Category Manager, Operations Indirect Services | Full-Time | Remote

Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in premium live entertainment infrastructure and services, with a platform spanning venue development and end-to-end capabilities across venue management, hospitality, and sponsorship sales. Founded in 2015, the company serves a collection of seven world-class owned venues and a client roster of the most iconic arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions, spanning four continents. 

The Category Manager, Operations Indirect Services is responsible for developing and executing enterprise-wide category strategies across operational support services. This includes categories such as facilities management, janitorial, security, staffing, waste management, uniforms, equipment services, temporary labor, and other venue/operational indirect spend. This role drives total value creation—balancing cost optimization, quality, service, risk management, sustainability, and revenue enablement—while supporting diverse operating models across venues and regions. This role embodies Procurement with a Purpose: building high-performing supplier partnerships that elevate operational performance, protect the brand, and deliver measurable enterprise value. The ideal candidate will bring deep sourcing expertise, strong leadership, and a collaborative mindset to transform procurement into a strategic business partner.

This role pays an annual salary of $120,000-$145,000 and is bonus eligible.

Benefits for Full-Time roles: Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays)

This position will remain open until June 5, 2026.

Category Strategy & Enterprise Value Creation

• Develop and execute multi-year Operations Indirect Services category strategies, and playbooks aligned to business growth, venue needs, and market dynamics
• Lead category segmentation supply market analysis to identify value levers
• Identify and deliver value across cost savings, revenue opportunities, sponsorship alignment, and service and product performance improvements
• Balance enterprise standardization with venue-level flexibility
• Lead major RFPs, contract negotiations, and supplier selection in collaboration with business stakeholders and legal.

Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Leadership

• Lead complex sourcing initiatives including RFPs, negotiations, supplier selection, supplier consolidation efforts, and renegotiations
• Structure competitive commercial models (address pricing, service levels, inflation protection, and risk mitigation
• Negotiate master service agreements, SLAs, KPIs, indemnification, and performance terms in partnership with Legal
• Ensure sourcing strategies align with governance, compliance, regulatory requirement, and financial controls

Supplier Partnership & Performance Management

• Build and manage strategic supplier relationships
• Monitor supplier performance, including cost, service, quality, and compliance, and develop supplier improvement initiatives.
• Partner with Risk and Compliance to support insurance, safety, and regulatory adherence
• Drive continuous improvement and accountability on service levels, response times, safety standards, and operational metrics
• Lead supplier rationalization and performance improvement initiatives

Stakeholder Partnership & Influence

• Serve as a trusted advisor to Operations, Culinary, Venue Leadership, and Finance
• Translate operational needs into scalable sourcing strategies
• Influence without authority in a highly matrixed, fast-paced environment
• Drive adoption of preferred suppliers and contracts through collaboration and change management
• Partner with Finance, Risk, and Legal to manage contractual risk and compliance.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to Operations, Venue Leadership, Facilities, HR, Finance, and Risk teams
• Translate operational pain points into scalable sourcing strategies
• Drive adoption of preferred suppliers and contracts through change management and engagement
• Influence without authority across decentralized, fast-paced environments

Supplier Inclusion, Sustainability & Purpose

• Advance supplier inclusion goals by identifying, onboarding, and scaling diverse and local suppliers
• Integrate sustainability and community impact objectives into service categories
• Ensure proper tracking and reporting of supplier metrics

Financial & Data Leadership

• Track and report on sourcing savings, pipeline, and category performance
• Partner with Finance to validate savings and ensure compliance with budget expectations
• Leverage procurement technology (e.g., Coupa) to enhance visibility, automate workflows, and enable data-driven decisions.
• Continuously evaluate and improve category management and sourcing tools, scorecards, and metrics.

Procurement Transformation Enablement

• Support enterprise procurement transformation initiatives, including process standardization and digital enablement
• Champion best practices in category management, sourcing, and supplier governance
• Contribute to a high-performance, values-driven procurement culture

Additional ad-hoc responsibilities will be needed as the program grows and matures, list above is not exhaustive.

Required Attributes:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, or related field
• 3–5+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or category management
• Proven experience managing indirect or operational services categories preferred
• Demonstrated negotiation and contract management experience
• Strong analytical and financial skills
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive adoption in decentralized environments
• Experience with procurement platforms (g., Coupa), supplier diversity, ESG initiatives, and procurement-driven innovation

Preferred Attributes:

• Passion for live entertainment, culinary innovation, and venue experience.
• Experience in multi-site or operationally complex environments
• Strategic thinker with a bias for execution and results.
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Supplier Relationship Management

Travel Requirements

• This position may travel up to 30-50% of the time

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.