Hybrid Strategic Category Director: AI-Driven Sourcing

Vizient, Inc.; Irving (TX); Hybrid; USD 102,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vizient benefits

Job summary

Vizient, Inc. seeks a Category Management Director to lead strategy, spending insights, and value realization across clinical and operational portfolios. You will guide complex sourcing, contracting, and stakeholder alignment to drive measurable value for members.

This role requires deep category expertise, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to influence executives and clinicians. A hybrid work model with in-office days in Irving, TX is available, along with travel as needed.

Qualifications

• Relevant degree preferred.
• 7+ years of relevant experience in category management, strategic sourcing, supply chain, consulting, healthcare operations, contracting, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex sourcing and category management initiatives.
• Proven ability to serve as a trusted advisor and influence executive, clinical, operational, and supplier stakeholders.
• Experience facilitating stakeholder committees, value analysis initiatives, or cross-functional decision-making groups.
• Strong negotiation and contracting experience with complex supplier agreements.
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to translate data into strategic recommendations.
• Excellent executive communication, presentation, and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrates deep knowledge of AI tools, capabilities, outputs, and limitations and applies AI effectively in complex business situations.
• This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring three days per week in the office. Office locations include Irving, TX; Chicago, IL; Cape Girardeau, MO and Centennial, CO.
• Willingness to travel.

Responsibilities

• Develop category strategies aligned with client priorities and organizational objectives.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing initiatives including opportunity assessment, RFIs/RFPs, supplier evaluation, negotiations, contract development, and implementation.
• Build consensus among client stakeholders, suppliers, and Vizient teams to meet clinical, operational, and financial objectives.
• Provide guidance and direction on complex contracting strategies and negotiations.
• Lead stakeholder committees consisting of physicians, clinicians, value analysis leaders, supply chain professionals, operational leadership and executive stakeholders.
• Facilitate discussions that align stakeholder priorities and support informed sourcing and contracting decisions.
• Present category strategies, sourcing recommendations, and initiative outcomes to executive-level audiences.
• Build trust-based relationships with key stakeholders and suppliers to drive long-term value delivery.
• Manage a complex category portfolio with significant cross-functional collaboration across sourcing, contracting, analytics, implementation, and value analysis teams.
• Anticipate and respond to market, regulatory, supply chain, legal, and competitive factors impacting category strategies.
• Provide mentoring, guidance, and subject matter expertise to other team members.
• Represent Vizient in supplier, member, and industry-facing engagements related to assigned categories.
• Evaluate and interpret spend, utilization, supplier, and market data to inform category strategies and recommendations.
• Identify opportunities for savings, standardization, quality improvement, technology adoption, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor supplier performance and market developments to ensure ongoing category effectiveness.
• Partner with internal teams to achieve annual operational, financial, and strategic portfolio goals.
• Applies advanced AI fluency to enhance category strategy development, market intelligence, stakeholder communications, and business decision-making; evaluates and refines AI-generated outputs for accuracy, relevance, and business impact, while promoting effective and responsible use of AI tools across sourcing, contracting, and category management activities.

Skills

Category management

Strategic sourcing

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Analytics

AI in procurement

Education

Relevant degree preferred

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Vizient, Inc. seeks a Category Management Director to lead strategy, spending insights, and value realization across clinical and operational portfolios. You will guide complex sourcing, contracting, and stakeholder alignment to drive measurable value for members.

This role requires deep category expertise, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to influence executives and clinicians. A hybrid work model with in-office days in Irving, TX is available, along with travel as needed.