Who are we? 

At Equinix, we make the internet work faster, better, and more reliably. We hire hardworking people who thrive on solving hard problems and give them opportunities to hone new skills, try new approaches, and grow in new directions. Our culture is at the heart of our success and it’s our authentic, humble, gritty people who craft The Magic of Equinix. They share a real passion for winning and put the customer at the center of everything they do. 

If you are looking to join a company that can offer long term career opportunities on a global scale backed by a positive, and high energy culture, then Equinix is the place for you! 

Under Global leadership, the Category Manager manages multiple and complex categories for Major Capital Equipment (MCE), with cross-functional and regionally diverse scope. 

Accountable for building and creating the category plan and managing the plan closely with leadership.  

Summary: 

Manages multiple and complex categories with cross-functional and regionally diverse teams up to executive staff. May participate in the development of the business strategy while impacting business direction through the development of innovative strategies or services. Accountable for building, creating and managing the category plan(s). Responsible for proactive communications to leadership regarding plan(s) performance and collaborating closely regarding SWOT areas.  May support both regional and global category management functions. 

Responsibilities: 

Category Strategy 

• Drives a global perspective in determining and executing on category strategy. 

• Leads a vendor management strategy to reduce and consolidate global vendors for the category. 

• Develops, communicates and executes against consistent global procurement strategies and best practices. 

• Establishes and delivers procurement goals, metrics, and work plans to meet operational objectives. 

• Accountable for spend category management strategies and action plans. 

• Monitors and maintains full industry and market knowledge of category, suppliers, best practices, competitive landscape, etc. 

• Communicate and collaborate with all key stakeholders including executive level staff to ensure alignment of the overall strategy. 

• Communicate and implement strategy effectively throughout the relevant teams. 

Product Development 

• Leads global standardization and regional productization. 

• Accountable for new product insertion implementation and process. 

• Ownership of full product lifecycle, from inception through general availability to end of life. 

Supplier Management 

• Leads the end-to-end supplier management process. 

• Builds and maintains supplier relationships and drives improvement in the areas of cost, risk, and quality. 

• Identify and mitigate supplier risks in the areas of Strategic: financial, capacity, location, single sole source, spend, and revenue, pipeline, contracts 

• Educates suppliers on the mechanics of doing business with Equinix. 

• Identifies and resolves various supplier management problems. 

• Supports selection of new suppliers. 

• Acts as point of escalation for suppliers when needed. 

Contract Management 

• Accountable for all relevant documentation execution including contract SOW signature, supplier certification including insurance & ISO documents. 

• Partners with Legal on the contract lifecycle. 

• Works with business partners to develop and agree SOW, business and commercial requirements. 

• Negotiates contract details with suppliers. 

• Manages business requirements for Order Management & Delivery team. 

• Initiates supplier creation in the Source to Pay systems. 

Negotiations 

• Interacts globally and cross-regionally and partners with Regional Procurement, business leaders, and other key stakeholders to execute capital and operational purchases that deliver cost savings, reduce supplier lead times, and improve vendor performance. 

• Ensures appropriate supply agreements are in place and guides internal teams how to monitor adherence to the terms of the agreement. 

• Aligns with internal customers regarding best negotiation positions and provide stakeholders with a balanced view of contract risk and liabilities. 

• Directly engages suppliers at the appropriate levels to influence the best outcome for Equinix that exceeds the business requirements. 

Cost Savings 

• Drives and delivers cost savings opportunities above and beyond expectations. 

• Owns cost savings proposals and interacts closely with suppliers, and internal customers, to achieve the cost savings, commercial and other demonstrable business benefits. 

• Creates and maintains cost forecasts (reduction or increase) and cost-tracking for the category. 

Qualifications/Experience 

• +12 years of Engineering or Strategic Procurement experience required in the following Major Capital Equipment categories:  

• Critical - Generators, UPS, STS, Batteries 

• Mechanical - Air/Water Cooled Chillers, CRACs/CRAHs/CRAYs, CDUs, Heat Exchangers, Pumps, Cooling Towers, RTUs/MAUs 

• Experience in data center, mission critical, industrial, high tech industries preferre

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience required. 

• Master's degree preferred.