Strategic Category Manager - Technology

Global Supply Management (GSM) is responsible for helping American Express maximize its purchasing power.  The Category Manager’s role is to develop and grow relationships with mid- to senior-level business unit leaders, gain context of their goals, issues and opportunities, and develop strategic category plans to effectively manage over $2B in third party Technology spend.  Within the broader Technology landscape, key focus areas for this position include IT labor, Travel & Lifestyle Services, Marketing & Promotions, Big Data, Risk Management, Human Resources and Banking.

• Develop strategic and forward-thinking global category plans, inclusive of short-, medium-, and long-term business unit goals and objectives, industry insights and trends, comprehensive supplier assessments for key commodities, internal and external relationship management plans, etc.
• Develop and grow strong relationships with business and Tech partners, internal stakeholders and key colleagues across the end-to-end procurement process
• Act as the primary relationship lead for select business units
• Leverage relationships to influence requirements, shape demand, and advise business leaders how to capture the most value from supplier relations
• Build strong partnerships with select strategic suppliers and manage them effectively
• Develops sourcing and negotiations strategies and build internal consensus from an enterprise perspective
• Monitor total spend across the business to leverage global spend where applicable
• Support RFI/RFP/RFQ, supplier selection, and negotiation process for strategic suppliers
• Drive and deliver cost savings opportunities to improve profitability and achieve best total cost of ownership
• Ability to travel up to 10% as needed

• B.S. / B. A. is required, M.B.A. is preferred
• Five or more years of relevant procurement, category management and/or sourcing experience is required with specific focus on “big picture” strategies in support of Enterprise level business goals
• Deep understanding of the Enterprise opportunities and the broader business issues within Technology
• Strong business and financial acumen
• Outstanding relationship management skills and demonstrated ability to become a true business partner and trusted advisor
• Executive presence and ability to work with colleagues and suppliers at all levels
• Strong project management discipline, and experience managing complex projects from ideation through to execution is required
• Ability to manage day-to-day business priorities along with long-term strategic deliverables
• Experience working on cross-functional and/or global teams and ability to demonstrate a collaborative mindset
• Passion for using analytics to develop insights and recommendations, solve business challenges, improve the customer experience, and drive bottom line results
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, and ability to prepare executive level analysis and presentations is a must
• Positive attitude, flexibility, and ability to deal with ambiguity and rapid change

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for this position.