Procurement Category Manager

About the role

Gartner Category Managers lead strategic sourcing opportunities, develop category plans, and negotiate highly complex contracts on behalf of multiple stakeholders. This role is responsible for Global IT Software Solutions, Subscription Agreements, and Mobility Agreements. You will routinely influence and advise senior leaders on innovative sourcing strategies that create sustainable, long-term partnerships for the organization.

Responsibilities

• Establish strong relationships with stakeholders, building a robust understanding of mission-critical priorities and requirements across spend categories and suppliers.
• Work collaboratively with geographically dispersed stakeholders to develop strategic category plans for IT Software, Subscription, and Mobility categories.
• Gain alignment on sourcing and negotiation strategies and short/long-term category roadmaps.
• Serve as the Procurement SME for stakeholders and guide them on strategic sourcing and operational procurement processes.
• Communicate early and often, proactively seeking ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
• Maintain knowledge of current category trends, supplier capabilities, and changes within the supplier and technology landscape for traditional and emerging solutions.
• Lead cross-functional teams through a disciplined sourcing process, facilitating stakeholders in developing requirements, evaluating suppliers, and selecting suppliers using effective project management skills.
• Ensure all sourcing initiatives are conducted in a fair and ethical manner, providing a level playing field for all participants.
• Develop negotiation plans aligned with stakeholder desired outcomes for TCO, SLAs, and key business terms.
• Demonstrate competency and knowledge of contract development, key contracting principles, standard terms, laws/regulations, and industry standards during contract negotiations.
• Organize data sets and develop meaningful analysis of spend, cost, and performance metrics.
• Present compelling business cases to influence decision-makers at all levels of the organization.
• Manage compliance during all phases of the contracting process.
• Coordinate with Gartner Legal, Finance, and IT Security when needed.
• Ensure all Third-Party Risk Management checks are complete prior to contract signature.
• Route contracts for approval and signature as required by Gartner policy.
• Develop and facilitate business reviews with stakeholders to review supplier performance, future opportunities, and/or challenges.
• Guide stakeholders on preferred suppliers and develop supplier management strategies to reduce and consolidate global suppliers.
• Conduct routine planning sessions with stakeholders to ensure addressable spend in the assigned categories is under source-to-contract management.
• Potentially manage people in this position.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree preferred.
• 5+ years of relevant sourcing and negotiation experience with highly complex technology agreements across software categories, demonstrating the ability to lead and deliver value.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in interpreting and communicating data insights.
• Compelling collaboration skills that foster strong relationships with internal and external business partners.
• Ability to be creative and innovative in finding solutions and negotiating strategies.
• Insatiable desire to learn and improve every day.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment and prioritize workload effectively.
• Strong ability to work independently and make decisions within the scope of the role without management approval.
• Unquestionable ethics and a commitment to always doing the right thing.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, G-suite, and Sourcing/Procurement solutions for e-sourcing, spend analytics, contract lifecycle management (CLM), and Procure-to-Pay (P2P).
• Ability to manage multiple simultaneous projects requiring frequent communication, organization, time management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work with and lead geographically dispersed cross-functional teams.
• Multilingual skills are a plus.

Skills

• Highly motivated self-starter with a demonstrated ability to influence and lead others while working independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Embraces fact-based decision-making, leveraging market data, spend analytics, and cost modeling.
• Tenacious negotiator with proven experience in setting negotiation strategies and conducting negotiations.
• Strong communicator in both oral and written form, with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Able to successfully prioritize and solve complex problems, factoring in ambiguity and unexpected change.
• Teachable and open to best practices and feedback as a means of continuous improvement.
• Consistently high achiever marked by perseverance, humility, and a positive outlook in the face of challenges.

About Gartner

At Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT), we guide the leaders who shape the world. Our mission relies on expert analysis and bold ideas to deliver actionable, objective business and technology insights, helping enterprise leaders and their teams succeed with their mission-critical priorities. Since our founding in 1979, we’ve grown to 20,000 associates globally who support over 13,000 client enterprises in ~90 countries and territories. We do important, interesting, and substantive work that matters.

Gartner is at the center of the AI revolution, providing proactive, objective guidance throughout clients’ AI journeys. We set the standard for how organizations leverage artificial intelligence to drive meaningful impact. You’ll have access to unmatched resources, expertise, and technology, playing a key role in helping Gartner and our clients innovate and grow.

Benefits

• World-class benefits and highly competitive compensation.
• Disproportionate rewards for top performers.
• Hybrid work environment with flexibility and support to thrive.
• Market-leading benefit programs including generous PTO and a 401k match up to $7,200 per year.
• Opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount.

Pay

A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this role is $86,000 USD - $118,000 USD. Actual salaries may vary based on factors including education, training, experience, professional achievement, business need, and location. In addition to base salary, employees will participate in either an annual bonus plan based on company and individual performance or a role-based, uncapped sales incentive plan.