Sr. Manager Procurement - Real Estate and Facilities, Category Leader

Job Title: Sr. Manager Procurement – Real Estate and Facilities, Category Leader Location: NYC, 1211 6th Avenue; Office: 3 days a week. Position Summary In the News Corp Global Sourcing Organization, the goal is to unlock value by delivering speed, efficiency, and security in buying across all business units. As a centralized function focused on collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement, the category leader will partner with stakeholders to shape and implement sourcing strategies for Real‑Estate and Facilities (including Facilities Management, Construction & Design) within an indirect category umbrella. The role involves leading strategic sourcing engagements, creating competitive environments, driving cost savings, influencing senior leaders, and communicating the value proposition of the sourcing group. Accountabilities & Responsibilities Lead the delivery of annual roll‑up productivity savings and working‑capital impact across category owners; set initial vision and goals within the first 90 days based on identified cost drivers. Develop, execute, and implement a comprehensive Category Strategy for Real‑Estate, Facilities Management, and Construction/Design, collaborating with stakeholders and influencing multi‑year global plans. Apply structured project‑management methods to execute complex, long‑term category‑management and strategic‑sourcing initiatives. Leverage the Category Performance framework, define metrics, and continuously track performance against goals. Prepare and execute clear, structured negotiations in line with Global Sourcing methodologies. Initiate program‑level improvements such as process enhancements, diversity initiatives, and other benefit‑driving actions. Manage Category cards detailing overall strategies, preferred suppliers, and business‑unit execution requirements; monitor category health. Develop ‘should‑cost’ and total‑cost‑of‑ownership models to support strategy and target setting. Build strong partnerships with budget owners, functional stakeholders, and strategic suppliers. Participate in cross‑functional teams executing major category initiatives, ensuring value delivery, compliance tracking, and market‑trend translation. Establish and maintain relationships with internal partners to understand strategic direction, priorities, and requirements across assigned suppliers and spend categories. Develop global sourcing strategies to meet business objectives and evaluate supplier competencies using cost models and benchmarking. Manage sourcing fundamentals: RFx, spend‑pattern analysis, contract analysis, bid evaluation, negotiations, and supplier consolidation. Work with business and finance leaders to identify and drive savings and controllership improvements focused on total cost of ownership. Advise stakeholders on procurement strategies and maintain procurement ethics in line with global policies. Host business reviews with stakeholders to assess vendor performance and future opportunities. Identify spend category strategies and drivers to achieve aggressive cost‑reduction targets, working with senior cross‑functional customers. Coordinate with the Business Sourcing Partner to define detailed business requirements, prioritize them, and secure approvals. Ensure sourcing partners, contracting analysts, and procurement managers follow category strategy, policies, and procedures. Implement change‑management strategies to increase adoption of best‑practice sourcing and procurement solutions. Assist the Business Sourcing Partner with capacity and demand forecasting for the business unit. Negotiate global preferred supplier agreements and maintain the contracting database. Execute complex statements of work: creation to approval, including Master Services Agreements, Construction/Design Agreements, Software as a Service agreements, and related amendments. Serve as a contracting SME, providing coaching and advisory services within the team. Contracting Responsibilities Negotiate Master Services Agreements, Construction/Design Agreements (e.g., AIA), Service Agreements, License Agreements, Statements of Work, amendments, and global preferred supplier agreements following legal guidelines. Manage escalations to the legal department appropriately. Maintain the contracting database and feed the Supplier Relationship Management system. Qualifications & Competencies Bachelor of Arts or Sciences (MBA preferred). Minimum 5 years of global real‑estate, facilities, and construction/capital‑expenditure sourcing experience. Minimum 3 years of leading cross‑cultural teams. Procurement certifications (CPSM or CSCP) preferred; Six‑Sigma certification preferred. Strong data‑driven decision‑making skill set, leveraging market data, spend analytics, and cost modeling. Excellent written and oral communication; strategic, analytical, and interpersonal skills. Expert negotiator with proven negotiation strategy execution. Strong project‑management skills, meeting stakeholder timelines. Deep experience with multi‑step strategic sourcing processes and category‑management strategies. Knowledge of commercial agreement structures and key legal terms. Risk assessment capability and ability to explain complex issues to senior owners. Customer‑focused mindset, understanding business needs. Experience in large, global, matrixed organizations with cross‑business‑unit collaboration. Contract drafting experience and compliance with legal guidelines. Leadership in category, sourcing strategy, and demand planning discussions, using facilitation strengths. Ability to drive results through others via effective controls and monitoring. Proficiency with eSourcing tools: eRFx, reverse auctions and project‑management tools (Ariba, ServiceNow, Oracle, SAP). Experience managing complex sourcing categories across diverse global portfolios, varying property types. Equal Opportunity Employer All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Compensation & Benefits Base Pay Range: $125,000 - $165,000 + Budget. Competitive compensation with potential bonuses. Comprehensive benefits package covering health, retirement, wellbeing, and optional benefits. #J-18808-Ljbffr