Senior Manager Strategy Sourcing & Operations Planning

Description

POSITION DESCRIPTION 

We are looking for a Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing & Operations Planning to join our Commercial Growth & Execution team, Grid & Energy Service Business Unit to support the execution of data center operations and Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) business initiatives. This role will be responsible for managing the operational processes required to engage, onboard, and manage key vendors and partners, including NDA coordination, contract administration support, vendor onboarding, budget tracking, payment processing, and ongoing vendor management. The role will also support the development of standardized procurement processes and the implementation of required IT systems and operational infrastructure to establish a scalable procurement function within a newly formed organization. 

In addition, this position will support strategic planning and execution planning for key data center-related hub facilities, such as fabrication centers, monitoring centers, staging facilities, or other operational support locations. Depending on business needs, the role may also support or lead the actual execution and build-out of these facilities. 

The ideal candidate will have experience in data centers, energy, power systems, software solutions, building solutions, infrastructure, or related industries, and will work closely with Commercial, Operations, Engineering, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and external vendor partners.  

LOCATION & WORK ARRANGEMENT

RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Manage end-to-end vendor operation processes required for data center operations and EaaS business execution, including NDA coordination, contract support, vendor onboarding, budget tracking, payment processing, and vendor communication. 
• Establish standardized procurement processes for data center-related sourcing, vendor qualification, purchasing, contract administration, approval workflows, and operational handoffs. 
• Support the development of procurement infrastructure for a newly formed organization, including policies, procedures, governance models, vendor management frameworks, approval matrices, and required IT system requirements. 
• Coordinate closely with Legal, Finance, Engineering, Operations, Commercial, and Procurement teams to ensure vendor engagement, contracting, budgeting, and payment processes are executed efficiently and in compliance with internal requirements. 
• Support strategic sourcing and vendor management activities across key categories, including software vendors, EMS/PMS solution providers, power system vendors, data center infrastructure suppliers, building solution providers, and operational service partners. 
• Lead planning and execution-readiness activities for strategic data center-related hub locations, including fabrication centers, monitoring centers, staging facilities, warehouse facilities, or other operational support centers. 
• Develop business cases, execution plans, timelines, resource requirements, operating models, and implementation roadmaps for hub facility setup and related operational infrastructure. 
• Track procurement and vendor-related risks, identify process gaps, recommend mitigation actions, and prepare executive-level updates, vendor status reports, dashboards, and operational planning materials. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• 7+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supply chain management, operations planning, vendor management, project management, or related business operations. 
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent experience. 
• Experience managing vendor onboarding, NDA/contract coordination, purchase/payment workflows, budget tracking, and cross-functional stakeholder coordination. 
• Strong understanding of procurement process design, vendor management, operational governance, and sourcing-related business operations. 
• Proven ability to build new processes, operating models, and scalable business infrastructure in a fast-paced or newly formed organization. 
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, vendors, timelines, and internal stakeholders simultaneously. 
• Experience working cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, Engineering, Operations, Commercial, and Procurement teams. 
• Strong analytical, communication, documentation, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prepare structured reports, executive summaries, process documents, and implementation plans. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools, especially Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and project tracking tools. 
• Ability to travel up to 10% as needed to support vendor engagement, facility planning, project execution, and operational setup activities. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Experience in data centers, energy solutions, power systems, building solutions, infrastructure, software, or technology-related industries. 
• Experience working with software vendors, EMS/PMS providers, power equipment suppliers, electrical infrastructure vendors, data center equipment suppliers, or building solution providers. 
• Prior experience supporting procurement, sourcing, or vendor management for data center development, infrastructure deployment, energy projects, or large-scale operational programs. 
• Experience establishing procurement processes, ERP/procurement systems, vendor portals, workflow automation tools, or other sourcing-related IT systems. 
• Experience with facility planning or operational hub setup, such as fabrication centers, monitoring centers, warehouse/staging facilities, operations command centers, or similar infrastructure. 
• Familiarity with Energy-as-a-Service, BESS, distributed energy resources, grid services, data center operations, or energy infrastructure business models. 
• Experience in vendor commercial negotiation, cost modeling, budget planning, procurement KPI management, and executive-level reporting. 
• MBA, Master’s degree, PMP, CPSM, CSCP, Lean Six Sigma, or other relevant professional certification is a plus. 

The salary range is required by the California Pay Transparency Act and may differ depending on the location of those candidates hired nationwide. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to, skill set, education, licenses and certifications, essential job duties and requirements, and the necessary experience relative to the job’s minimum qualifications.

*This target salary range is for CA positions only and should not be interpreted as an offer of compensation.

hqca-recruiting@qcells.com