L.A. Care Health Plan · 10 hours ago
Manager, Category Management and Procurement
Los Angeles, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$118K/yr - $188K/yr
6+ years expL.A. Care Health Plan is the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, serving low-income residents of Los Angeles County. The Manager of Category Management and Procurement will oversee the development and execution of category strategies and procurement processes, ensuring high-value vendor relationships and compliance with organizational priorities.
FitnessGovernmentHealth Care
Responsibilities
Manages and leads the overall category management and procurement process to ensure high-value execution and integrity of all vendor relationships, pricing and contracts within L.A. Care source-to-pay
Oversees the development and execution of category strategies that align with organizational priorities and deliver measurable savings, efficiency, and compliance
Leverages and optimizes source-to-pay (S2P) systems to improve transparency, accuracy, and cycle time
Ensures vendor data integrity, pricing accuracy, and timely contract execution
Develops requirements, reports, and staff training that reinforce continuous improvement and effective use of procurement systems
Manage and develops staff, including, but not limited to monitoring of day-to-day activities of staff, monitoring of staff performance, mentoring, training, and cross-training of staff, handling of questions or issues, etc. raised by staff, encourage staff to provide recommendations for relevant process and systems enhancements, among others
Ensures staff are proficient in category management methodologies, procurement policies, and S2P tools
Provides guidance, feedback, and escalation support to enable effective decision-making and issue resolution
Responsible for reporting, budgeting, and policy implementation
Manages complex, cross-functional sourcing and contracting projects, engaging and updating key stakeholders, developing timelines, leads others to complete deliverables on time and ensures implementation upon approval
Leads Vendor Selection Process/Request for x (RFxs) and negotiations on select high value vendor contracts from cross-functional teams and provides consultative expertise to the team on other vendor RFxs
Ensures documentation, evaluation criteria and award decisions are compliant, transparent and aligned with L.A. Care standards
Plans, implements and refines systems and procedures to maximize operating efficiency and achieve strategic priorities
Acts as a subject matter expert (SME) for cross-functional teams on proper category management and procurement execution that balances risks and flexibility
Ensures end-to-end source-to-pay process complies to L.A. Care policies while incorporating best practice for effectiveness, efficiency, and better customer service
Implements end-to-end category management and procurement procedures that are compliant to L.A. Care policies and meet L.A. Care's objectives
Ensures category management and procurement procedures and training materials complement procurement processes
Drives continuous process improvement, automation and adoption of best-practice sourcing governance
Partners with internal departments to develop effective contract processes, tools, and standard procedures while leveraging the contract management system to its fully extent possible
Responsible for safeguarding the acceptable contract clauses, language, templates, and tools pre-approved by the legal team
Collaborates with key stakeholders to manage risk, maintain compliance and improve contract quality and turnaround time
Leads and facilitates formal meetings with senior internal staff in developing strategic and tactical plans for category management, vendor relationship management, savings opportunities and/or RFx/contracting strategies that allow L.A. Care to function more effectively
Performs vendor contract inventory analysis and reporting, including contracts expirations, spend and compliance data, for review
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's Degree in Business or Related Field
At least 6 years of relevant experience managing the full contract lifecycle for service-related categories and commodities
At least 4 years of experience in leading, supervising, and/or managing staff, whether directly or indirectly
Experience drafting, negotiating, red lining, finalizing and managing complex supplier agreements for a wide variety of goods and services
Strong legal and business acumen with demonstrated ability to manage complex negotiations and relationships
Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills to secure most favorable terms, prices and/services levels and contract terms
Ability to provide direction to team members to execute category management, procurement, and contract efforts with outside vendors
Ability to negotiate and manage relationships and contracts with outside vendors that are in the best interests of L.A. Care
Tactful, diplomatic in implementing new processes, procedures, and systems across L.A. Care and ability to convince staff and management why changes are needed
Skilled in driving and integrating organizational change across all levels
Must be proactive, resourceful, and able to find alternative solutions to deliver results
Demonstrated ability to communicate, problem solve, and work effectively with business, procurement and legal professionals
Ability to be consultative to internal stakeholders on developing the best category management and strategic sourcing (including contract) options
Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects
Strong internal stakeholder management skills: capacity to listen, build trusting relationships in all levels of the organization, understand and capture stakeholder's needs and deliver effective solutions
Good knowledge of legal environment related to purchasing contracts and framework agreements
Strong analytical skills, with keen understanding of relevant cost drivers
Demonstrated ability to select, manage, develop and coach others
Persuasion Skills: Effective negotiator who exhibits high levels of personal integrity and honesty
Skills in planning and coordinating vendor visits and negotiations, and comprehensive knowledge of market conditions
Understanding of the flow and accounting requirements to facilitate document flow and efficiency
Ability to enforce policy compliance
Strong interpersonal skills for building relationships, fostering teamwork, and creating a positive work environment
Ability to guide and support team members
Excellent ability to set clear goals, develop strategic plans to achieve those goals, and inspire others to work towards a shared vision
Skilled in mediating disputes and resolving conflicts in a fair and constructive manner
Must have a deep understanding of financial principles
Ability and excellent knowledge in developing and managing budgets, forecasting future financial outcomes, and making informed decisions about resource allocation
Demonstrated ability to make informed decisions
Deep understanding of the industry, market dynamics, and organizational operations to identify opportunities and navigate challenges
Strong ability and knowledge to analyze market trends, anticipate future changes, and develop long-term strategies that align with the company's goals
Preferred
Master's Degree in Business or Related Field
Benefits
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Tuition Reimbursement
Retirement Plans
Medical, Dental and Vision
Wellness Program
Volunteer Time Off (VTO)
Company
L.A. Care Health Plan
L.A. Care’s mission is to provide access to quality health care for L.A.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
L.A. Care Health Plan has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2024 (1)
2023 (1)
2021 (3)
2020 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Melanie Rainer
Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer
Recent News
MarketScreener
2025-08-27
2025-08-04
Company data provided by crunchbase