**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. 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** The Lead Category Manager oversees the strategy, sourcing, negotiation, and contracting of highly complex indirect goods and services. Contributes to the planning, development, management and implementation of procurement strategic initiatives that align with Lumen’s goals for reducing costs and meeting financial expectations, while managing vendor relationships. This position will manage Lumen’s “Tier 1” vendors, who are our largest and most visible professional services partners. You will monitor market trends, analyze spend data, define category and negotiation strategies, identify risks and opportunities, promote engagement and sustainability, and manage critical supplier relationships and performance. **Work Location** This position has been designated as fully remote in the U.S. **The Main Responsibilities** **Category Analysis & Monitoring:** Conduct internal and external analysis of the professional services industry, including spend, market conditions, and supplier landscape. Track changes and innovation opportunities. Ensure category spend is represented across all business segments. Prepare content for strategy discussions up to C-level. **Category Strategy & Planning:** Incorporate analysis findings into the annual category strategy plan. Identify and pursue savings levers via RFPs, negotiations, demand management, and value engineering. **Contracting:** Manage high-complexity contracts and assist with tactical contracts. Utilize pre-approved supplier contracts with standardized legal terms. **RFX Strategy & Planning:** Develop RFX strategy to drive savings. Manage high-complexity RFX events and coordinate with the RFX Execution team for tactical execution. **Stakeholder Relationship Management:** Align on strategic agenda and understand upcoming needs. Establish a calendar for key meetings to track progress and resolve issues. **Supplier Relationship Management:** Act as the primary contact for suppliers, orchestrate interactions, and prepare for communications. Manage supplier performance, provide feedback, and identify strategic suppliers. Track suppliers closely based on spend, business criticality, and market dynamics. Identify alternatives for limited or high-risk suppliers. **What We Look For in a Candidate** **Qualifications & Skills:** **Required:** • Bachelor's degree and or relevant experience. • Previous experience in professional services and contingent labor category management is highly preferred. This includes an understanding of best practices, and knowledge of industry trends. Minimum 8 plus years of related experience. • Demonstrated exceptional interpersonal and communications skills useful for managing senior level internal relationships, and complex suppliers. • Experience overseeing supplier relationships for an assigned set of products and/or services including regular supplier performance reviews and discussions. • Proven background in negotiating high complexity, and high dollar contract negotiations in a fast-paced environment. • Ability to work independently and in a team environment; self-motivated; strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to process large amounts of often complex data; detail oriented. • Intermediate to advanced professional experience in reviewing contract terms. • Strong to expert knowledge of procurement systems such as SAP and Ariba. • Excellent time management and organizational skills. • Experience working in a fast-paced, high visibility environment with frequently shifting priorities. • Advanced Microsoft Office skills, intermediate to advanced Excel. **Compensation** This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors. Location Based Pay Ranges: $129,639 - $172,852 in these states: AL AR AZ FL GA IA ID IN KS KY LA ME MO MS MT ND NE NM OH OK PA SC SD TN UT VT WI WV WY $136,121 - $181,494 in these states: CO HI MI MN NC NH NV OR RI $142,603 - $190,137 in these states: AK CA CT DC DE IL MA MD NJ NY TX VA WA Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process. Learn more about Lumen's: Benefits (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/benefits-statement) Bonus Structure **What to Expect Next** \#LI-HR1 Requisition #: 338293 **Background Screening** If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/faq) . Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. **Equal Employment Opportunities** We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training. **Disclaimer** The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions. In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Please be advised that Lumen does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Lumen, they are not for employment with us, but may relate to another company with a similar name. **Application Deadline** 06/03/2025