Global Category Manager - Consulting

Takeda • Boston, MA

21h • $154,400 - $242,550

About The Position

This role manages Takeda’s Global Consulting category, including 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, the manager owns end-to-end category execution and helps the business define the problem, scope, resource model, supplier, and commercial structure before engagements launch.

The role translates enterprise priorities and global category direction into actionable plans, engages stakeholders before requirements and suppliers are finalized, leads complex sourcing and contracting work, manages supplier performance, and delivers measurable value across financial performance, business outcomes, quality, sustainability, resilience, and risk. It also builds a competitive supplier ecosystem, develops an actionable sourcing and value pipeline, and leads enterprise-wide initiatives for selected subcategories.

The position is based in Boston, Massachusetts. The stated U.S. base salary range is $154,400–$242,550. A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is required; a master’s degree or MBA is preferred. The role requires at least eight years of relevant experience and fluent written and spoken English.

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 areas such as strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, organizational design, or technology advisory.
• 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 a highly matrixed and regulated environment.
• 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 established by the Global Category Lead.
• Partner with business and program stakeholders to shape requirements, service models, demand, supplier choices, and commercial decisions before commitments are made.
• Build and manage a competitive supplier ecosystem with effective governance, preferred buying channels, and measurable performance outcomes.
• Lead enterprise-wide initiatives for selected subcategories to improve external spend management.
• Deliver a sourcing and value pipeline across cost, service, innovation, compliance, sustainability, risk, and stakeholder experience.
• 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 covering consulting services such as strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, and technology advisory.
• Evaluate internal capabilities, alternative delivery models, specialist providers, automation potential, and other external resource options to determine whether consulting is the right solution.
• Work 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 rates, role definitions, discounts, fee models, expenses, deliverable acceptance, intellectual property, data protections, and termination rights.
• Reduce supplier fragmentation and spend 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.
• Apply global strategies, decision rights, preferred supplier models, commercial frameworks, and buying channels while accommodating legitimate regional, market, and functional requirements.
• Engage stakeholders 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 and establish clarity on decisions, actions, owners, milestones, and value outcomes.
• Provide the Global Category Lead with insights, recommendations, risks, required decisions, and progress against the category plan.

What This Job Offers

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