Category Manager – Travel, Meetings & Events

We are seeking an experienced Sourcing Category Manager – Travel, Meetings & Events to join our Global Sourcing & Procurement organization. This role will support the Travel, Meetings & Events category, partnering with business stakeholders and suppliers to deliver competitive commercial outcomes, service excellence, supplier performance, innovation, and risk mitigation.

The ideal candidate will bring strong strategic sourcing and category management experience, preferably within corporate travel, meetings and events, hospitality, or related indirect services. This individual will be comfortable navigating a diverse supplier landscape that may include travel management companies, airlines, hotels, car rental and ground transportation providers, meetings and events agencies, venue sourcing partners, and travel and event technology providers.

Success in this role requires strong commercial and analytical skills, excellent stakeholder management capabilities, and the ability to balance cost optimization with service quality, traveler and attendee experience, operational requirements, and business needs.

This role requires 4 days per week in our Atlanta office.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies across Travel, Meetings & Events, with a focus on cost optimization, service quality, supplier performance, innovation, risk management, and overall business value.
• Lead strategic initiatives across areas such as corporate travel, travel management services, air, hotel, car rental, ground transportation, meetings and events services, venue sourcing, and travel and event technology.
• Negotiate meetings and events services, including event management, venue sourcing, hotel and meeting-related agreements, event technology, and other supporting services.
• Analyze category spend, supplier performance, market intelligence, and business requirements to identify opportunities for cost savings, cost avoidance, demand management, supplier optimization, process improvement, and innovation.
• Monitor Travel, Meetings & Events market dynamics and emerging trends, including changes in air and hotel pricing, supplier capacity, technology, distribution models, and business travel and meetings trends, and translate those insights into sourcing strategies. Identify opportunities to improve the overall economics and effectiveness of the Travel, Meetings & Events program.
• Partner with Travel, Meetings & Events program leadership, Finance, Legal, business stakeholders, regional teams, and other cross-functional partners to understand requirements and develop solutions aligned with business objectives.
• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships and establish effective supplier governance through business reviews, KPI and SLA management, issue resolution, performance improvement, and innovation discussions.
• Support both global and regional initiatives, taking into consideration differences in local markets, supplier capabilities, business requirements, and regulatory environments.
• Partner with stakeholders to support adoption of preferred suppliers and maximize value from negotiated programs and agreements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, procurement, or a related discipline within a complex corporate environment.
• Experience sourcing Travel, Meetings & Events, hospitality, or closely related indirect service categories strongly preferred.
• Understanding of the corporate Travel, Meetings & Events supplier ecosystem, which may include travel management companies, airlines, hotels, car rental and ground transportation providers, meeting and event management companies, venue sourcing partners, and travel/event technology providers.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing sourcing strategies that deliver measurable cost savings, cost avoidance, service improvements, supplier innovation, and risk mitigation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with experience leveraging spend data, supplier data, benchmarking, market intelligence, and commercial analysis to inform sourcing decisions.
• Ability to balance commercial objectives with service quality, operational requirements, and traveler and attendee experience.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build relationships, influence decisions, and collaborate effectively with stakeholders across functions and geographies.
• Strong supplier relationship management capabilities, including experience with KPIs, SLAs, supplier business reviews, performance management, and continuous improvement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency with sourcing, procurement, contract management, spend analytics, and related technology platforms.

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American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a global leader in commercial and personal insurance solutions; we are one of the world’s most far-reaching property casualty networks. It is an exciting time to join us — across our operations, we are thinking in new and innovative ways to deliver ever-better solutions to our customers. At AIG, you can go further to support individuals, businesses, and communities, helping them to manage risk, respond to times of uncertainty and discover new potential. We invest in our largest asset, our people, through continuous learning and development, in a culture that celebrates everyone for who they are and what they want to become.

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We’re committed to creating a culture that truly respects and celebrates each other’s talents, backgrounds, cultures, opinions and goals. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging through learning, cultural awareness activities and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). With global chapters, ERGs are a cornerstone for our culture of inclusion. The talent of our people is one of AIG’s greatest assets, and we are honored that our drive for positive change has been recognized by numerous recent awards and accreditations.

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