Category Manager - Information Technology

hmsacareers; Honolulu (HI); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

HMSA is seeking an experienced IT Category Manager to partner with the CPO and IT leadership to develop multi‑year IT and technology strategies. You will lead sourcing, contracting, and governance for complex IT deals, with emphasis on cloud, cybersecurity, and SaaS engagements across the enterprise.

You will drive measurable savings, manage the contract lifecycle, and collaborate across Finance, Legal, and IT teams to ensure value realization and risk mitigation.

Qualifications

• Seven years of progressive procurement and IT category management experience.
• Experience negotiating mid to large scale IT deals ($1M-$10M+).
• Strong understanding of core IT domains (applications, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity).
• Ability to analyze IT spend, licensing entitlements, usage data, cloud consumption, and cost structures.

Responsibilities

• Develop multi‑year IT category strategies with the CPO and IT leadership.
• Lead execution of IT vendor strategy, aligning with enterprise architecture, digital transformation, and cybersecurity priorities.
• Coordinate with IT Leadership on vendor demand planning, roadmaps, product lifecycles, and modernization efforts.
• Conduct market research on SaaS, cloud models, licensing, hardware, cybersecurity, and managed services.
• Identify cost optimization, rationalization, standardization, and risk mitigation opportunities.
• Oversee the IT contract lifecycle, including renewals, extensions, amendments, and vendor onboarding/offboarding.
• Ensure contracts meet HMSA standards for data protection, cybersecurity controls, SLAs, compliance, and risk management.

Skills

Negotiation

Vendor governance

Financial modeling

Strategic sourcing

Stakeholder collaboration

Cloud platforms

Cybersecurity awareness

Cost optimization

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, IT, CS, Finance or related field

Tools

ServiceNow

Excel

Source to Pay systems

Job description

1. Category Strategy and Planning
   
   • Partner with the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) and IT leadership to develop multi‑year category strategies for IT & Technology Operations vendors.
   • Lead execution of IT vendor strategy, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture, digital transformation, and cybersecurity priorities.
   • Coordinate with IT Leadership on vendor demand planning, technology roadmaps, product lifecycles, and modernization efforts.
   • Conduct market research and stay up to date with current trends across SaaS, cloud models, licensing, hardware, cybersecurity, and managed services.
   • Identify cost optimization, rationalization, standardization, and risk mitigation opportunities.
2. Strategic Sourcing and Contracting
   
   • Lead sourcing, competitive events (RFx), and negotiation of complex IT contracts ($1M-$10M+), including SaaS, cloud, infrastructure, Telcom, and managed services.
   • Develop and execute deal strategies (i.e., bundling, multi-year agreements, rate card optimization, and usage commitments).
   • Manage contracting for software licensing, SaaS subscriptions, cloud consumption agreements, managed services, telecom, and IT professional services.
   • Drive measurable savings through competitive sourcing, benchmarking, and renegotiation strategies.
   • Evaluate and optimize cloud consumption (Azure/AWS), SaaS licensing tiers, and enterprise agreements.
   • Oversee the IT contract lifecycle, including renewals, extensions, amendments, and vendor onboarding and offboarding.
   • Ensure contracts meet HMSA standards for data protection, cybersecurity controls, SLAs, compliance, and risk management.
3. Vendor Governance and Performance Oversight
   
   • Provide vendor oversight for IT & Technology Operations suppliers, owning commercial performance of vendors, including cost, value realization, and contract adherence.
   • Partner with business owners and/or vendor managers to ensure alignment between financial outcomes and operational performance.
   • Partner with Vendor Managers, IT owners, and InfoSec to ensure governance, QBRs, continuous improvement, and issue resolution.
   • Support privacy, cybersecurity, third‑party risk, and regulatory compliance assessments.
   • Identify opportunities for cost recovery, demand management, and contract re-baselining.
4. Financial and Value Management
   
   • Analyze IT spending (software, cloud, infrastructure, telecom, managed services); deliver and track quantifiable cost savings, cost avoidance, and value creation across IT spend.
   • Validate pricing, usage data (seat counts, cloud consumption), billing accuracy, and budget impacts.
   • Develop business cases for contract decisions, vendor consolidation, or new technology acquisitions.
   • Support IT budget cycles, forecasting, and technology investment planning
5. Stakeholder and Cross-Departmental Collaboration
   
   • Coordinate closely with CIO, IT Directors, Enterprise Architecture, Cybersecurity, Applications, Infrastructure, and Digital teams.
   • Function as a procurement advisor for technology initiatives and vendor planning.
   • Partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Privacy, and Finance
   • Guide business and IT stakeholders on procurement governance, contract requirements, and vendor best practices.
6. Performs all other miscellaneous responsibilities and duties as assigned or directed.

#LI-Hybrid

1. Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Information Technology, Computer Science, Finance, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
2. Seven years of progressive experience in procurement, IT category management, technology sourcing, and IT vendor lifecycle management.
3. Experience negotiating mid to large scale IT deals ($1M-$10M+).
4. Experience with IT ecosystems, including cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), workflow tools (ServiceNow), managed service vendors (i.e., claims/process outsourcing. environments), care management systems and payor platforms, and member portals and digital engagement systems.
5. Experience supporting IT service lifecycle, including renewals, vendor transitions, and system implementations.
6. Strong understanding of core IT domains such as applications, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data technologies, and telecom.
7. Ability to analyze IT spend, licensing entitlements, usage data, cloud consumption, and support/maintenance cost structures.
8. Familiarity with IT sourcing, procurement best practices, and vendor selection processes.
9. Ability to collaborate effectively across teams.
10. Strong analytical, problem‑solving, commercial negotiation, and financial modeling capabilities tailored for IT environments.
11. Strong understanding of IT contract terms, including data security, privacy, SOC reporting, SLAs, software asset management, uptime/availability metrics, service credits, BAA requirements, and business continuity.
12. Demonstrated ability to drive measurable savings and commercial outcomes.
13. Deep understanding of:
    
    • Software licensing models (enterprise, subscription, usage-based).
    • Cloud pricing and consumption models (AWS, Azure).
    • Managed services pricing structures (FTE, outcome-based, hybrid).
14. Ability to interpret technical requirements, architecture dependencies, and IT cost structures.
15. Advanced knowledge in Microsoft Office Suite, including the ability to build and interpret Excel models for IT spend, licensing, and forecasting.
16. Ability to work with procurement and contract management systems for contract lifecycle activities (e.g., Source to Pay, ERP, etc.).
17. Familiarity with IT service management or ticketing tools and basic understanding of how IT workflow systems operate.
18. Ability to analyze data exports from IT vendors, cloud platforms, licensing portals, or SaaS management tools.