IT Category Specialist

Cushman & Wakefield; St. Louis (MO); Hybrid; USD 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Cushman & Wakefield is seeking an IT Category Specialist to support Technology & Data Solutions by helping develop IT category strategies, manage supplier relationships, and drive cost savings across software, hardware, data, and services.

The role involves collaborating with Category Managers on sourcing events, contract administration, and spend analysis, while maintaining governance and stakeholder alignment across IT and business units.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Information Technology, Finance, or related field preferred; advanced degree or procurement cert is a plus.
• 2–4 years of procurement, sourcing, vendor management, IT category, or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of IT procurement categories: software/SaaS, hardware, cloud, telecom, data, professional services, supplier commercial models.
• Familiarity with contract concepts: SOWs, renewals, amendments, SLAs, licensing, confidentiality, data security, supplier compliance.
• Strong analytics, reporting, and presentation skills; experience with procurement systems.
• Great communication, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional collaboration abilities.

Responsibilities

• IT Category Support: assist with category strategies for IT, software, hardware, telecom, data, and services.
• Support Category Managers with sourcing events, supplier research, intake review, and invoice follow-up.
• Coordinate supplier onboarding, governance, and relationship management for IT partners.
• Analyze spend, pricing, and proposals to identify savings and value opportunities.
• Assist with RFPs/RFQs/renewals and prepare evaluation materials.
• Improve intake processes, workflows, and reporting for IT procurement activity.

Skills

Category management

Sourcing

Negotiation

Vendor management

Spend analysis

Contract management

Stakeholder collaboration

Data reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, IT, Finance, or related field

Procurement certification (plus)

Tools

Smartsheet

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Job Title

IT Category Specialist

Job Description Summary

This position is part of the C&W Procurement team supporting Technology & Data Solutions (TDS), working alongside Category Managers on IT sourcing and procurement activities spanning technology services, software, hardware, data, and related supplier relationships. The IT Category Specialist will assist with strategic sourcing, contract administration, supplier relationship management, spend analysis, negotiations, and procurement operations.

Job Description

• IT Category Support:
  • Contribute to category strategies for TDS, including software, hardware, telecommunications, professional services, data, and related IT supplier categories.
  • Assist Category Managers with sourcing events, supplier research, intake review, order form management, statement of work review, and invoice follow-up for IT procurement requests.

• Supplier and Vendor Management:
  • Help coordinate supplier selection, onboarding, administration, and relationship management for preferred IT suppliers and strategic technology partners.
  • Track supplier performance, service levels, contract compliance, renewal timelines, and key metrics to help drive supplier governance and business adoption.
  • Escalate supplier performance, quality, risk, or commercial issues to Category Managers and business stakeholders as appropriate.

• Sourcing, Negotiation, and Cost Management:
  • Analyze spend, pricing, usage, benchmarks, and supplier proposals to identify savings, cost avoidance, consolidation, and value improvement opportunities.
  • Assist with RFPs, RFQs, renewals, and supplier negotiations for IT goods and services, including proposal evaluation, commercial analysis, and stakeholder recommendation materials.

• Process Improvement and Reporting:
  • Collaborate with Procurement leadership to improve intake processes, sourcing workflows, supplier governance tools, contract tracking, and reporting for IT procurement activity.
  • Generate metrics, dashboards, and analysis to enable stakeholder visibility, compliance monitoring, supplier performance reviews, and category planning.

• Contract Management:
  • Prepare, review, and facilitate supplier contracts, statements of work, amendments, renewals, extensions, and terminations using approved templates, tools, and processes.
  • Maintain accurate records in the contract repository and coordinate with Legal, Finance, IT, and business stakeholders to ensure compliance and timely execution.

• Stakeholder Collaboration:
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with IT, business units, Category Managers, suppliers, and cross-functional partners to enable effective procurement execution and preferred supplier adoption.
  • Conduct meetings with internal and external stakeholders in a professional manner using strong communication, sound judgment, tact, and diplomacy.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Information Technology, Finance, or a related field preferred; advanced degree or relevant procurement certification is a plus.
• 2-4 years of related procurement, sourcing, vendor management, IT category, or equivalent business experience.
• Working knowledge of IT procurement categories, including software/SaaS, hardware, cloud, telecom, data, professional services, and technology supplier commercial models.
• Familiarity with legal and commercial contracting concepts, including statements of work, renewals, amendments, service levels, licensing, confidentiality, data security, and supplier compliance requirements.
• Strong analytical, reporting, and presentation skills, including proficiency with Smartsheet, Excel, and PowerPoint; experience with procurement, supplier administration, and contract management systems preferred.
• Strong relationship management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to collaborate across IT, Legal, Finance, business partners, and suppliers.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and self-motivated with the ability to prioritize multiple requests, manage competing deadlines, and work independently to resolve issues.
• Understanding of strategic sourcing processes, supplier relationship management, procurement policy compliance, and preferred supplier program adoption.

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $ 63,750.00 - $75,000.00

Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position at Cushman & Wakefield, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email [e-mail]. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.

INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”