Senior Manager Category Procurement

Career Area:
Procurement

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

As the Senior Global Category Manager – Facilities & Process Maintenance Services, you will lead the development and execution of global category strategies supporting Caterpillar's facilities and factories needs for maintenance, security and other outsourced service providers across the enterprise.

This role sits within Caterpillar's Indirect Procurement organization and is responsible for delivering sustainable value through strategic sourcing, category management, supplier relationship management, negotiations, contracting, risk management, and continuous improvement initiatives.

You will partner closely with business leaders, operations teams, facilities organizations, procurement professionals, and suppliers across the globe to ensure Caterpillar has the right supplier strategies, commercial frameworks, and service partnerships in place to support business objectives.

The successful candidate will bring strong category management expertise, commercial acumen, supplier management capabilities, and leadership experience. While experience in indirect procurement is preferred, candidates with direct procurement, strategic sourcing, or category management experience will also be considered.

What You Will Do

Category Strategy Development & Execution

- Develop and execute global category strategies supporting facilities, factory maintenance, and related service-provider categories.
- Align category strategies with business objectives, operational requirements, and regional needs.
- Evaluate spend patterns, supplier capabilities, market intelligence, and business requirements to identify value-creation opportunities.
- Develop category roadmaps focused on cost optimization, operational performance, supplier effectiveness, and risk management.
- Identify opportunities for standardization and simplification across suppliers, service specifications, sourcing approaches, and commercial structures.

Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Leadership

- Lead complex sourcing initiatives, supplier evaluations, supplier selections, and competitive bid processes.
- Develop sourcing strategies that balance cost, quality, performance, risk, service, and business requirements.
- Lead commercial negotiations and contracting activities with global and regional service providers.
- Partner with Legal, Operations, Facilities, and Procurement stakeholders to support contract development and execution.
- Monitor sourcing outcomes and ensure delivery of expected business value.

Supplier Relationship Management

- Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key service providers.
- Establish supplier governance and performance management processes.
- Monitor supplier performance against contractual and operational expectations.
- Lead resolution of supplier-performance issues and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Drive supplier innovation, productivity improvements, and operational excellence initiatives.
- Balance collaborative supplier relationships with strong commercial accountability.

Business Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement

- Partner closely with facilities, operations, manufacturing, EHS, maintenance, and business leaders to understand evolving business needs.
- Build relationships across functions, regions, and organizational levels.
- Translate stakeholder requirements into practical category and sourcing strategies.
- Present recommendations and category plans to leadership teams and key stakeholders.
- Influence decisions through data, market intelligence, and commercial insight.

Analytics, Risk Management & Continuous Improvement

- Utilize spend data, supplier data, market intelligence, and operational metrics to support category decisions.
- Develop business cases that support sourcing, supplier, and investment recommendations.
- Assess supplier, operational, commercial, and contractual risks and develop mitigation plans.
- Drive process improvements that enhance procurement effectiveness and value delivery.
- Support adoption of new procurement technologies, tools, and capabilities.
- Ensure sourcing and contracting activities comply with procurement policies and governance requirements.

Leadership & Team Development

- Lead and develop a global category management team.
- Establish priorities, accountability, and performance expectations.
- Coach and mentor category managers and procurement professionals.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, ownership, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Lead effectively through organizational change and evolving business priorities.

What You Have

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
- Significant experience in category management, procurement, strategic sourcing, supplier management, or commercial leadership.
- Demonstrated success developing and executing category strategies.
- Strong negotiation and contracting experience.
- Experience managing complex supplier relationships and service-provider networks.
- Strong analytical, financial, and business acumen.
- Experience utilizing market intelligence and data to support sourcing decisions.
- Proven ability to influence stakeholders across multiple functions and organizational levels.
- Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
- Demonstrated people leadership experience.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and lead complex initiatives.

Top Candidates Will Also Have

Category & Procurement Experience

- Experience supporting facilities, factory maintenance, outsourced services, EHS, security, or related service categories.
- Experience managing indirect procurement categories.
- Experience managing strategic sourcing initiatives on a global scale.
- Experience supporting large manufacturing, industrial, or operational environments.
- Experience driving supplier standardization and procurement transformation initiatives.

Commercial & Performance Leadership

- Experience leading major supplier negotiations and contracting activities.
- Experience establishing supplier governance frameworks and performance management programs.
- Demonstrated success improving supplier performance, service levels, and overall value delivery.

Leadership & Enterprise Influence

- Experience leading global or geographically dispersed teams.
- Experience partnering with executive leadership and cross-functional business stakeholders.
- Experience driving complex initiatives across multiple business units and regions.
- Demonstrated ability to influence organizational decisions through strategic thinking and commercial leadership.

Additional Information

- Location: East Peoria or Irving, TX
- Relocation Assistance: Available for qualified candidates
- Sponsorship: Not available
- Posting Duration: 10 Business Days

Why Join This Team?