IT Category Manager – Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Management

JOB SUMMARY

The IT Category Manager – Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Management is responsible for developing and executing category, sourcing, contracting, and vendor management strategies across assigned Information Technology spend categories. The position serves as a strategic commercial partner to IT leadership, Procurement, the Vendor Management Office (VMO), Cybersecurity, Legal, Finance, Enterprise Architecture, Third-Party Risk Management, and other business stakeholders. The role provides continuity across the full supplier lifecycle—from category strategy, market analysis, competitive sourcing and negotiation through contract execution, supplier governance, performance management, commercial optimization, risk management, renewal, and value realization.

ADDITIONAL JOB DUTIES

IT Category Management

• Develop and maintain multi-year sourcing and category strategies for assigned IT spend categories (software/SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, hardware, cybersecurity, telecommunications, professional services, and emerging technology), grounded in ongoing analysis of technology spend, supplier concentration, demand forecasts, market conditions, and sourcing opportunities.
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, competition, standardization, cost optimization, demand management, and reduction of vendor lock-in, informed by current knowledge of technology markets, supplier capabilities, pricing models, and industry trends.

Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Negotiation

• Lead competitive sourcing activities (RFPs, RFQs, supplier and commercial evaluations) and develop negotiation strategies for significant technology purchases, renewals, expansions, and enterprise agreements.
• Analyze proposals and alternative commercial structures — including subscription, consumption, enterprise licensing, committed spend, capacity-based, and other pricing models — at the SKU, product, service, rate-card, and total-cost levels.
• Perform market benchmarking and comparative commercial analysis to establish negotiation targets and leverage, partnering with Legal, Cybersecurity, Finance, Architecture, IT, TPRM, and business stakeholders throughout sourcing and contracting activities.

IT Vendor Management Office Support

• Support governance of strategic and critical IT suppliers throughout the contract lifecycle, including scorecards, KPIs, SLAs, service performance measures, and contractual commitments.
• Facilitate or support supplier business reviews, QBRs, and executive governance meetings, monitoring supplier commitments, performance issues, corrective actions, and relationship health.
• Maintain visibility into strategic supplier relationships across contracts, business units, platforms, and services, and identify supplier dependencies, concentration risks, and potential vendor lock-in.

Renewal & Commercial Lifecycle Management

• Maintain a forward-looking pipeline of significant IT contract renewals, expirations, and sourcing events, beginning strategic renewal planning early enough to preserve competition and negotiating leverage.
• Evaluate utilization, consumption, licensing, capacity, demand forecasts, and historical spend ahead of renewal negotiations, challenging unnecessary demand, unused licensing, and unfavorable pricing structures.
• Evaluate supplier proposals against contractual protections, market benchmarks, and total cost of ownership, coordinating competitive sourcing or market validation when appropriate.

Supplier Risk, Resilience & Critical Infrastructure

• Partner with Cybersecurity, TPRM, Legal, Compliance, Architecture, IT, and business owners to identify and address supplier risk — financial, operational, cybersecurity, supply-chain, concentration, geographic, contractual, and continuity — throughout the lifecycle.
• Incorporate critical-infrastructure considerations into technology sourcing — including supply-chain resilience, continuity of supply/service, and supplier incident response — support appropriate supplier due diligence and contractual controls for critical operations, and escalate material supplier performance, resilience, or risk concerns to appropriate leadership.

Value Management & Executive Reporting

• Track and report negotiated savings, validated cost avoidance, and other measurable value, developing executive-level reporting on IT spend, sourcing pipeline, supplier performance, renewals, and commercial risk.
• Use market intelligence and supplier performance data to support fact-based sourcing, renewal, and negotiation decisions, and promote accountability for supplier commitments through closure.

EXPERIENCE

• Requires minimum 5 years job related work experience in excess of degree requirements
• Requires experience in IT strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, vendor management, or technology commercial management.
• Prefer demonstrated experience negotiating complex enterprise technology agreements and managing strategic suppliers.
• Prefer working knowledge of software licensing, SaaS, cloud consumption, IT infrastructure, hardware, professional services, cybersecurity, and emerging technology commercial models.
• Prefer experience with supplier performance management, scorecards, KPIs, SLAs, governance, and executive business reviews.
• Prefer strong negotiation, stakeholder management, written communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Prefer experience in a regulated, critical-infrastructure, utility, ISO/RTO, or similarly complex operating environment is preferred.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's Degree : Business, Finance, Supply Chain Management or related field (Required)
• Master's Degree : MBA (Preferred)
• or a combination of education and experience that provides equivalent knowledge to a major in such fields is required

CERTIFICATION

• CPSM Certified Professional in Supply Management (Preferred)

The foregoing description reflects the minimum qualifications and the essential functions of the position that must be performed proficiently with or without reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities.  It is not an exhaustive list of the duties expected to be performed, and management may, at its discretion, revise or require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned.  This job description is not intended to create a contract of employment with ERCOT.  Both ERCOT and the employee may exercise their employment-at-will rights at any time.

ERCOT is firmly committed to equal employment for all qualified persons without regard to race, sex, medical condition, religion, age, creed, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, ancestry, veteran status, genetic information or any other protected category under federal, state or local law.

Expected Salary Range: