Senior Category Manager

About Us:

HBX Group is a leading B2B ecosystem player in the TravelTech space, connecting and empowering businesses in the ever-evolving world of travel. We drive growth for our clients and partners while removing friction from the end-to-end travel experience. Our cloud-based technology platforms offer fast and reliable access to a unique portfolio of travel products & services, while rich data and intelligence seamlessly connect supply and demand worldwide.

We have over more than 3,000 experts worldwide, including specialists on the ground who provide insights and support to boost trading even further, especially in the most hard-to-reach segments. This unique blend of technology, data and passionate people serves as a catalyst for all businesses aiming to unlock their full potential in the travel arena.

Job Summary

The Senior Category Manager – IT & Technology Procurement is responsible for driving measurable cost optimization, maximizing total cost of ownership (TCO) value, and protecting operational cash flow through advanced strategic sourcing, software license governance, and rigorous cloud and infrastructure contract management across complex enterprise technology categories. The role acts as a primary commercial advisor and technology procurement lead, partnering closely with IT, Architecture, and Business leadership to align technology investments, mitigate cyber and compliance risks, and govern strategic vendor relationships across the organization.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing initiatives across core technology categories—including software, applications, cloud infrastructure, AI platforms, and IT services—through demand analysis, market assessments, RFx execution, complex negotiations, and contract awards.
• Own category strategies for IT and Technology, aligning software, cloud, infrastructure, and technical services with business priorities, technology roadmaps, and long-term value creation.
• Drive enterprise vendor strategies for key platforms and ecosystems, including SAP (S/4HANA, BTP, BRIM, SAC), Salesforce (CRM, Agentforce), cloud hyper-scalers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP), and modern data architectures (Snowflake, Databricks).
• Leverage commercial AI understanding to negotiate emerging AI licensing, token- and consumption-based pricing models, LLM agreements, and seat-based AI add-ons while controlling consumption growth.
• Drive spend management and license governance, optimizing cloud usage (committed spend vs. pay-as-you-go), eliminating shelfware, rationalizing software suppliers, and delivering total cost of ownership (TCO) savings.
• Embed data governance and tech risk management into supplier contracts, partnering with Legal and Security, enforce privacy laws (GDPR), cybersecurity standards (SOC 2, ISO 27001), data ownership, and AI output/IP rights.
• Oversee contract lifecycle management, securing favorable commercial terms, renewal price caps, audit protection, robust SLAs, and full visibility of contractual milestones across cloud, SaaS, and software contracts.
• Act as a senior procurement advisor to IT, Enterprise Architecture, Data & AI, and Business leaders, guiding commercial strategy, risk mitigation, and purchasing decisions.
• Mentor and coach junior category managers and procurement colleagues, sharing best practices in tech negotiation, cloud commercial structures, and software licensing (without formal people management responsibility).
• Partner closely with Finance, Legal, Cyber Security, and IT to ensure technology procurement outcomes are commercially sound, compliant, and aligned to financial objectives.
• Produce executive-level reporting and dashboards, tracking spend metrics and monitoring market trends in SaaS, cloud pricing, AI licensing, and emerging tech delivery models.

Required skills

• Technical background in IT, Systems Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, SaaS Platforms and SW Solutions.
• Knowledge of enterprise ecosystems, including ERP’s, CRM’s, Data Governance solutions and Cloud’s.
• Understanding of AI commercial models, including token-based pricing, consumption metrics, LLM licensing, and AI IP/data rights.
• Proficiency in cloud cost management and FinOps, optimizing committed spend, consumption tracking, and reserved capacity.
• Deep understanding of software licensing mechanics, user tiering, audit defense, and subscription or license rationalization.
• Knowledge of tech risk and data governance, enforcing Data Protection, and cybersecurity standards.
• Proven track record in complex commercial negotiations, including multi-year ELAs, cloud commitments, and top-tier tech renewals.
• Strong contract management expertise, securing renewal price caps, benchmark protect