Disney·7 days ago
7 days ago
Category Manager
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What you'll do
- Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to business and technology leaders, developing strong stakeholder relationships, understanding business priorities, and delivering sourcing strategies that support enterprise objectives.
- Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing initiatives across technology categories, including demand assessment, category strategy development, market analysis, supplier evaluation, commercial negotiations, contracting, implementation, and supplier performance management.
- Develop and execute category management strategies for technology spend areas, identifying opportunities to optimize cost, mitigate risk, drive innovation, and improve supplier value across the enterprise.
- Lead competitive sourcing events, including Requests for Information (RFIs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and Requests for Quotations (RFQs), ensuring alignment with stakeholder requirements and company procurement standards.
- Maintain deep knowledge of technology markets, industry trends, emerging solutions, and supplier capabilities to provide informed recommendations and support long-term business and technology strategies.
- Partner with global stakeholders to align sourcing activities across regions, promote supplier rationalization, leverage enterprise-scale purchasing power, and support technology standardization initiatives.
- Perform complex financial, commercial, and operational analyses to evaluate sourcing alternatives, build business cases, and deliver executive-level recommendations that influence strategic decisions.
- Collaborate effectively with Legal, Finance, Security, Technology, and business teams to ensure sourcing strategies, contracts, and supplier engagements support enterprise goals and compliance requirements.
- Establish and manage key supplier relationships, driving performance, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement throughout the supplier lifecycle.
- Lead negotiations for technology products, software, SaaS, cloud services, telecommunications, and professional services agreements to achieve favorable commercial, operational, and risk outcomes.
- Mentor and guide sourcing professionals, sharing category expertise, strengthening team capabilities, and promoting best practices in strategic sourcing and category management.
- Support enterprise transformation initiatives by identifying opportunities to modernize technology investments, improve supplier partnerships, and create measurable business value.
What they're looking for
- 10+ years of progressive experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, or Category Management, including 5+ years in technology-related categories.
- Experience developing and executing sourcing and category strategies that deliver business value.
- Strong negotiation skills with experience managing complex technology agreements and commercial terms.
- Knowledge of technology sourcing categories, including software, SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, and technology services.
- Ability to build strong relationships and influence stakeholders across multiple business units and regions.
- Strong analytical skills with experience evaluating supplier proposals, spend data, and business cases.
- Experience leading competitive sourcing events, including RFPs, RFIs, and supplier evaluations.
- Excellent project management, communication, and presentation skills.
- Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, matrixed environment and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
- Customer-focused mindset with a commitment to delivering high-quality stakeholder support.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, spend analytics tools, procurement platforms, and data-driven decision-making methodologies.
- Bachelor's degree in business, economics, computer science or related field and/or career experience
Nice to have
- Master's degree or equivalent is preferred
- Experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or business consulting within a complex, global organization.
- Experience supporting technology sourcing initiatives in the Media, Entertainment, or consumer-facing industries.
- Knowledge of global technology markets, suppliers, and sourcing practices.
- Experience sourcing software, cloud, digital, infrastructure, or technology services categories.
- Ability to work effectively across international teams and stakeholder groups.
- Familiarity with supplier management and category strategy development in a large enterprise environment.
- Willingness to travel as needed (up to 10%).
Summarised by NextRaise from the employer’s description, which follows in full below.
Full description from employer
Job Posting Title:
Category ManagerReq ID:
10159598Job Description:
At Disney, we are storytellers, innovators, and creators of experiences that reach audiences around the world. Across entertainment, sports, streaming, consumer products, theme parks, and emerging experiences, technology is central to how we bring stories to life and enable the next generation of business growth.
The Enterprise Sourcing team partners across The Walt Disney Company to develop and execute sourcing and category management strategies that deliver enterprise value, strengthen supplier partnerships, manage risk, and support long-term business and technology priorities.
As a Category Manager, Technology Sourcing, you will serve as a strategic individual contributor and subject matter expert responsible for leading complex sourcing initiatives and shaping category strategies across Disney’s global technology portfolio. This role partners with senior business, technology, finance, legal, security, and sourcing leaders to align supplier strategies with enterprise priorities, influence investment decisions, and deliver measurable commercial, operational, and innovation outcomes.
What You Will Do
- Develop and execute enterprise technology category strategies that align supplier capabilities, market dynamics, stakeholder priorities, and Disney’s long-term business objectives.
- Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior business and technology leaders, translating complex requirements into sourcing strategies that enable value, innovation, speed, and risk mitigation.
- Lead high-value and complex sourcing initiatives across software, SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, telecommunications, digital platforms, and technology professional services.
- Own the end-to-end strategic sourcing process, including demand assessment, market intelligence, supplier strategy, RFx execution, commercial negotiation, contracting support, implementation planning, and supplier performance management.
- Build persuasive business cases and executive-level recommendations using spend analysis, cost modeling, benchmarking, market insights, and supplier performance data.
- Partner globally across segments and functions to consolidate demand, rationalize suppliers, leverage enterprise scale, and support technology standardization where appropriate.
- Lead negotiations for complex technology agreements, balancing commercial outcomes with operational, legal, security, privacy, compliance, and business risk considerations.
- Establish and manage strategic supplier relationships that drive accountability, continuous improvement, innovation, and measurable value throughout the supplier lifecycle.
- Collaborate with Legal, Finance, Security, Technology, Segment Sourcing, and business teams to ensure sourcing strategies and supplier engagements support Disney’s enterprise goals.
- Contribute category expertise, market perspective, and best practices to strengthen sourcing capability across the broader organization.
Required Qualifications & Skills
- Significant (10+ years) progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, category management, or business consulting, with meaningful experience supporting technology categories in a complex enterprise environment.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute category strategies that influence business decisions, optimize spend, improve supplier value, and manage enterprise risk.
- Deep understanding of technology sourcing categories such as software, SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, telecommunications, digital platforms, hardware, and technology services.
- Proven success leading complex negotiations and structuring technology agreements that deliver strong commercial, operational, and risk outcomes.
- Executive-level communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders and align cross-functional teams.
- Strong analytical and financial acumen, including experience with spend analysis, supplier proposal evaluation, cost modeling, business case development, and data-driven recommendations.
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed, global organization while managing multiple high-priority initiatives with sound judgment and accountability.
- Experience partnering with Legal, Finance, Security, Technology, Sourcing, and business stakeholders to advance strategic initiatives and resolve complex issues.
- High degree of ownership, intellectual curiosity, business judgment, and comfort working independently as a senior individual contributor.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting technology sourcing initiatives within media, entertainment, sports, consumer products, hospitality, digital, or other consumer-facing multinational organizations.
- Scaled enterprise ($1B+) experience developing global sourcing strategies, supplier governance models, or multi-year technology category plans.
- Familiarity with procurement platforms, spend analytics tools, market intelligence resources, and executive reporting methods.
- Experience mentoring or informally guiding sourcing professionals by sharing category expertise, negotiation strategies, and procurement best practices.
- Willingness to travel as needed, up to approximately 10%.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in business, economics, supply chain, technology, finance, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Master’s degree, MBA, or relevant professional certification is preferred.
The hiring range for this position in Bristol, CT is $126,800.00 to $154,800.00 per year.
The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA is $126,800.00 to $154,800.00 per year.
The hiring range for this position in San Francisco, CA is $138,800.00 to $169,600.00 per year.
The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.
Job Posting Segment:
Corporate FinanceJob Posting Primary Business:
Sourcing and ProcurementPrimary Job Posting Category:
PurchasingEmployment Type:
Full timePrimary City, State, Region, Postal Code:
Lake Buena Vista, FL, USAAlternate City, State, Region, Postal Code:
USA - CA - 820 S Flower St, USA - CA - Market St, USA - CT - ESPN Building 16 - 575 Birch StDate Posted:
2026-09-13Company
Disney
Lake Buena Vista, United States of America
Company facts come from this company's own listings. We only show what the postings themselves carry.