Procurement Manager- Enterprise Technology

The Company:

NorthMark Strategies is a leading investment firm, combining capital, innovation, and engineering to drive long-term value. From operating complex businesses to backing breakthrough technologies, our mission is to build enduring businesses. Our team combines intelligent risk-taking, operational excellence, exceptional talent, and world-class computing capacity to create shareholder value.

Our company offers a dynamic environment where individuals have the freedom to lead companies toward bold achievements by embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and fostering differentiated business strategies. Our values are Integrity, Ability, and Energy, and the company aims to hire individuals who possess those qualities.

At NorthMark Strategies, we believe the future isnt something to hope for, its something to build. We dont just invest, we create. Bringing together strategic insight and technical horsepower to deliver outcomes that endure.

The Position:

We are seeking a Senior Category Manager Enterprise Technology to define and execute global category strategies across a broad portfolio of enterprise technology spend, including enterprise and specialty software, IT security, hardware, and IT professional services. This role provides end-to-end category leadership for large, complex, enterprise-wide spend portfolios and serves as a strategic business partner to various IT and Engineering teams across multiple entities. It is critical for architecting and building out a strategic category around Enterprise Technology that will be able to scale alongside company and procurement organization growth.

A core focus of this role is to continuously assess category maturity, identify spend areas that warrant elevation to strategic category status, and proactively design forward-looking category strategies aligned to evolving business and technology requirements. The role also plays a key part in driving procurement automation and guided buying solutions to improve efficiency, compliance, and end-user experience across high-volume, low dollar purchasing.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Portfolio Leadership

• Own and lead global category management strategies for enterprise software, IT security, specialty software, enterprise hardware, and IT professional services
• Develop and execute multi-year category roadmaps aligned to business objectives, technology strategy, and future-state operating models
• Lead the end-to-end source-to-contract lifecycle, including spend analysis, market intelligence, sourcing strategy, RFx execution, negotiations, and contract award
• Responsible for making critical decisions regarding entering contracts, negotiating pricing/terms, signing agreements and committing capital.
• Drive measurable value through cost optimization, risk mitigation, service quality, innovation, and supplier performance
• Apply advanced sourcing techniques (e.g., competitive RFx, eAuctions, clean-sheeting, demand management, license optimization) to deliver industry-leading results
• Identify opportunities to standardize, consolidate, or elevate spend into strategic categories based on value and risk profiles
• Lead multiple, complex sourcing initiatives concurrently in a global, matrixed environment

Procurement Automation, Guided Buying & Enablement

• Define and execute strategies to automate high-volume, low dollar purchasing, reducing manual effort and increasing compliance
• Lead the design, implementation, and expansion of guided buying experiences, including:
• Supplier punch-out integrations
• Hosted and supplier-managed catalogs
• Preferred supplier purchasing channels
• Partner with Procurement Operations, IT, and Finance to improve P2P adoption, policy compliance, and user experience
• Drive standardization and reduction of maverick spend across indirect technology categories

Stakeholder & Supplier Management

• Act as a trusted strategic partner to enterprise stakeholders for technology sourcing decisions
• Responsible for making critical decisions on supplier selection and partnerships
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with senior business leaders, IT leadership, and cross-functional partners
• Lead supplier selection, negotiations, contracting, and ongoing supplier relationship management
• Manage complex supplier ecosystems, including enterprise software publishers, specialty and research software providers, hardware vendors, resellers, and IT service providers
• Drive vendor rationalization, license optimization, and demand management initiatives
• Establish accountability for supplier performance through SLAs, KPIs, and governance frameworks
• Assess and mitigate commercial, operational, and legal risks in existing and new contracts
• Negotiate contracts and statements of work in partnership with Legal
• Optimize commercial terms, including pricing models and payment terms, to support working capital objectives

Required Experience

• 10+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or procurement leadership, with a strong focus on enterprise technology categories
• Demonstrated experience managing large, complex, enterprise-wide software and IT services-spend portfolios
• Experience leading procurement transformation, digital procurement, or P2P optimization initiatives
• Experience working in global, multi-entity, or matrixed organizations
• Proven success in spend analytics, category segmentation, and strategic portfolio management
• Experience designing and executing procurement automation and guided buying solutions (e.g., punch-outs, catalogs, P2P optimization)
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, ambiguous, and highly matrixed environments
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capabilities, and executive-level communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelors degree required, preference for Supply Chain Management, Business, Information Systems, Operations, or a related field
• Strong knowledge of software licensing models, hardware sourcing, IT services contracting, and technology supplier ecosystems
• Familiarity with leading procurement and contract management platforms (e.g., Coupa, Ariba, Ivalua, SAP, or similar)