier governance. Demonstrated success managing complex category portfolios with approximately $50 million to $100 million in annual spend accountability. Strong commercial, analytical, and financial acumen, including spend analysis, total cost of ownership, cost modeling, forecasting, and benefits tracking. Experience using procurement and ERP systems such as Ariba and SAP, along with spend visibility tools such as Sievo or similar platforms. Executive-level communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams, challenge constructively, and build alignment in a matrixed environment. Utility, infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, capital projects, or other regulated-industry sourcing experience. Experience with commodity contracting, pricing structures, supply market analysis, logistics considerations, and risk management concepts relevant to capital commodities. Familiarity with utility operating environments, including safety expectations, service continuity requirements, emergency response planning, and cross-functional coordination with operations and engineering teams. Professional certifications such as CPSM or CPM, and an MBA or other advanced degree, are valued.

Compensation Data: Full base salary range $110,000.00- $160,000.00 per year *Liberty considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and responsibilities, a candidate's work experience, education, training and skills, and geographic location.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is a growing renewable energy and utility company with over $15 billion of assets across North America and internationally. For more than 30 years, Algonquin has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to delivering clean energy and water solutions. Our rapid growth has led both our regulated utility services and renewable energy business groups into different geographies and commodities, but our purpose remains unchanged Sustaining Energy and Water for Life. Through our operating business (Liberty), we provide regulated electricity, water, and natural gas utility services to over 1 million customer connections, primarily in North America. And, our growing portfolio of clean, renewable wind, solar, hydro and thermal power generation facilities represent over 3 GW of renewable generation capacity in operation and under construction.

What we offer:

• Company funded Pension program
• 401k with Company match
• Full insurance benefits (health/dental/vision/life)
• Collaborative environment with a genuine flexible working policy
• Share purchase/match plan
• Defined Contribution savings plan
• Top Talent Program
• Volunteer paid days off
• Employee Assistance Program
• Achievement fund

We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you are excited about this role and are not certain you meet all the qualification requirements, we encourage you to apply to further investigate the opportunity. We are an equal opportunity employer and value each person's unique background, diversity, experiences, perspectives, and talents. Full participation of all employees in a safe, healthy, and respectful environment is key to individual and company success. We are committed to fully utilizing the abilities of all of our employees and expect each of our employees to honor this commitment in their daily responsibilities.