TruGrid is a leading contractor of battery energy storage systems and solar projects, dedicated to advancing the energy transition across North America. Our commitment to excellence in both our projects and our workplace has positioned TruGrid as a growing and trusted employer and partner in the renewable energy industry. 

Headquartered in Houston, TX, our team brings extensive experience in the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), and integration of utility-scale renewable energy projects. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, we deliver high-quality, cost-effective energy solutions that meet the needs of our clients and contribute to a sustainable future. In addition to our EPC expertise, TruGrid has a robust operations & maintenance division that services both energy storage and solar assets.

At TruGrid, we believe the success of every project is driven by the strength of the people behind it. That’s why recruiting and retaining top-tier talent is a priority to ensure excellence across every level of our operations.

If you’re passionate about creating a better, more sustainable future, TruGrid offers a unique opportunity to work alongside some of the industry’s most skilled project execution teams and engineers.

Role Summary

The Category Manager Solar and Energy Storage is responsible for driving Category excellence across the enterprise focusing on Solar products and components. This role plays a crucial role in achieving financial and operational improvements by strategically procuring goods and services. This position reports to the Sr. Director of Category Management. This position is in accordance with the aforementioned and working hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00am to 5:00pm or 9:00am to 6:00pm local time. Overtime and weekend working hours may be required as needed. This position is expected to travel up to 40%.

Essential Job Function & Responsibilities

• Help to drive corporate initiatives and profit improvement, while delivering the following to the business:
• Category Planning:
• Work with corporate team, business units, and regional stakeholders to prioritize an evolving portfolio of high-value process improvement and sourcing initiatives.
• Serve as a full partner to the business in evaluating and challenging the status quo to surface value opportunities.
• Lead the aggregation, normalization, and analysis of spend data to identify potential value opportunities.
• Ensure proper sequencing and business support for value capture initiatives.
• Sourcing and Contracting:
• Drive sourcing projects emerging from category planning.
• Define goals, including roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
• Incorporate business requirements into sourcing plans and RFP strategies.
• Manage the planning and launch of RFx events, leveraging eSourcing tools as appropriate.
• Enhance competition by leveraging spend and qualified new suppliers.
• Leverage market trends and intelligence to drive value and provide guidance to stakeholders and businesses.
• Coordinate and lead negotiations; help stakeholders understand trade-offs and benefits of negotiation strategies/outcomes.
• Develop global/regional contracts that are commercially sound and provide optimum protection of company assets. Develop comprehensive implementation with stakeholders and end users.
• Quantify and report both identified and implemented sourcing project results.
• Process Improvement and Strategy Development:
• Identify and capture profit improvement opportunities beyond leveraged sourcing, e.g., demand management opportunities, insource versus outsource decisions, efficiencies in the company’s comprehensive supply chain, and/or other strategic and operational process improvements.
• Ensure appropriate cross-functional partnering on process improvement projects.
• Track and work with corporate finance to report results for identified projects and when applicable, work with other functions across company to replicate projects with positive results.
• Supplier Relationship Management:
• Foster relationships with suppliers to create short-term and long-term value for the company.
• Lead global business reviews with strategic suppliers to ensure performance against contracted obligations and business unit expectations.
• Anticipate and minimize performance issues via use of key performance indicators (KPIs).
• When performance issues emerge, identify root causes and drive for efficient resolution of issues at hand by working across both internal and external stakeholders.
  
  
  

Required Qualifications

• This Position requires a bachelor’s degree engineering or business Acumen
• Seven to ten years of progressive supply management experience in the Solar Industry
• Team player with and out of the box thinking personality
• Focused individual with strong analytical and negotiation skills
• TruGrid is currently only considering candidates located in AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, ID, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NH, NJ, OK, PA, TN, and TX.**