Category Specialist

Principal Category Lead – Construction Procurement

Location: Hybrid – Oakland or San Ramon, CA

Client cannot sponsor candidates at this time

We are seeking an experienced Principal Category Lead to drive strategic sourcing and category management for construction services supporting large-scale capital and infrastructure projects. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for developing sourcing strategies, negotiating complex construction contracts, managing supplier relationships, and delivering long-term value across a multi-billion-dollar procurement portfolio.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience sourcing construction services within utilities, energy, EPC, heavy civil, industrial, or infrastructure environments and is skilled at partnering with engineering, construction, legal, finance, and executive leadership to execute strategic procurement initiatives.

• Develop and execute strategic category plans for construction services and capital project spend.
• Lead competitive sourcing events including RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs.
• Negotiate high-value construction contracts, master service agreements (MSAs), and supplier pricing.
• Build and manage strategic relationships with general contractors, EPC firms, engineering consultants, and specialty subcontractors.
• Conduct supplier performance reviews and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Perform market analysis, supplier benchmarking, cost modeling, and spend analytics.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, financial stability, and operational risk.
• Partner closely with Construction, Engineering, Project Management, Legal, Finance, and Operations to align procurement strategies with business objectives.
• Support major capital projects by ensuring supplier capacity, cost competitiveness, and supply continuity.
• Monitor industry trends, construction markets, labor conditions, and material pricing to proactively manage sourcing strategies.
• Drive procurement best practices while ensuring compliance with corporate policies and regulatory requirements.

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years of strategic sourcing, procurement, or category management experience.
• Experience sourcing construction services for large capital, infrastructure, utility, industrial, or EPC projects.
• Proven success negotiating complex, high-value construction contracts.
• Strong experience leading supplier negotiations and managing strategic supplier relationships.
• Experience performing supplier risk assessments, market analysis, and spend optimization.
• Ability to influence executive leadership and collaborate across cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical, negotiation, communication, and project management skills.

• 10+ years of procurement or category management experience.
• Utility, energy, heavy industrial, transmission & distribution, or infrastructure experience.
• Experience sourcing engineering, construction, maintenance, or EPC services.
• Knowledge of procurement systems such as SAP, Ariba, or similar ERP platforms.
• Experience with cost modeling, supplier scorecards, category strategy development, and contract lifecycle management.
• MBA or advanced degree is a plus.

We're looking for a strategic procurement leader who understands the complexities of construction and capital projects. The ideal candidate can balance commercial strategy with operational execution, build strong supplier partnerships, negotiate favorable agreements, and help deliver critical infrastructure projects safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.