Category Manager, Solar and BESS Equipment

Category Manager, Solar and BESS Equipment

As the Category Manager, Solar and BESS Equipment, you will lead Solar PV and Energy Storage sourcing activities & supplier management to implement opportunities to improve cost, quality, delivery, and reliability to reach organizational goals. This role will shape Pivot Energy's category management strategy by developing processes and procedures that will ensure best practices for key equipment categories. This position will report to the Sr. Director, Procurement.

Primary Responsibilities

• Direct the segmentation of assigned spend into category and subcategory groupings to create levers for operational excellence.
• Lead the development of overall category strategies to meet organizational goals by improving Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), securing supply continuity, domestic content feasibility, and identifying/mitigating risks and opportunities.
• Maintain and deepen category knowledge by researching and tracking industry trends, best practices, and competitive offerings.
• Execute the category strategy by managing the Preferred Supplier List (PSL), rationalizing non-preferred suppliers, and rewarding preferred partners with business awards tied to Long-term Agreements (LTA).
• Develop, negotiate, and manage supplier contracts and pricing.
• Initiate and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and other business reviews with strategic suppliers to align on strategy and goals.
• Assess, review, and scout new suppliers for continuous improvement and development.
• Manage day-to-day supplier relationships and escalated supplier disputes.
• Lead regular strategic partnership meetings with key suppliers to set commercial goals, address technical considerations, and develop opportunities for additional business.
• Coordinate and approve supplier onboarding and manage the contract repository and renewals.
• Drive Continuous Improvement (CI) across the supply chain, focusing on reducing lead times, improving cycle time, and ensuring transparency.
• Improve key metrics such as savings, payment terms, on-time delivery, and risk mitigation (including inflation).
• Support Responsible Sourcing & ESG Risk initiatives.
• Capture and maintain the latest part pricing for Procurement.
• Enforce procurement policies.
• Develop productive working relationships and collaborate with cross-functional teams (e.g., Engineering, Tech Ops, Project Management, Delivery, and Procurement).
• Create presentations and analysis for strategic meetings (e.g., supplier relationship management, category strategies, risk mitigation proposals, and gap analysis).
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge through ongoing learning (workshops, publications, professional societies).
• Have Fun and do not take yourself too seriously.
• Additional duties, as required.

Required Competencies

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience
• Minimum 3+ years of procurement experience (preferably within industries with engineering, procurement, and construction projects, with a focus on procurement)
• Experience in negotiations, including RFI, RFP, RFQ, and contract development
• Benchmarking, Market Analysis, Competitive Intelligence, and Procurement Projects Management skills
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Self-starter with the ability to work autonomously and within a team.
• Passion to learn new things through self-study and structured settings
• Demonstrated abilities to coordinate across internal and external teams

Preferred Competencies

• Experience in Category or Commodity Management of Hardware / Direct Materials
• Experience in C&I solar and battery storage
• Experience with vendor management, including purchase order issuance, execution, and administration.

Compensation & Benefits

The estimated base salary range for this position is $120,000 - $150,000, along with eligibility for the company's substantial bonus plan, with a target bonus of 30% of annual salary (prorated in the first year based on start date). Compensation will be based on factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, certifications, skills, and experience. Pivot Energy is dedicated to providing a great work experience for all employees, placing an emphasis on company culture and a focus on our people. To that end, Pivot offers an outstanding benefits package that includes:

• Excellent health/dental/vision insurance benefits with up to 100% of premiums covered by the company
• Four weeks of vacation (prorated in first year)
• Company-paid life insurance and short- & long-term disability coverage
• Generous parental leave
• 401(k) matching
• Home Office set-up stipend for new employees
• Public transit reimbursement
• PTO for volunteering in the community
• Charitable donation matching up to $500/year
• Professional development and educational reimbursements

A complete list of all the benefits Pivot offers may be provided upon request.

Recruitment Agency Notice:

We appreciate your interest in partnering with us; however, we are not seeking recruitment agency support for this role.

About Pivot

Pivot Energy is a national renewable energy provider that develops, finances, builds, owns, and manages solar and energy storage projects that help decarbonize our nation's electricity, increase equitable access to clean energy for local communities, and provide real cost-savings to American businesses and families.

We are fiercely dedicated to accelerating the rapid transition taking place in the energy industry to a more decentralized and cleaner approach to power generation. We are committed to positively contributing to the local communities and people we serve with more than clean energy. We believe global warming poses an existential threat to our planet and that we have a responsibility to help mitigate the threat. Our portfolio includes projects that reduce energy burden for income-limited families, create workforce pathways for under-represented groups within the solar industry, and include robust community investment opportunities.

As a Certified B Corporation and one of Denver's "Best Places to Work", we believe that company success is driven by a healthy environment, thriving society, and workplace where all individuals are respected. We evaluate every internal decision on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to determine if our actions will result in a net positive impact on the community, our employees, customers, shareholders, and the environment. Learn more in our annual ESG Report.

At Pivot, our core values guide our work internally and externally:

• Impact – We hold ourselves accountable to having a measurable impact on our people, communities, and the planet
• Balance – Put family first; work hard/have fun
• Determination – Find ways to be successful no matter how difficult the challenge
• Professionalism – Impress everyone we touch, be a team player
• Honesty – Be truthful and transparent, externally and internally
• Kindness – Create an environment where kindness, empathy, and vulnerability are embraced

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Statement

At Pivot, we are proactively developing and maintaining an inclusive culture, rooted in mutual respect, that supports a workforce of different generations, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, ability statuses, religions, and cultures to work collaboratively together for greater impact. We seek to build a team that invests in relationship building, celebrates each other's successes, and makes space for the unique contributions and working styles people bring into Pivot.

Pivot invests in company-wide trainings, assessments, and programs to advance internal inclusion and equity practices, such as employee allyship building, cross-cultural communications, and equitable hiring and management protocols to increasingly recognize bias and ensure mutual respect and belonging.

EEO Statement

Pivot Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce. We actively work to cultivate an inclusive culture that welcomes, empowers, and enables equitable career growth for employees regardless of background.