Manager, Strategic Sourcing and Planning

We are seeking a forward thinking and results driven Manager, Strategic Sourcing & Planning to play a critical leadership role within the NASC Strategic Sourcing Food & Beverage organization. In this highly visible role, you will shape and advance sourcing strategies that support Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruise Line, Holland America Line, and Seabourn, with a particular focus on high impact protein categories.

As a strategic leader, you will partner closely with executive level stakeholders across Supply Chain, Culinary Operations, Finance, and Sustainability teams to build multiyear category strategies, unlock enterprise value, and safeguard supply continuity across the fleet. You will interpret business needs, translate insights into actionable sourcing plans, and drive initiatives that elevate cost competitiveness, quality, innovation, and supplier performance.

In this role, you will serve as the category leader, responsible for influencing key decisions, strengthening supplier partnerships, anticipating risk, and ensuring strategic alignment with brand and corporate priorities. You will be accountable for managing complex project pipelines, communicating progress and impacts, and consistently delivering favorable outcomes that support long term business objectives.

As a people leader, you will manage and develop a team of 2–5 sourcing professionals, ensuring consistent application of best-in-class procurement methodologies including the 7 Step Strategic Sourcing Process to drive breakthrough value creation. You will coach the team to think strategically, proactively identify opportunities, and execute with discipline and clarity.

This role requires a blend of strategic mindset, strong analytical capability, supplier relationship acumen, managing a sourcing team, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders in a dynamic operating environment.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Sourcing Strategy & Stakeholder Alignment

• Development of an effective long-term strategic sourcing plan for highly complex categories and projects that create long term value while meeting brand objectives, including value creation, supply continuity, risk mitigation, and innovation.

• Effective collaboration on strategic sourcing categories and projects within the organization and stakeholders; Developing relationships to become a trusted sourcing partner.

• Ensuring cross-functional engagement and support of category projects and initiatives.

• Remains connected to key stakeholders and solicits input from them at appropriate times to stay aligned with the needs of the business, as well as run meetings providing key supplier and product updates and/or address specific needs of key stakeholders.

Category Management, Planning & Financial Alignment

• Apply spend category management best practices, tools and techniques in the development and implementation of an integrated strategic sourcing strategy to assesses the overall opportunity within the categories for projects.

• Serving as a subject matter expert on strategic sourcing categories with the stakeholders and fostering effective relationships.

• Maintain focus on project timelines and deliverables to ensure business goals and objectives are met.

• Strong partnership with Finance team to accurately forecast impacts of category strategy, including scenario modeling.

• Manages annual initiative plan by creating realistic timelines and meeting contracting deadlines, communicates initiative status

Team Leadership & Development

• Provide oversight, performance manage, coach, and develop highly skilled team of 2–5 category leaders able to drive strategic approaches and cultivate their own strong business relationships with both internal stakeholders and external partners.

Market Intelligence, Supplier Qualification & Relationship Management

• Researching best practices and conducting baseline due diligence to best understand opportunities for savings, reducing TCO, improve efficiencies, quality improvement and service of the sourcing teams.

• Lead supplier qualification, segmentation and certification programs.

• Well informed about commodity markets and uses information to report trends, pricing fluctuations, provides forecast detail and product cost shifts to brands.

• Effective supplier relationship management; leveraging data, metrics, and internal feedback.

• Providing and reviewing score cards to improve supplier results.

• Developing early supplier involvement to ensure suppliers are utilized to their full capabilities and proactively providing input to provide low cost, efficient, and quality goods and services.

• Effectively influencing change and buy-in across the stakeholder group and leadership.

• Oversees portfolio of contracts, builds and maintains supplier relationships, holds suppliers accountable to deliver contractual requirements.

Contracting, Negotiation & Sourcing Execution

• Implement gold-standard contracts across strategic supplier base.

• Negotiate strategic supplier contracts, develop innovative pricing models and agreements to deliver value to brands.

• Leads supplier negotiations, manages RFP/RFQs, utilizes 7-step sourcing process where applicable, and development and execution of category strategy.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Scope: This role oversees complex, enterprise‑level strategic sourcing categories and long‑term category strategies that drive value creation, supply continuity, risk mitigation, and innovation. It spans cross‑functional collaboration, stakeholder alignment, supplier relationship management, contract execution, financial forecasting, and the leadership of a team of category managers. The scope includes end‑to‑end ownership of category strategy development, execution, and performance across multiple brands.

• Problem-solving: The role requires navigating highly complex sourcing challenges by applying category management best practices, conducting due diligence, analyzing commodity markets, and identifying opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership, improve efficiencies, and enhance quality. It involves resolving supplier performance issues, managing competing priorities, maintaining project timelines, and developing innovative pricing models and negotiation strategies. Scenario modeling with Finance and proactive risk mitigation are central to problem-solving expectations.

• Impact: This position directly influences long‑term business value by delivering cost savings, improving supplier performance, strengthening supply continuity, and enabling strategic business objectives. Effective category strategies and supplier partnerships drive measurable financial outcomes, operational efficiencies, and improved service levels. The role enhances organizational resilience through strong contract management, risk mitigation, and data‑driven decision‑making, ultimately supporting brand performance and enterprise‑wide goals.

• Leadership: This role provides strategic leadership to a team of 2–5 category leaders, coaching and developing them to build strong internal and external partnerships and execute category strategies effectively. It requires influencing stakeholders, securing cross‑functional buy‑in, and serving as a trusted sourcing partner. Leadership responsibilities include guiding supplier negotiations, overseeing supplier qualification programs, holding suppliers accountable to contractual commitments, and modeling collaboration, strategic thinking, and accountability across the sourcing organization.

For all roles:

• Knowledge: Understanding of workplace policies and procedures / Familiarity with team collaboration tools and techniques.

• Skills: Strong time management and organizational skills

• Abilities: Ability to maintain reliable and consistent attendance / Capacity to be punctual and meet deadlines / Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and work as part of a team / Demonstrated professionalism in all interactions and tasks.

Qualifications:

• 7-10 years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, contracting, supply chain, and/or category management

• Strong Microsoft Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)

• Experience with sourcing tools (Ariba, Coupa, CrunchTime, MXP)

• Category level commodity sourcing experience

• 3-5 years of leadership experience managing 2-5 team members

• Strong people management skills: clear expectations/feedback, consistent coaching, and development. Ability to effectively lead in a cross-functional team environment and manage multiple priorities. Identify and resolve problems efficiently and effectively

• Well-developed influencing skills and stakeholder management. Experience with supplier relationship management.

• Master of specific categories and/or ability to develop knowledge of new categories

• Master negotiation skills and solid business judgement

• Master leadership and organization management skills

• Courage and conviction to hold suppliers and distributors accountable during challenging times, events, or periods of change

• Master technical sourcing process knowledge

• Ability to conduct analysis required during a sourcing initiative

• Ability to build strong relationships with suppliers

• Ability to perform analysis and interpret results into actional steps

• Ability to manage multiple initiatives and priorities at once

• Strong attention to detail and process orientation

• Excellent written/verbal communication and presentation skills

Travel: Less than 25% with shipboard travel likely

Work Conditions: Work primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential.

Physical Demands: Work primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential.

This position is classified as “in-office.”  As an in-office role, it requires employees to work from a designated Carnival office in South Florida Monday through Thursday each week. Employees may work from their homes on Fridays.  Candidates must be located in (or willing to relocate to) the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. 

Offers to selected candidates will be made on a fair and equitable basis, taking into account specific job-related skills and experience.   

At Carnival, your total rewards package is much more than your base salary. All non-sales roles participate in an annual cash bonus program, while sales roles have an incentive plan. Director and above roles may also be eligible to participate in Carnival’s discretionary equity incentive plan. Plus, Carnival provides comprehensive and innovative benefits to meet your needs, including: 

• Health Benefits: 

  • Cost-effective medical, dental and vision plans 
  • Employee Assistance Program and other mental health resources 
  • Additional programs include company paid term life insurance and disability coverage  
• Financial Benefits: 
  • 401(k) plan that includes a company match 
  • Employee Stock Purchase plan 
• Paid Time Off 
  • Holidays – All full-time and part-time with benefits employees receive days off for 8 company-wide holidays, plus 2 additional floating holidays to be taken at the employee’s discretion.  
  • Vacation Time – All full-time employees at the manager and below level start with 14 days/year; director and above level start with 19 days/year.  Part-time with benefits employees receive time off based on the number of hours they work, with a minimum of 84 hours/year.  All employees gain additional vacation time with further tenure. 
  • Sick Time – All full-time employees receive 80 hours of sick time each year.  Part-time with benefits employees receive time off based on the number of hours they work, with a minimum of 60 hours each year.   
• Other Benefits 
  • Complementary stand-by cruises, employee discounts on confirmed cruises, plus special rates for family and friends 
  • Personal and professional learning and development resources including tuition reimbursement  
  • On-site Fitness center at our Miami campus 

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