Category Lead - Strategic Sourcing

Job Title: Category Lead - Strategic Sourcing (Contract-to-Hire)
Location: Columbus, OH
Rate: $45–$60/hour
Work Model: Hybrid (Onsite Tuesday–Thursday, Remote Monday & Friday)
Contract Length: August 3, 2026 – August 2, 2027
Extension / Conversion: Contract-to-HireAnticipated Conversion
Conversion Salary: $96,000–$120,000 annually plus benefits
Employment Type: W-2 Only
Work Authorization: U.S. Citizens Only | Green Card holders also eligible; no visa sponsorship available
Additional Note: Covered parking is available for approximately $40/month and is not reimbursable.

We are seeking an experienced Category Lead to support strategic sourcing, category management, and supplier relationship management activities within a large enterprise environment. This role will be responsible for independently leading multiple strategic sourcing initiatives, partnering with cross-functional stakeholders, managing supplier agreements, and identifying opportunities to reduce cost, improve quality, increase value, and support business performance goals.

The ideal candidate is highly analytical, self-driven, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment. This individual will leverage category expertise, financial acumen, market analysis, cost modeling, supplier negotiations, and stakeholder engagement to develop and execute category strategies that align with business objectives. The Category Lead will report to the Manager, Category Management and will play a key role in helping the organization plan for future sourcing needs, manage supplier performance, and achieve savings and performance targets.

• Establish, lead, and support cross-functional category management teams to develop and maintain category plans.
• Develop deep knowledge of assigned spend areas, suppliers, business requirements, market dynamics, and performance drivers.
• Define category requirements in collaboration with internal stakeholder groups and business partners.
• Develop and maintain category strategies that support cost savings, quality improvement, supplier diversity, performance improvement, and total cost of ownership goals.
• Manage category-related projects from initiation through implementation, applying project management principles to deliver results on time and within scope.

• Independently lead strategic enterprise sourcing initiatives from planning through execution.
• Conduct spend analysis, supplier analysis, market research, and external benchmarking to identify sourcing opportunities.
• Develop cost models, savings forecasts, and performance improvement forecasts to monitor progress against goals.
• Lead sourcing and performance improvement initiatives identified through category plans.
• Facilitate cross-functional sourcing teams to evaluate options, align priorities, and drive decisions.
• Lead supplier negotiations as needed to secure favorable commercial terms, improve service levels, and support business objectives.

• Maintain and manage critical supplier agreements, including renewals, issue resolution, term negotiations, and performance tracking.
• Develop and maintain supplier criticality ratings and manage resulting supplier relationship strategies.
• Track supplier performance metrics and identify opportunities to improve supplier quality, service, cost, and overall value.
• Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews with critical suppliers and internal executive sponsors.
• Support supplier issue identification, escalation, tracking, and resolution.

• Build strong partnerships with key stakeholders and business partners to understand needs, align priorities, and achieve desired outcomes.
• Develop and manage cross-functional category management and strategic sourcing teams as needed.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to build consensus around category plans, sourcing strategies, and supplier decisions.
• Present data-driven findings, recommendations, and business cases to stakeholders and leadership.
• Work effectively across business units, shared services,…