Principal Category Management

Sabre; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; 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

Reasonable accommodation

Job summary

Sabre is seeking a Principal Category Manager to lead end-to-end procurement for third-party services, with a focus on Professional Services and Labor. You will own the category strategy, guide complex negotiations, and coordinate cross-functional teams across Legal, Risk, and Security to mitigate risk and optimize value.

In this global role, you will leverage ERP systems like SAP and Coupa to drive standardized workflows, unlock cost savings, and enable scalable procurement practices across

Qualifications

• 5–7 years in strategic sourcing or procurement
• Expert in RFx design and negotiations
• Experience with ERP and Contract Management systems
• Ability to coordinate across Legal, Risk, Security
• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end procurement lifecycle for third‑party services
• Perform spend analyses and market intelligence across Professional Services
• Coordinate Risk Assessments with Legal, Risk, Compliance and Security
• Advise stakeholders on category trends and risk mitigation
• Drive workflow standardization with SAP and Coupa to reduce friction

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Contract negotiations

RFx processes

Cross-functional leadership

Excel financial modeling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business / Supply Chain

Tools

SAP

Coupa

Job description

Powering the agentic revolution in travel. Sabre is an AI-native technology leader, backed by one of the world’s largest travel data clouds. Built on an open, modular, cloud-native architecture, Sabre serves as the backbone for both established leaders and bold, new disruptors, guiding them to the next age of travel retailing through intelligent, connected, and personalized experiences. With AI at its core and operating at unparalleled scale, Sabre transforms insights into innovation, empowering airlines, hoteliers, agencies and other partners to retail, distribute and fulfill travel worldwide. 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.

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

Preferred qualifications

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

Benefits that support you

• 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 Accommodation

Sabre 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 at [e-mail]. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case‑by‑case basis.

Sabre is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to minorities, females, veterans and disabled individuals.

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