Category Manager, Travel and Indirect

Our Customer is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, they were created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, our Customer helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success—including the SAT, the Advanced Placement Program, and BigFuture. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools.

We are seeking a Category Manager on a contract basis to help support our Customer's business needs. This role is 100% remote in EST hours.

This role will be a temporary position in order to fill in for the Category Manager for Travel and Indirect Spend. In this role you will execute the strategic sourcing, vendor relationship, and contract management activities for Travel, Events, and Finance categories. You will implement innovative sourcing strategies, engage in comprehensive industry and supplier research, and manage the bidding and RFP process. Lead contract negotiations and supplier performance management activities to secure competitive process and favorable terms. You will collaborate closely with Program and Service units to competitively source products and services that align with both mission and financial objectives. Your strategic and proactive mindset and operational excellence will be key drivers of success in this role.


Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with business partners to drive value (30%)
  • Work within the procurement organization to provide dedicated support to internal stakeholders.
  • Partner with business unit stakeholders to select vendors and determine workstreams where price competition would be beneficial and coordinate RFI’s, RFP’s and RFQ’s
  • Bring industry benchmarks, expertise, knowledge of trends, consultant, and other third-party data to bear in preparation for vendor selection and negotiation
• Execute agreements and manage vendors (50%)
  • Lead vendor negotiations to ensure that contracts at competitive prices and favorable terms with an emphasis on meeting space, hotels, audio visual, catering, finance, and potentially other indirect procurement categories.
  • Coordinate with legal, governance, risk & compliance and business units for contract review and negotiation
  • Anticipate and manage contingencies and dependencies, ensuring proactive planning and real-time analytical thinking during intense periods of delivery
  • Own and manage key vendor relationships for appropriate issue escalation; Work with vendors to resolve performance and to bring about improvements where needed
• Improve support and performance (20%)
  • Utilize P2P tools like Workday, Concur and Strategic Sourcing to establish and help improve operational processes from project intake to invoice approvals
  • Practice continual improvement to strengthen the value proposition for internal clients and improve key performance as measured by KPIs that are important to key constituents

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor's degree in business, management, finance, supply chain management or related work experience preferred
• 7+ years of procurement related experience and expertise in evaluating contractual terms and conditions
• Strong industry experience negotiating and contracting with hotels, airlines, catering/restaurants, travel management companies and other indirect procurement categories such as finance, consulting, etc.
• Superior quantitative and qualitative analytical skills
• Proven track record of negotiating large multi-year contracts and negotiating with various vendors essential for large-scale events
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to foster positive working relationships at all organizational levels.
• Initiative and an ability to work in a self-directed environment
• Experience with contract management, P2P systems, and tools
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)

We offer a competitive salary range for this position. Most candidates who join our team are hired at the median of this range, ensuring fair and equitable compensation based on experience and qualifications.

Please note: In order to create a safe, productive work environment, our client is requiring all contractors who plan to be onsite to be fully vaccinated according to the CDC guidelines. Prior to coming into our offices, contractors will be required to attest that they are fully vaccinated.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.