The Opportunity
Reporting to the Senior Category Manager, Engineering, Construction, Maintenance and Fleet, and working closely with business unit partners and supply chain stakeholders, the Category Lead will lead the CM&I (Construction Management & Inspection), Commissioning, and 3PI (Third-Party Inspection) categories across all North American business units.
The Category Lead is accountable for developing and executing category strategies that generate measurable value across CM&I, Commissioning and 3PI services, leading supplier relationship management and performance governance, and overseeing sourcing and contracting activities across the entire contract lifecycle.
What you'll do
- Lead stakeholder engagement with business unit partners and supply chain to define category objectives, demand drivers, service levels and sourcing roadmaps
- Own the development, socialization and execution of multi-year category strategies, including value levers, risk mitigation and implementation plans
- Serve as the commercial lead and subject matter expert for CM&I, Commissioning and 3PI (Third-Party Inspection) services (internal demand/spend, external market dynamics, supplier landscape)
- Lead supplier relationship management for strategic suppliers, including governance cadences, performance scorecards, continuous improvement plans and issue escalation
- Lead complex sourcing initiatives end-to-end for CM&I, Commissioning and 3PI (strategy, RFx, technical/commercial evaluation, award), ensuring compliance to all policies, processes and governance requirements
- Develop negotiation strategies and commercial recommendations grounded in total cost, market intelligence, contract risk and business requirements
- Lead contractual and commercial negotiations for high-value/complex agreements, partnering with Legal, Finance and risk stakeholders as required
- Prepare and present category strategies, business cases and recommendations to senior stakeholders
- Oversee contract governance, ensuring appropriate approvals, documentation and audit-ready contract records are maintained
- Support the implementation and ongoing utilization of SAP Fieldglass for CM&I services (requirements, supplier enablement, adoption, and compliance)
- Provide coaching and functional guidance to category specialists/analysts and contribute to continuous improvement of category management practices
- Manage post-award contract performance (KPIs, amendments/change orders, claims/commercial issues), ensuring value realization and alignment to contract terms for field execution, inspection/quality and commissioning readiness
- Track and report savings and broader value outcomes (cost, risk, performance, sustainability) against agreed category strategies and sourcing plans
Minimum qualifications
- University degree with minimum 10+ years of related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered
- Experience with CM&I, commissioning and/or third-party inspection (3PI) service contracts in energy and/or industrial project environments
- Strong planning, project management and organizational skills, with the ability to multi-task under high pressure situations with competing priorities and a sense of urgency
- Strong commercial acumen with a strong background in contracting activities
- Experience with relevant systems and tools, such as SAP and Ariba.
Preferred qualifications
- Ability to handle competing priorities on a timely basis with a high degree of accuracy, strong organization, time management and planning skills
- Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills
- Demonstrated experience leading category strategy development, including stakeholder alignment, multi-year roadmaps and value realization
- Strong supplier relationship and performance management experience, including governance, scorecards and executive-level engagement
- Relevant industry knowledge.
TC Energy
450 - 1 Street S.W.
Calgary
Alberta Canada
www.tcenergy.com/
