Senior Manager, Category Management – IT

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Manager Category Management IT Category Management and Sourcing- Information Technology is a key member of the Procurement team responsible for driving best-in-class category management and strategic sourcing specifically within the IT category. The Senior Manager is responsible for leading global IT category management and strategic sourcing initiatives within Marriotts Global Procurement Department. This role focuses on developing and executing best-in-class category management and strategic sourcing across multiple IT verticals including enterprise hardware software cloud services (SaaS PaaS and IaaS) cybersecurity network infrastructure telecom digital platforms Artificial Intelligence property technology support and IT professional and managed services. This leader will drive adherence to Marriotts global procurement policies technology procurement governance and risk-management frameworks. The Sr. Manager will serve as a key escalation point for IT sourcing issues deliver effective communication at all organizational levels (including executive leadership and CIO stakeholders) and lead cross-functional teams on complex IT procurement initiatives. As a core member of the Global Procurement team this leader will partner closely with Corporate IT Continent IT Digital Data Cybersecurity Finance Legal and other business disciplines to enable Marriotts technology roadmap. Specifically this leader will enhance supplier governance optimize technology spend and ensure responsible and secure IT sourcing. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise inIT category management spend analysis IT sourcing vendor risk management contract negotiation and technology-specific compliance requirements(e.g. data privacy cybersecurity standards software licensing AI ). This role offers the opportunity to shape global IT procurement strategies and contribute directly to the performance and resilience of Marriotts technology ecosystem across 30 brands and 10000 hotels in 138 countries impacting the guest experience across the world.

The global team has a presence in 9 offices worldwide (Eschborn London Dubai Cape Town Shanghai Singapore Mumbai Bethesda MD Plantation FL) and over 60 clusters representing 200 associates. This role will maximize Marriotts global IT purchasing power within the companys $20B spend portfolio while supporting critical strategic supplier relationships across the IT landscape.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education and Experience

Required

• BA/BS

• 7 years of procurement IT sourcing IT vendor management or related business/legal experience. Deep technical knowledge of IT category management and strategic sourcing at large complex Fortune 500 companies.

• Demonstrated ability to create strategy and implement change in a geographically dispersed highly matrixed IT-centric environment.

Preferred

• MBA or JD

• IT procurement certifications (e.g. CPIM CPSM ITIL or equivalent) a plus

• Hospitality or adjacent sector experience

• Experience with implementing and utilizing Coupa Source to Pay or other cloud based procurement software to efficiently run sourcing events contract with and pay selected providers

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

• Act as astrategic procurement partner for IT and Digital disciplines advising on IT category management sourcing strategy technology risk and compliance requirements.

• Develop and refine multi-year data driven category strategies and annual category plans for key IT categories (software cloud services hardware telecom network services cybersecurity AI IT consulting) ensuring alignment with IT leadership technology roadmaps and enterprise objectives.

• Conduct spend analytics and monitor IT demand patterns technology cost benchmarks industry trends and vendor landscapes to identify opportunities competitive dynamics and cost-optimization strategies.

• Identify and implement strategies to mitigate IT supply-chain risksincluding cybersecurity exposure data privacy compliance vendor concentration risk hardware supply chain issues EOL/EOS challenges and service-level performance risks.

• Manage and optimize IT supplier relationships ensuring quality security operational continuity and optimal cost-effectiveness.

• Recommend new IT sourcing strategies supplier partnerships demand-management approaches and process improvements to enhance technology procurement efficiency and drive savings.

• Lead high volume of end-to-end sourcing events for IT initiatives including requirements gathering RFP/RFQ/RFI development negotiations and contracting.

• Develop timelines and structure cross-functional IT and procurement teams to implement sourcing strategies and large-scale technology initiatives.

• Use internal tracking tools and KPIs to monitor sourcing progress competitive bidding supplier performance software license utilization and contract compliance.

• Apply strong analytical and communication skills to evaluate complex IT proposals score vendor responses build detailed business cases (including TCO and ROI models) and present recommendations to IT and executive leadership.

• Drive compliance with global IT procurement policies cybersecurity and privacy standards and supplier governance frameworks.

• Maintain consistent governance for IT supplier onboarding

• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders across IT non-IT business owners cybersecurity finance legal and global operations to ensure procurement initiatives support enterprise goals and objectives.

• Support corporate sustainability ethical sourcing and supplier diversity goals within IT supply chains particularly in hardware lifecycle management and responsible technology sourcing.