Category Manager

College Board - Finance 

Remote 

About the Team  

The Procurement team at College Board is a group of 10 highly skilled professionals who support the purchasing needs of all divisions across the organization. Our extensive category coverage encompasses a wide range of areas such as contingent workforce, building and construction projects, enterprise software systems, contact centers, custom consulting engagements, and cloud services. Our category managers work directly with leaders from all parts of the business to help define and deliver College Board products and services. We are transforming our business at a rapid pace and the Procurement team plays a crucial role in shaping and driving this change.     

About the Opportunity   

As one of our Category Managers, you will be responsible for executing vendor relationship, strategic sourcing, and contract management activities in support of multiple College Board divisions. You will implement sourcing strategies, engage in comprehensive industry and supplier research, manage the bidding and RFP process. You’ll oversee vendor selection, contract negotiations and supplier performance management activities to secure competitive pricing and favorable terms. To ensure success, you will collaborate closely with College Board Programs and Service units to competitively source products and services in support of our mission and financial objectives. Your strategic and proactive mindset, coupled with operational excellence, is the key driver of success in this role. 

In this role, you will:  

Collaborate with business partners to drive value (40%) 

• Collaborate within the Procurement organization and support divisions across College Board in identifying and securing service providers to meet their business priorities 

• Partner with business unit stakeholders to identify vendors and determine work streams where price competition would be beneficial and coordinate RFI’s, RFP’s and RFQ’s to ensure ideal vendor selection 

• Bring industry benchmarks, expertise, knowledge of trends, and other third-party data to prepare for vendor selection and negotiation 

Execute agreements and manage vendors (40%) 

• Lead vendor negotiations to ensure that College Board contracts at competitive prices and favorable terms with an emphasis on the current supply base 

• Manage the process to review and negotiate contract documents, coordinating resources in Legal, Governance, Risk and Compliance and CB business units; Review and redline terms and conditions to ensure maximum value and minimum risk 

• Anticipate and manage contingencies and dependencies, ensuring proactive planning and real-time analytical thinking during intense periods of delivery

• Own and manage critical vendor relationships for timely issue escalation; Work with vendors to resolve performance issues and drive improvements as necessary 

Improve our 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 continuous improvement and strengthen the value proposition for internal clients and improve key performance as measured by KPIs that are important to key constituents  

• Analyze division spend data to and identify and generate cost savings  

About You  

You have:  

• 7+ years of procurement-related experience and expertise working in evaluating contractual terms and conditions 

• Strong industry experience and track record of evaluating contractual terms and conditions, negotiating with multiple service providers (e.g., supply chain, consultants, hardware/software providers, social media influencers, large contact centers, print & publications, marketing services, online advertising, photography/videography, and promotional products) 

• Superior quantitative and qualitative analytical skills  

• Proven track record of negotiating large multi-year contracts and negotiating with various vendors essential for delivery at high scale   

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to foster positive and productive working relationships at all organizational levels and vendor community 

• Initiative and an ability to work in a self-directed environment   

• Experience with contract management, P2P systems, and tools  

• A bachelor's degree in business, management, finance, supply chain management or related work experience preferred 

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)   

• Ability to travel 4-6 times a year  

• You must be authorized to work in the US  

About Our Benefits and Compensation