Principal Category Management

Sabre; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay and bonuses

Flexible work options

Healthcare coverage

Generous PTO and holidays

Retirement planning support

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Sabre Corporation, headquartered in Southlake, Texas, seeks a Principal Category Manager to own end-to-end procurement for third-party services with a focus on Professional Services and Labor. You will guide negotiations, redlines, and lifecycle planning while coordinating risk and cross-functional alignment across Legal, Risk, and executive partners.

You will leverage SAP and Coupa to drive workflow standardization and reduce friction, delivering tangible cost savings and efficiencies across

Qualifications

• 5–7 years in strategic sourcing, procurement, or supply chain with category expertise in Professional Services.
• Experience with RFx processes, negotiations, and redlines.
• Hands-on with ERP, contract management, and purchasing systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end procurement lifecycle for third-party services, including intake, pipeline management, negotiations, pricing, and redlining.
• Conduct spend analyses and market intelligence for Professional Services and Labor categories.
• Coordinate risk assessment with Legal, Compliance, and Security before contract execution.
• Advise stakeholders and drive cross-functional alignment on category trends and risk mitigation.
• Collaborate with leadership to standardize workflows and leverage SAP and Coupa.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Procurement

Spend analysis

Risk assessment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or related

Tools

SAP

Coupa

Excel

Job description

Sabre Corporation is a leading technology provider to the global travel and tourism industry. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre operates offices in approximately 60 countries around the world. At Sabre, we make travel happen. Positioned at the center of the business of travel, our platform connects people with experiences that matter in their lives. Today, Sabre is creating a new marketplace for personalized travel. It is our people who develop and deliver powerful solutions that meet the current and future needs or our airline, hotel and travel agency customers. Join our journey!

We are seeking a Principal Category Manager to join our global Procurement team, where innovation knows no borders. This team ensures our enterprise operates with efficiency, high quality, and optimal commercial performance across all third-party supplier partnerships. It connects business strategy with market intelligence and rigorous spend analysis to mitigate risk, optimize supplier value, and drive sustainable growth. With an inclusive culture and flexible work environment, we work together with boldness, curiosity and commitment so we can all win together.

As a Principal Category Manager, you will serve as a strategic architect and trusted advisor providing end-to-end category ownership across third-party service suppliers, with a strong focus on Professional Services and Labor. You will oversee supplier selection, complex commercial redlines, contract lifecycle planning, and risk assessment coordination across global business units. You will possess broad decision-making autonomy at the project level to execute strategic sourcing opportunities, optimize workflows, and build cross-functional alignment across Legal, Contracts, Risk, Security, and executive stakeholders.

What you’ll do

• Lead the end-to-end procurement lifecycle for third-party services, directing intake, pipeline management, commercial negotiations, pricing structures, and redlining to secure execution.

• Direct deep spend analyses, market intelligence, and contract portfolio reviews across the Professional Services and Labor categories to capture tangible cost-savings and business efficiencies.

• Coordinate and lead comprehensive Risk Assessment processes across Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Security partners to resolve potential execution barriers and eliminate enterprise risk prior to contract execution.

• Act as an expert advisory sounding board for business stakeholders, guiding cross-functional teams on category trends, sourcing pathways, and practical risk mitigation strategies.

• Partner with Procurement leadership and internal stakeholders to drive enterprise-wide workflow standardization, leveraging automation and procurement systems like SAP and Coupa to eliminate operational friction.

What you’ll bring Required qualifications

• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or supply chain management with demonstrated category expertise in Professional Services.

• Direct capability in designing and executing complex RFx processes, commercial negotiations, custom Excel financial models, and commercial redlines.

• Hands‑on experience with ERP, Contract Management, and Purchasing systems (such as SAP or Coupa).

• Proven success managing cross‑functional alignment across Legal, Risk, Security, and executive business partners while balancing competing deadlines and priorities.

Preferred qualifications

• Expertise in the Labor category.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related discipline.

Benefits that support you

We know support looks different for everyone. That is why Sabre offers benefits beyond medical and financial coverage, with programs designed to support your well‑being, growth and life outside work:

• Competitive pay and performance-based bonuses

• Flexible work options

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage

• Generous PTO and holidays

• Strong retirement planning support

• Family-friendly benefits

• Professional development opportunities

Reasonable AccommodationSabre is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. Applicants applying for a Sabre position with a disability who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process may contact Sabre’s Compliance Office at [e-mail]

Affirmative ActionSabre is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to minorities, females, veterans, and disabled individuals. EEO IS THE LAWStay connected with Sabre Careers