Your mission

As a (Senior) Category Manager IT & Software, you own the strategic procurement of 1KOMMA5°'s entire IT landscape — from SaaS and licences to hardware and IT services. You do not think in individual orders; you think in volume. You consolidate, bundle, and negotiate so that every euro counts. You go beyond the traditional procurement role — actively challenging the existing software and hardware landscape, identifying redundancies, and driving consolidation initiatives. At the same time, you guide new requirements through a structured process from market screening to contract award. You work closely with business units across the company — as a strategic partner, but also as a critical sparring partner who questions needs and presents alternatives.

Your Responsibilities:

Strategic Procurement & Category Ownership

• End-to-end responsibility for the SaaS, licences, hardware, and IT services categories
• Development and execution of a clear category strategy focused on volume consolidation, cost reduction, and sustainable supplier relationships
• Execution of RFQ/RFP processes, recurring negotiations, and complex price negotiations with IT vendors and software providers
• Management and development of existing supplier relationships with a focus on contract quality and cost optimisation

Enterprise Cost Cutting & Volume Bundling

• Consolidation of software landscapes: identifying redundancies, overlaps, and consolidation potential across business units
• Development and execution of ambitious cost-down initiatives through volume bundling and contract optimisation
• Building structured forecasting for licence and hardware volumes to proactively manage demand and contract cycles
• Negotiation of enterprise agreements and framework contracts with strategic IT suppliers

Demand Management & Business Units

• Close collaboration with business units as a strategic partner and critical sparring partner
• Actively challenging existing software and hardware needs: Why does a solution exist? Are there alternatives? Can multiple tools be replaced by one?
• Guiding new requirements from structured market screening through to contract award — including vendor evaluation and comparison
• Promoting a cross-functional awareness of cost and efficiency in the use of IT resources

Process & Reporting

• KPI-based steering and data-driven reporting across all managed categories
• Standardisation of workflows in ERP and procurement systems
• Active knowledge sharing and promotion of best practices within the team

Your profile

• Degree in Business Informatics, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a comparable field — ideally with a technical or IT-related focus
• Several years of experience in strategic indirect procurement of IT hardware and software
• Strong understanding of SaaS models, licence structures, hardware procurement, and IT service contracts
• Experience conducting RFQ/RFP processes, recurring negotiations, and structuring enterprise agreements and framework contracts
• Proven track record in volume consolidation and delivering cost-down initiatives
• Strong ability to critically challenge requirements and evaluate alternatives in a structured way
• Highly analytical and data-driven, with a solid understanding of cost structures and contract models
• Confident communicator, persuasive with both business stakeholders and external suppliers at all levels
• Fluent in English