Lead Specialist, Category Management (Operations)

Job-ID: 25000535Category: Category ManagementLocation: Houston, TX, United StatesSchedule: Full timePosted: 2026-10-20POSITION OVERVIEWThe Lead Specialist, Category Management reports to the Manager, Category Management. This position is an essential Supply Chain Management role designed to manage a portfolio of contracts and is responsible for the end-to-end contract life cycle from Sourcing, Contracting, contract implementation, and ongoing management of the contract within the business. This position is also accountable to maintain and continuously improving the SCM Team’s sourcing and contracting processes, procedures, tools, and systems. Our team is looking for a team member with experience engaging business partners and suppliers in the processes associated with Sourcing, Contracting, and Contract Management. The Lead Specialist is responsible for: Supporting the Sourcing and Contracting of a portfolio of contracts. Integrates and works collaboratively with business partners in the delegated categories. Driving compliance, continuous improvement, and value delivery.Engages with Supplier Assurance, Purchasing Delivery team, and business partners to deliver strategies to meet business needs and supply market capability. Manages direct Contract Agreement Negotiations working with Legal, Insurance, Treasury and Risk Management functions. RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL DUTIESStakeholder Management Collaborates with business partners to assure their way-of-working is compliant with company compliance, ethics, and delegated authorities. Leverages Cheniere’s scale to coordinate business needs with suppliers.  Acts as the single point of accountability for all spend against their delegated contracts.  Supports the Contract Owners in the gathering of performance feedback for effective contractor management.Supports the delivery of Category Strategies as appropriate to the delegated contracts. Leverages Cheniere’s scale to coordinate business needs with suppliers.  Category Strategy and Implementation In collaboration with Manager of Category Management, lead the development and implementation of comprehensive Category Strategies for defined categories.Sourcing, Contracting, and Contract Management Performs pre-qualification and qualification of new suppliers.   Ensures all Sourcing and Contracting is compliant, timely and delivered with quality.    Builds and designs requests for proposal to consider total cost models to understand value, operating costs, and supplier price impacts on existing budgets. Performs negotiations to establish contracts with qualified suppliers to secure quality services, materials, and equipment on time at optimum cost.    Prepares bid evaluation and supplier award documentation for business partner approvals. Drafts, evaluates, negotiates, and executes various contract commercial structures.   Ensures timely delivery of quality contracts in support of safe, reliable, and competitive operations.   Ensures contractual records and documentation and contract correspondence maintained and logged into the appropriate systems. Supports the Delivery Purchasing team in the creation of Contract Purchase Agreements (CPA’s) and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA’s) as appropriate. Manage Post Award Contract Management process inclusive of contract handover, supplier performance management while ensuring adherence to commercial assurance. Process Efficiency and Data Analytics: Develops expertise in the team's GEP sourcing and contracting solution to become team’s lead Power User.Integrate data from various sources to perform in-depth analytics on procurement processes, identifying trends and insights.Works with the SCM P&E to define areas for improvement within category management practices.Leads change management efforts to implement new ways of working, ensuring smooth transitions and user adoption.Utilize data analysis and reporting tools to track and evaluate contract and category management performance metrics.Create clear and concise visual representations of data findings from collaborating with P&E, Commercial and Delivery team to facilitate decision-making and communication.Facilitate knowledge sharing within Commercial team by documenting best practices and lessons learned.The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list, and additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time; or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands.KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLSCandidate should have a strong understanding of sourcing, commercial terms, and negotiation of general material and service contract provisions. In addition to understanding source-to-contract and purchase to pay systems (Oracle and GEP system experience preferred). Skills:Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Self-motivated and ability to handle multiple responsibilities.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.Must work well cross-functionally with all internal stakeholders.Strong interpersonal skills; ability to thrive in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. Effective time management skills. Ability to think strategically and demonstrate strong attention to detail. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCEEducation and Certifications: Bachelor’s degree preferred. Equivalent combination of education, experience, and certifications may be considered in lieu of degree. Experience: Minimum eight (8) years of relevant, progressive Supply Chain Management experience. Must have experience with sourcing, competitive bidding, RFP development, bid evaluation, supplier selection and post-award contract management.DIRECT REPORTSNoneFREEDOM TO ACTAbility to multi-task and function in a highly dynamic atmosphere; must exercise discretion independently.WORK CONDITIONS Physical Area: Our Houston office is in the heart of downtown, and we offer free parking or a metro ticket. With all corporate teams at the same location, there’s always a buzz around the office. You will have dedicated desk space and plenty of human interaction.   Facilities and hardware: Our offices are modern, bright, and designed to foster collaboration. You will have access to great IT (Information Technology) equipment and support and can readily access the downtown tunnels, restaurants, and gyms. You may occasionally need to travel to our sites at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi and those sites are governed by FTZ (Foreign Trade Zone) regulations which do include drug and alcohol testing.    Working conditions: Cheniere is committed to improving the well-being of our employees and while you may need to work outside the usual working hours, we aspire to provide a good work life balance for all.   Company culture: So, what is the culture like at Cheniere? It is our values — teamwork, respect, accountability, integrity, nimbleness, and safety — at work. We are happy when we hear employees say we have a great culture. But we are not satisfied with building a great culture, we are endeavoring to build the best culture.  Job is performed in a typical office environment, but is subject to time pressures and constraints, and is often dependent on input from others. Occasionally, work may be performed from home, after normal work hours or on weekends. Periodically travel as business requires.Subject to drug and alcohol testing, per applicable federal regulations or as required by Cheniere.ADA JOB REQUIREMENTSReasonable accommodation will be made to ensure that the essential functions of the job can be performed and not hinder the employee's performance due to physical, mental or emotional disability.EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYCheniere Energy is an equal opportunity workplace. All employment decisions are made without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected categories. This includes providing reasonable accommodation if requested for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices.About the company Cheniere Energy is a global leader in LNG providing flexible, reliable and affordable energy to the world while powering the transition to a lower-carbon future. We are a values-driven company that focuses on teamwork, respect, accountability, integrity, nimbleness, and above all, safety for our employees, our communities, and our assets. Cheniere Energy’s global impact is achieved through a diverse and passionate workforce that is invested in our company through our annual stock-grant program. Our high-performing employees are united by a shared mission, common goals and a culture of inclusion and caring. Our comprehensive compensation and benefits offerings are competitive and strong, and they prioritize wellness and performance incentives that reward results. As an employee of Cheniere Energy, you will make an impact on our business and our communities.A Fortune 500 company, Cheniere Energy is headquartered in Houston with U.S. offices in Lake Charles, Louisiana and Washington D.C.; production sites in Cameron, Louisiana and Gregory, Texas; and international offices in London, Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo.