Category Management Lead

Overview The Lead - Category Management role is responsible for developing and implementing fact-based, comprehensive, and well-communicated strategies that deliver superior financial returns and competitive advantages. This role ensures the strategy is dynamic and responsive to market, customer, supplier, and company needs. They oversee supplier relationships, selection, development, and management, partnering with internal stakeholders to align business objectives. They lead strategic sourcing activities across high value diverse spend categories to drive cost reduction, maximize value, and minimize third-party risks. Acts independently to develop methods and procedures on new or special assignments. Essential Responsibilities Drive strategic sourcing strategy, market analysis, RFX development and complex negotiations. Lead business requirement development and drive stakeholders’ interactions to ensure understanding of product or service. Provide sourcing analysis and recommendations to senior leaders. Monitor supplier lifecycle performance. - (25%) Lead development and implementation of category strategies aligned with business requirements and cost reduction objectives. Lead analysis of spend data, benchmarks and other key metrics to identify savings and maximize value. Drives multiyear category roadmap with stakeholders and senior leaders. Must have experience managing multiple and diverse categories. - (20%) Interact with stakeholders and supplier personnel at all levels to influence the direction of the business, align and engage resources outside area of responsibility. Drive processes to monitor performance and ensure continuous improvement with suppliers. Demonstrate leadership and commitment to strengthen partnerships. - (15%) Expertise in contract lifecycle management. Review, negotiate and manage commercial issues relating to contracts, payments and supplier non-performance. Provide guidance to stakeholders on commercial contract issues and proactively drive lifecycle management to drive value and mitigate risk. Advise internal constituents on the full contract lifecycle management process and best practices. - (10%) Lead, develop, and implement new strategic sourcing processes and policies to drive continuous improvement and team growth. Streamline RFX and category management processes. Proactively champion consistent processes across the teams and drive change management to ensure adoption. Lead and foster cross-functional communication. - (10%) Mentor and coach team members. Lead by example. - (5%) Lead development and implementation of strategies and processes to track and monitor progress across the teams' initiatives and special projects to ensure targeted value is achieved. Create and present strategic documents to leadership, outlining the progress and impact of initiatives. - (5%) Initiate, lead, plan, execute, monitor and drive projects to closure, escalating issues at appropriate times to ensure resolution among stakeholders and/or suppliers. Develop strong relationships with the project team. Identify risk, measure the impact, and communicate proactively for risk mitigation to ensure desired outcome. - (5%) Build reports that provide spend and market analysis insights to help Category strategists and stakeholders drive savings efficiency. Strong understanding of intelligence reporting tools and methods, including Coupa, to develop opportunities in sourcing, category management and contract negotiation. Clearly articulate and present improvement opportunities to all levels of the organization. - (5%) Minimum Qualifications High School Diploma or GED 8+ years experience in sourcing/procurement, category and supplier management, negotiations, cost analysis and process improvements. Preferred Qualifications Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Business Analytics, Procurement, or Project Management 10+ years experience in banking, insurance or other regulatory environment, Services strategic sourcing, category management, high value negotiation, pricing scenario analysis, budget cycles, total cost of ownership, Procurement, Analytics and Microsoft tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Skills Category Management Spend Analysis Contract Negotiations Project Management Essentials Strategic Thinking Mentoring Colleagues Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel Microsoft PowerPoint Reports To Director and above Direct Reports 0 Work Environment Normal office environment. (Remote or Hybrid), 3 to 4 days per month are required in office if within 60 miles of a posted Bread Financial location. Travel Ability to travel up to 10% annually Physical And Mental Requirements To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job function satisfactorily and meet the physical, mental and work environment requirements. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions, absent undue hardship. Communicate/Hearing Communicate/Talking Stationary Position/Seated Typing/Writing Maintain focus in high pressure or fast-paced work environment Other Duties This job description is illustrative of the types of duties typically performed by this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive listing of each and every essential function of the job. Because job content may change from time to time, the Company reserves the right to add and/or delete essential functions from this job at any time. Salary Range (unless Otherwise Noted Below) $108,300.00 - $196,300.00 Full Salary Range By Location California: $124,600.00 - $245,400.00 Colorado: $108,300.00 - $206,100.00 New York: $119,200.00 - $245,400.00 Washington: $113,700.00 - $225,700.00 Maryland: $113,700.00 - $215,900.00 Washington DC: $124,600.00 - $225,700.00 Illinois: $108,300.00 - $215,900.00 New Jersey: $124,600.00 - $225,700.00 Vermont: $108,300.00 - $196,300.00 Ohio: $108,300.00 - $196,300.00 Maine: $108,300.00 - $196,300.00 The actual base pay within this range may be dependent upon many factors, which may include, but are not limited to, work location, education, experience, and skills. Bread Financial offers medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and other voluntary benefits to eligible associates. New associate elected coverage begins on date of hire. Six weeks of paid parental leave is available after a specified waiting period. Hired associates can enroll in Bread Financial’s 401(k) plan. All associates receive 11 paid holidays and a Flexible Time Off program. Some locations have additional paid leaves and sick time per local policy. About Bread Financial Bread Financial is a tech-forward financial services company that provides simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions to millions of U.S. consumers. Bread Financial proudly marks 30 years of success in 2026. Equal Opportunity Employment Bread Financial is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Company participates in E-Verify and will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with applicable laws. The Company complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and will provide accommodations during the application process and employment where needed. #J-18808-Ljbffr Bread Financial