Global Category Manager - Consulting

Takeda•Boston, MA

About The Position

The Global Category Manager manages Takeda’s Global Consulting category, covering strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, technology advisory, and other knowledge-based professional services. Working within the strategy and governance established by the Global Category Lead, this role owns end-to-end category execution and turns enterprise priorities into actionable plans. It engages stakeholders early to shape requirements, service models, demand, supplier choices, and commercial decisions before commitments are made, and leads complex sourcing, contracting, supplier performance, and value delivery. The role delivers measurable results across financial performance, business outcomes, quality, sustainability, resilience, and risk, while adapting global direction to legitimate regional, market, and functional requirements. It is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, finance, economics, or a related field.
At least 8 years of experience in procurement, category management, strategic sourcing, supplier management, or a related commercial function within complex global organizations.
Subject-matter expertise in consulting and advisory services, including strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, organizational design, technology advisory, or other knowledge-based professional services.
Demonstrated success developing and executing category plans and complex sourcing initiatives that deliver measurable enterprise value.
Strong commercial and financial acumen, including sourcing, negotiation, supplier economics, total cost of ownership, contract management, and value realization.
Ability to influence and constructively challenge senior stakeholders across functions, business units, and geographies.
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives in highly matrixed and regulated environments.
Strong supplier relationship management capabilities, including segmentation, governance, performance management, issue resolution, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement.
Strong analytical and communication skills, including the ability to turn market, supplier, spend, and performance data into clear recommendations and decisions.
Experience with digital procurement tools, automation, analytics, and AI-enabled approaches.
Fluent written and spoken English.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or MBA.
Experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, financial services, or another highly regulated global industry.
Experience sourcing major consulting firms, specialist boutiques, and alternative consulting delivery models.
Experience negotiating rate cards, fixed-fee, milestone-based, capped, subscription, or outcome-based consulting arrangements.
Understanding of consulting demand management, statement-of-work quality, deliverable governance, knowledge transfer, intellectual property, and external workforce boundaries.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the Consulting category plan in alignment with enterprise priorities and the strategy set by the Global Category Lead.
Analyze consulting spend, demand drivers, engagement types, buying patterns, suppliers, rates, scope quality, performance, and market intelligence to identify category priorities.
Create and maintain category plans for consulting services, including strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, and technology advisory.
Assess whether consulting is the right solution by evaluating internal capabilities, alternative delivery models, specialist providers, automation potential, and other external resource options.
Collaborate with the Contingent Labor category to drive efficiency, synergy, and compliance.
Partner with stakeholders to define fit-for-purpose specifications, planning standards, service levels, buying channels, and supplier engagement approaches.
Lead complex global and regional sourcing initiatives, negotiations, supplier selections, transitions, and contract implementations.
Manage master agreements and commercial frameworks, including rate structures, role definitions, discounts, fee models, expenses, deliverable acceptance, intellectual property, data protections, and termination rights.
Reduce supplier fragmentation and purchasing leakage by directing demand to preferred suppliers, commercial frameworks, competitive processes, and buying channels.
Integrate third-party risk, confidentiality, conflicts, information security, privacy, business continuity, responsible sourcing, and knowledge-retention requirements into category decisions.
Translate global category strategy into an executable category plan, initiative pipeline, sourcing calendar, supplier roadmap, and stakeholder engagement plan.
Engage upstream, before specifications, statements of work, supplier selections, and budgets are finalized, to shape demand and improve business outcomes.
Maintain an end-to-end view of assigned spend, demand, pipeline, contracts, supplier performance, risk, tail spend, and value realization; escalate portfolio choices and exceptions to the Global Category Lead.
Deliver assigned targets and KPIs across P&L impact and protection, cash improvement, innovation, quality, sustainability, risk, and business performance.
Use market intelligence, advanced analytics, automation, and responsible AI solutions to improve decisions, execution speed, transparency, and stakeholder experience.
Lead cross-functional project teams without direct authority, clarifying decisions, actions, owners, milestones, and value outcomes.
Provide the Global Category Lead with insights, recommendations, risks, decisions required, and progress against the category plan.