Category Manager - Network Cabling

Overview Category Manager – Network Cabling

Role focus: This role focuses on the sourcing, contracting, and supplier management of structured cabling and physical network infrastructure within Microsoft’s data center environment. The successful candidate will combine technical expertise in network cabling with experience in supplier, project, program, commercial, or contract management. In addition to leading the network cabling category, the role supports selected data center infrastructure, maintenance, operational, and service contract categories.

Although network cabling procurement is the core focus, the role will also manage other data centre contract categories, including selected IT, mechanical, electrical, maintenance, upgrade and operational service agreements.

Responsibilities Key Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end sourcing for network cabling, including technical specification review, supplier identification and qualification, tendering, commercial evaluation, negotiation and contracting for both cabling materials and installation labour.

Partner with engineering, design, construction and data centre operations teams to translate technical requirements into clear scopes of work, bills of materials, installation standards, acceptance criteria and supplier obligations.

Evaluate cabling contractors and manufacturers on technical capability, installation quality, safety, capacity, delivery performance, commercial value and compliance with applicable standards.

Manage network cabling contracts through delivery, including changes, risks, milestones, service levels, claims, cost controls and performance improvement.

Build strategic relationships with cabling manufacturers, distributors and installation partners, using KPIs and scorecards to improve quality, availability, cost and delivery.

Bring Ability to apply technical expertise to sourcing and contracting decisions to sourcing decisions, challenge specifications and supplier proposals constructively, and identify practical alternatives without compromising operational reliability.

Manage the financial and commercial aspects of contracts, including purchase orders, invoices, forecasts, benchmarking and cost-saving opportunities.

Prepare quarterly spend, supplier-performance and contract-management reviews for data centre stakeholders.

Support the tracking and commercial management of data centre maintenance, repair, upgrade and project activities.

Apply prior project-management or account-management experience to coordinate stakeholders, manage suppliers and drive work from scope definition through contract execution and delivery.

Identify and implement efficiency opportunities across technical systems, operational workflows and resource deployment to improve performance, reduce costs and support scalable data centre operations.

Capture local subject-matter expertise and promote consistent adoption of network cabling and contracting best practices.

Contribute to improvements in Operations and Service Level Agreement processes, services and solutions for CO+I.

Coordinate closely with data centre field operations and cross-functional teams to maintain alignment and support successful delivery.

Capabilities Important to Success

Network cabling expertise: Strong knowledge of structured cabling system of structured cabling systems, components, installation methods, testing, commissioning, quality requirements and the supplier landscape.

Technical-to-commercial capability: Ability to convert engineering and delivery requirements into procurement strategies, scopes, tender documents, evaluation criteria and contracts.

Project or account leadership: Demonstrated experience managing complex customer, supplier or project outcomes, with strong ownership of scope, schedule, cost, risk and stakeholder expectations.

Commercial judgement: Ability to compare labour rates, material pricing, productivity assumptions, supplier capacity and total cost while protecting technical quality and operational outcomes.

Stakeholder influence: Communicate credibly with technical specialists, suppliers, senior managers and operational leaders, including influencing without formal authority.

Flexibility and adaptability: Anticipate change, manage ambiguity and adjust plans, priorities and sourcing approaches as technical or operational requ…