Category Manager

Category Strategy and Planning Partner with the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) and IT leadership to develop multiyear category strategies for IT & Technology Operations vendors. Lead execution of IT vendor strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture, digital transformation, and cybersecurity priorities. Coordinate with IT Leadership on vendor demand planning, technology roadmaps, product lifecycles, and modernization efforts. Conduct market research and stay up to date with current trends across SaaS, cloud models, licensing, hardware, cybersecurity, and managed services. Identify cost optimization, rationalization, standardization, and risk mitigation opportunities. Strategic Sourcing and Contracting Lead sourcing, competitive events (RFx), and negotiation of complex IT contracts ($1M-$10M+), including SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, Telcom, and managed services. Develop and execute deal strategies (i.e., bundling, multi-year agreements, rate card optimization, and usage commitments). Manage contracting for software licensing, SaaS subscriptions, cloud consumption agreements, managed services, telecom, and IT professional services. Drive measurable savings through competitive sourcing, benchmarking, and renegotiation strategies. Evaluate and optimize cloud consumption (Azure/AWS), SaaS licensing tiers, and enterprise agreements. Oversee the IT contract lifecycle, including renewals, extensions, amendments, and vendor onboarding and offboarding. Ensure contracts meet HMSA standards for data protection, cybersecurity controls, SLAs, compliance, and risk management. Vendor Governance and Performance Oversight Provide vendor oversight for IT & Technology Operations suppliers, owning commercial performance of vendors, including cost, value realization, and contract adherence. Partner with business owners and/or vendor managers to ensure alignment between financial outcomes and operational performance. Partner with Vendor Managers, IT owners, and InfoSec to ensure governance, QBRs, continuous improvement, and issue resolution. Support privacy, cybersecurity, thirdparty risk, and regulatory compliance assessments. Identify opportunities for cost recovery, demand management, and contract re-baselining. Financial and Value Management Analyze IT spending (software, cloud, infrastructure, telecom, managed services); deliver and track quantifiable cost savings, cost avoidance, and value creation across IT spend. Validate pricing, usage data (seat counts, cloud consumption), billing accuracy, and budget impacts. Develop business cases for contract decisions, vendor consolidation, or new technology acquisitions. Support IT budget cycles, forecasting, and technology investment planning Stakeholder and Cross-Departmental Collaboration Coordinate closely with CIO, IT Directors, Enterprise Architecture, Cybersecurity, Applications, Infrastructure, and Digital teams. Function as a procurement advisor for technology initiatives and vendor planning. Partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Privacy, and Finance Guide business and IT stakeholders on procurement governance, contract requirements, and vendor best practices. Performs all other miscellaneous responsibilities and duties as assigned or directed. #J-18808-Ljbffr