Strategic Category Manager – IT Services & Software (m/f/d)

Your Contribution:

• Global Procurement Leadership: Take charge of all direct and indirect procurement activities for IT-professional services, software, cloud, and datacenter Infrastructure. You will implement innovative procurement practices that enhance operational efficiency and drive strategic business growth at both global and regional levels.
• Sourcing Strategy Development: Design and execute end-to-end sourcing strategies for IT solutions, integrating business and technical requirements into forward-thinking procurement actions. Your focus will be on enabling scalability, digital innovation, and consistent value creation that goes beyond purely financial results.
• Strategic Procurement: Lead negotiations and manage major contracts and framework agreements with top-tier IT, software, consulting, cloud, datacenter vendors, and software resellers. You will drive bundling, optimization, and global alignment initiatives to ensure optimal value and to support company-wide transformation goals.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate closely with IT, Product Management, Finance, and other business units to ensure procurement strategies align with complex technical and organizational needs. You will proactively facilitate communication, foster collaboration, and support digital transformation through powerful stakeholder engagement.
• Supplier and Contract Management: Develop and sustain strategic partnerships with leading IT service providers, software vendors, and software resellers. Oversee the entire source-to-contract process, leveraging your expertise in negotiations to secure strong agreements and build long-lasting, value-driven relationships with both internal and external partners.

What You Bring Along:

• Professional Experience: A minimum of 7 years of procurement experience in the IT, Software, Technology, and/or Cloud sectors with substantial international and cross-functional exposure in a global matrix organization. You possess in-depth knowledge of IT contracts, license agreements, and essential legal clauses,  including those relating to IT Professional Services, Software Development, Cloud, and Data Center Infrastructure, as well as SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, cloud platforms, software licensing models, and service-level agreements (SLAs), gained through collaboration with top-tier vendors.
• Negotiation Skills: A proven track record of negotiating large-scale, strategic contracts with leading global enterprise software publishers, major cloud service providers, prominent software resellers, IT outsourcing firms, consulting partners, and datacenter companies. Demonstrated success in managing complex projects and strategic procurement initiatives involving widely adopted business productivity platforms, cloud infrastructure providers, value-added software channel partners, and internationally recognized IT consulting and service organizations.
• Collaborative Spirit: An assertive, solution-oriented personality with the capability to independently and proactively engage with internal leaders and stakeholders on a daily basis. Strong interpersonal skills enabling you to optimize global procurement strategies and facilitate effective cross-functional collaboration.
• Education and Language Skills: A completed degree in Business Administration, IT Management, Procurement, or a related field. Full professional proficiency in English and German is required; additional languages are considered an advantage.
• Technical and Personal Qualities: Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with advanced proficiency in MS Office and familiarity with procurement management systems. Highly proactive, organized, and resourceful, with outstanding communication skills for effective collaboration across diverse teams and stakeholders in international environments.

What you can expect from us:  

• Mobile work: Work remotely two days a week and on-site three days a week. 
• Attractive locations & community: In addition to fully equipped workplaces, regular events such as summer parties and Christmas parties await you at our locations. 
• Development: Our in-house academy and our portfolio of external cooperation partners will support you in your further development. 
• Health: Health is a valuable asset for us. Our in-house canteen offers a selection of tasty and healthy dishes every day and we welcome you to our fully equipped fitness-center for weekly courses (online & offline). 
• More is always possible: The kindergarten on our CGM campus in Koblenz helps our employees to organize their working day even more flexibly. We also offer corporate benefits, the option of a job bike, a company pension scheme, and much more. 

Diversity is part of CGM! We look forward to receiving your application regardless of disability, gender, nationality, ethnic and social background, religion, age, sexual orientation and identity. 

Convinced? Apply online now with your detailed application documents (including salary expectations and earliest possible starting date).