**Job Description** Join Our Team as a Sr. Category Management Analyst! Are you passionate about strategic sourcing and vendor governance? As a Sr. Category Management Analyst, you’ll play a pivotal role in managing all sourcing and vendor governance activities for your assigned categories. Your mission will be to reduce the organization’s cost of ownership by leveraging innovative sourcing strategies, tools, and processes, all while mitigating risk through effective vendor governance. You’ll collaborate closely with third-party vendors, business owners, and the Corporate Services Vendor Contracting team to prepare, analyze, and negotiate vendor contracts. Additionally, you’ll assist business owners across all functional areas in selecting vendors and documenting vendor obligations to meet business requirements. If you’re ready to make a significant impact and drive cost efficiencies, we want to hear from you! + Establish sourcing strategies for an assigned category(ies) in conjunction with internal stakeholders and their associated business strategy. + Conduct sourcing events, including development of project work plan, category profile, category strategy, minimum requirements and evaluation criteria, solicitation + Develop and implement assorted bid documents and requests (i.e. RFP, RFI, RFQ); and manage status reporting and performance metrics of sourcing and category management activities. + Understand, analyze and forecast complex market and industry dynamics and share subject matterexpertise and industry knowledge within the established portfolio of products and services. + Partner with stakeholders to source products and services using proven tools, processes, and analytics to drive and achieve business results. + Evaluate analyses of sourcing results from a total cost of ownership perspective and provide optimization recommendations + Participate in cross-functional teams responsible for complex vendor negotiations, including those that require specialized subject matter expertise, nonstandard risk mitigation solutions, and coordination of multiple arrangements. + Review and lead supplier relationship management and performance within an assigned category + Proactively establish and foster successful, positive working relationships with vendor personnel. Drive vendor engagement through formal and informal transactions. + Engage stakeholders to implement and execute vendor relationship management plan. + Coordinate and host vendor business reviews + Develop, track and manage yearly vendor plans for assigned vendors within the assigned category(ies) and ensure vendor compliance. + Coordinate vendor risk assessments and develop plans to track and address significant risks. + Serve as an escalation point for the business in resolving vendor performance issues. issue resolution. + Manage contracts and collaborate effectively with Corporate Compliance, Legal, Audit and Risk Management and other internal stakeholders for compliance activities to ensure regulatory conditions are met. + Research, analyze and provide data driven recommendations regarding compliance or audit level issue resolution and remediation. + Facilitate and monitor vendor implementation of relevant corrective action plans. + Develop new procedures, training, initiatives, specifications and recommendations for process or policy changes and improvements, as appropriate. **Hiring Requirements** + Bachelor's degree or advanced degree (where required) + 5+ years of experience in related field + In lieu of degree, 7+ years of experience in related field **Preferred Skills** + Familiarity with all types of contract agreements to provide an array of Professional services to Corporate Human Resources, Legal, and Marketing. + Experience in negotiating vendor contracts and managing vendor relationships. + Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and external partners. + Experience in identifying and mitigating risks associated with vendor management and sourcing activities/Issue Spotting. **Salary Range** At Blue Cross NC, we take great pride in a fair and equitable compensation package that reflects market-price and our starting salaries are typically planned near the middle of the range listed. Compensation decisions are driven by factors including experience and training, specialized skill sets, licensure and certifications and other business and organizational needs. Our base salary is part of a robust Total Rewards package that includes an Annual Incentive Bonus*, 401(k) with employer match, Paid Time Off (PTO), and competitive health benefits and wellness programs. _*Based on annual corporate goal achievement and individual performance._ $75,900.00 - $136,600.00 **About Us** It's an exciting time to work at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC). Health care is changing, and we're leading the way. We offer more than health insurance our customers can count on. We’re committed to better health and better health care − in our communities and beyond. Our employees bring energy and creativity to the workplace, and it shows in our innovative approach to improving the health and well-being of North Carolinians. Blue Cross NC is a fully taxed, not-for-profit company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. We serve more than 4.3 million members, and we employ more than 5,000 people across the country who are passionate about making health care better for all. Help us lead the charge for better health care by joining our award-winning team. Discover tremendous opportunities with us to do challenging and rewarding work. Opportunities that can lead you to a fulfilling career, work that can help others lead healthier, happier lives. **Authorization to Work in the United States** We use E-verify to confirm authorization to work in the United States. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify Overview (https://www.e-verify.gov/employees/e-verify-overview) for English or Visión General de E-Verify (https://www.e-verify.gov/es/empleados/vision-general-de-e-verify) for Español. **For most roles, you can choose where to work - fully remote in one of the states listed below, in the office, or a hybrid of the two:** Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming