Manager, Strategic Sourcing (IT)

Manager, Strategic Sourcing (IT)

Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!

Why you'll love this job

This role is part of the Technology category within the Procurement team in the Finance Division, reporting to the Director, Strategic Sourcing, Technology Procurement. You will join a growing Strategic Sourcing organization that plays a critical role in shaping how the company engages with key technology suppliers and invests in innovative solutions. You will lead a team of Technology Procurement professionals responsible for driving long-term cost reductions, improving supplier performance, and executing robust, market-informed category strategies. Procurement is one of the fastest-growing professions in the world, and in this role, you will directly influence high-visibility initiatives that support the company’s operational and financial goals. As a leader in Technology Sourcing, you will shape category direction, champion data-driven decision-making, and provide thought leadership on how to optimize our supplier ecosystem. Your work will be highly visible to senior leadership and will provide opportunities to showcase strategic thinking, business storytelling, and executive-level communication. You will also collaborate with cross-functional teams and external partners to strengthen relationships, enhance supplier accountability, and deliver value-based outcomes. This role offers a unique opportunity to expand your leadership capabilities, grow your executive presence, and deepen your expertise in a dynamic, technology-focused procurement environment.

What You'll Do

This list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced. Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations.

• Embody American Airlines leadership attributes and model the behaviors of Caring, Collaboration, Development, Results and Future.
• Lead and mentor a team of Technology Procurement professionals across hardware, software, infrastructure, and IT services categories, driving optimal team performance, ongoing skill development, and leadership bench strength.
• Manage the full IT supplier lifecycle, including sourcing, procurement, negotiations, contract management, and supplier performance evaluation.
• Develop, implement, and track robust IT category strategies grounded in deep market analysis and aligned with company and stakeholder priorities, delivering measurable year-over-year cost reductions and working capital improvements while ensuring supplier accountability and performance.
• Communicate and present category strategy recommendations and results to all levels of leadership, including Officer-level stakeholders, using clear storytelling to convey complex concepts.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with supplier executive teams and internal stakeholders; lead regular business reviews to affirm expectations, review objectives and key results, drive root-cause accountability, identify solutions, and track plans/results.
• Define and oversee cross-supplier performance management and governance to ensure high standards of supplier accountability, SLA adherence, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct supplier spend and consumption analytics in partnership with Finance to identify optimization opportunities, including contract consolidation and restructuring.
• Research and interpret the technology marketplace (market research and competitive analysis) to understand supplier and market characteristics, identify sourcing trends, and uncover new opportunities for value creation and category positioning.
• Conduct supplier due diligence using scorecards, annual reviews, reporting metrics, dashboards, and financial analysis; lead Quarterly Business Reviews focused on SLAs to drive accountability, proactively identify improvements, and monitor progress throughout the contract period.
• Manage supplier performance by addressing conflict resolution, escalations, and resolution procedures promptly and effectively to ensure issues are resolved and continuous improvement is maintained.
• Support compliance audits regarding contractual adherence and collaborate with internal stakeholders and business units to develop and maintain ongoing entitlement controls.
• Partner with Legal and Sourcing/Procurement teams throughout the supplier lifecycle to ensure robust contract operations, governance, and policy alignment.
• Build strong partnerships with existing and new strategic suppliers to enable high-quality, efficient support for internal stakeholders and business units; champion continuous improvement to enhance quality, efficiency, and cost savings across sourcing activities.
• Stay abreast of emerging AI technologies and tools relevant to category management; lead pilot projects to test and scale AI applications that deliver measurable performance and cost savings.

All you'll need for success

Minimum Qualifications – Education & Prior Job Experience

• Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent experience/training
• 7 years of relevant experience in Procurement, Supply Chain, Finance, Economics, or Business Administration/Management, Computer Science, Information Systems Management, or other related field
• Experience leading a Strategic Sourcing team with direct reports

Preferred Qualifications – Education & Prior Job Experience

• Post-graduate degree in relevant field or equivalent experience/training
• 12+ years of relevant experience in Procurement
• 5+ years of experience leading IT Strategic Sourcing team(s) with direct reports

Skills, Licenses, And Certifications

• Ability to be an action-oriented leader with the natural ability and desire to effectively engage employees, stakeholders, and suppliers to produce strong results
• Ability to demonstrate leadership skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and effectively lead those in their span of care
• Ability to lead teams to develop and implement effective category strategies
• Skills in negotiation, contract management, and driving supplier performance
• Strong analytical thinking and strategic problem-solving skills
• Strong process analysis/development skills
• Strong proficiency in data analysis tools (Excel, SQL, Power BI/Tableau/Alteryx)
• Demonstrated ability to drive change and influence cross-functional teams
• Ability to demonstrate an aptitude for problem-solving and strong quantitative and analytical skills
• Ability to manage multiple and diverse projects with changing priorities
• Passion for sustainability and sustainable sourcing practices
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• Knowledge of Coupa or other procurement related sourcing tools and systems
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout

What You'll Get

Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer:

• Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network.
• Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more.
• Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version of yourself – that’s why our wellness programs provide you with all the right tools, resources and support you need.
• 401(k) Program: Available upon hire and, depending on the workgroup, employer contributions to your 401(k) program are available after one year.
• Additional Benefits: Other great benefits include our Employee Assistance Program, pet insurance and discounts on hotels, cars, cruises and more.

Feel free to be yourself at American

From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity are the foundation of the dynamic workforce at American Airlines. Our 20+ Employee Business Resource Groups are focused on connecting our team members to our customers, suppliers, communities and shareholders, helping team members reach their full potential and creating an inclusive work environment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse world.

Are you ready to feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction as you do your part to keep the largest airline in the world running smoothly as we care for people on life’s journey? Feel free to be yourself at American.

Key skills/competency

• Strategic Sourcing
• IT Procurement
• Team Leadership
• Contract Management
• Supplier Performance Management
• Negotiation
• Market Analysis
• Data Analysis
• Stakeholder Management
• Technology Sourcing