Strategic Category & Supplier Lead – OSP

Lumen; Jackson (MS); Remote; USD 85,000 - 113,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Life insurance

Job summary

Lumen Technologies is seeking a Sr. Category Operations Specialist to support procurement for Outside Plant services within the US.

You will analyze spend, drive supplier performance, and develop category strategies while coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure cost efficiency and service delivery. This remote US-based role emphasizes collaboration with Network Construction, Finance, Legal, and Operations to optimize procurement, risk management, and process improvements across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• 2–4 years of procurement, sourcing, category management, supplier management, or contract administration experience.
• Proven ability to analyze spend data, identify trends, and make practical recommendations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel for data analysis, reporting, and presentations.

Responsibilities

• Analyze spend, supplier performance, service demand, and market trends to identify sourcing opportunities and optimize costs.
• Develop reports, dashboards, and metrics with Reporting & Analytics teams.
• Maintain visibility into category spend, supplier utilization, service volumes, and financial performance.
• Coordinate supplier sourcing, onboarding, and management for locates and related field services.
• Lead or support RFI, RFQ, and RFP processes from requirements to supplier selection and implementation.
• Track issues, commitments, and priorities to support continuity and projects.

Skills

Spend analysis

Stakeholder management

Excel data analysis

Communication skills

Multi-tasking

Sourcing strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, finance, operations, or related field

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Microsoft Office / Excel

Contract management software

Job description

Lumen Technologies is seeking a Sr. Category Operations Specialist to support procurement for Outside Plant services within the US.

You will analyze spend, drive supplier performance, and develop category strategies while coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure cost efficiency and service delivery. This remote US-based role emphasizes collaboration with Network Construction, Finance, Legal, and Operations to optimize procurement, risk management, and process improvements across