Category Lead

Medica • Madison, WI

5h • $88,800 - $152,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Category Lead is accountable for category performance, vendor outcomes, and strategic alignment across assigned business functions. Rather than focusing on RFx execution alone, this role emphasizes when and why to go to market, how to structure the existing vendor ecosystems, and how to continuously improve performance across categories. This role will shape Medica’s Procurement transformation to a category-led operating model, expand influence beyond sourcing and contracting into enterprise decision-making, and own end-to-end vendor and category outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, or related field
• 8+ years of experience in vendor management, sourcing, or procurement (Combine is ok!)
• Strong understanding of vendor lifecycle management and sourcing principles
• Experience partnering with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders
• Proven ability to influence decisions and deliver measurable business outcomes
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with internal and vendor executives
• Eligibility to work in the US: Medica does not offer work visa sponsorship for this role. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. Employment is contingent on verification of identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Industry experience in healthcare, fintech, or technology (preferred)
• Knowledge of compliance- and regulatory- heavy functions (Fraud, Payments, Compliance, Information Security) is a plus
• Can connect market dynamics, vendor performance, and business goals
• Builds trust with stakeholders and vendor executives
• Understands pricing, contracts, and value levers
• Uses analytics to lead decisions and tell a compelling story
• Drives outcomes while managing competing priorities
• Thrives in a transforming, evolving operating model
• Experience with Zip Procurement, Workday, Microsoft Products, including Power BI
• Commercial contract experience is nice to have but not required as contracting is managed by a separate function.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full vendor lifecycle for strategic vendors (Tier One = Vendors with direct Category Lead ownership) while supporting broader vendor portfolio on business demand
• Own category strategy and vendor outcomes, while working with Contract Managers to execute sourcing initiatives aligned to those strategies
• Act as the single point of accountability for category health, value delivery, and business alignment.
• Own and evolve category strategies aligned to business objectives, financial targets, and risk frameworks
• Use market intelligence, supplier insights, and internal data to shape proactive plans and sourcing approaches
• Identify opportunities to consolidate vendors, optimize demand, and improve overall category performance.
• Lead RFx strategies (RFI/RFP/RFQ) tied to category plans
• Partner with ES&P peers and business stakeholders to structure deals, negotiate outcomes, and align contracts to business value from a pre-sale position.
• Apply best-practice sourcing levers such as benchmarking, competitive analysis, & pricing models to improve outcomes without increasing process burden
• Leverage spend data, market insights, and performance metrics to lead decisions and prioritize actions
• Develop reporting on savings, value realization, and service performance
• Leverage market insights, spend data, and vendor performance metrics to inform strategy, prioritize actions, and drive measurable outcomes
• Serve as the primary strategic interface between business stakeholders and vendor ecosystem
• Translate business needs into category strategies, sourcing approaches, and vendor actions
• Influence senior leaders through data-driven insights and forward-looking recommendations
• Maintain vendor scorecards, SLAs, and performance dashboards to ensure strong service delivery and accountability for strategic vendors. Reports on broader vendor portfolio ticket performance
• Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and remediation plans with vendors
• Facilitate Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and ongoing strategic engagement with strategic vendors
• Ensure vendor and category alignment with contractual obligations, regulatory requirements, and risk frameworks identified during pre and post contracting audit
• Monitor compliance, manage audit findings, and mitigate risks across the category
• Partner with internal teams (Risk, Compliance, Legal) to ensure consistent governance

Benefits

• competitive medical, dental, vision, PTO, Holidays, paid volunteer time off, 401K contributions, caregiver services and many other benefits to support our employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior