Director Category Management- Indirect and Professional Services

About Lumen

Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress.

Lumen’s commitment to workplace inclusion and employee support shines bright. We’ve made the Newsweek 2024 Greatest Workplaces for Diversity list and achieved a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the fifth consecutive year. Plus, we’re the top employer in the communications and telecom industry, ranking 12th overall across all industries in The American Opportunity Index.

We’re looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.

The Role

Manages and leads an organization of 5 or more category management professionals that are responsible for developing comprehensive sourcing strategies aligned with company goals and managing over ~$1B in professional services and indirect (HR, Market, Finance, etc.) spend. Partners with internal stakeholder leadership to understand business strategies, conveys the sourcing process and ensures Strategic Sourcing is involved in initiatives up front.

Location

This is a remote position open to candidates based anywhere in the U.S.

The Main Responsibilities

• Manages and leads a team of category management professionals focused on project pipeline development, RFx strategy, commercial negotiations, and strategic supplier relationships.
• Builds a high-performance team; hires and retains the right talent in the right roles; sets goals, delegates work, holds team accountable; develops and empowers team to make decisions and act.  Demonstrates Lumen's values, maintains a positive open demeanor, encourages different points of view, moves team forward through change; provides timely information; communicates context for business decisions; recognizes accomplishments; fosters teamwork and collaboration.
• Responsible for category strategies aimed at reducing the total cost of ownership while mitigating risk. Identifies cross functional savings opportunities and develops the team to execute against those plans. Leads teams in the preparation of scope documents, communication plans and contract awards.
• Builds strong relationships with internal stakeholders and Finance to understand strategies / roadmaps and the corresponding budgets.
• Partners with key suppliers to understand capabilities, market trends, and identify new approaches that have not been identified by internal stakeholders.
• Develops and delivers against targets related to cost reduction / avoidance, supplier rationalization and internal customer satisfaction.
• Fosters an environment of continuous improvement and Partners with Center of Excellence and Systems teams to drive process and systems improvements.
• Collaborate with senior level internal stakeholders, including IT, finance and legal, to ensure sourcing strategies align with business needs.
• Partners with senior business partners to negotiate high-value contracts Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of sourcing strategies and supplier performance.
• Defines policies and procedures for strategic sourcing team

What We Look For in a Candidate

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent education or relevant experience
• 10 plus years of related experience.
• 5 plus years of managing and leading teams
• Experience developing and implementing comprehensive strategic sourcing strategies.
• Demonstrated communication and project management skills working with cross-functional teams.
• Extensive experience in sourcing professional services and indirect categories (HR, Marketing, Finance, etc.), including negotiating contracts and managing vendor relationships.
• Familiarity with various commercial approaches to make informed sourcing decisions.