Global Category Manager - Consulting

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 243,000; Full time

Job summary

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in Boston, MA is seeking a Global Category Manager for Consulting. This role leads strategy, management, and end-to-end execution of the Global Consulting category across enterprise priorities, ensuring alignment with the Global Category Lead and governance structures.

You will build supplier ecosystems, drive complex sourcing, negotiate terms, manage master agreements, and deliver measurable value in cost, quality, and risk.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in procurement, category management, or strategic sourcing within global organizations.
• Subject matter expertise in consulting and advisory services (strategy, transformation, finance, HR, tech advisory).
• Strong commercial/financial acumen: pricing, contracts, TCO.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders across functions and geographies.
• Experience with digital procurement tools, automation, analytics, and AI approaches.
• Fluent English (written and spoken).

Responsibilities

• Analyze consulting spend, demand drivers, supplier performance, and market intelligence to set priorities.
• Create category plans covering strategy, operations, and governance.
• Lead complex global sourcing initiatives, negotiations, and contract implementations.
• Manage master agreements, rate structures, discounts, and IP considerations.
• Ensure regional adaptation within global strategies and engage stakeholders early.

Skills

Procurement Strategy

Strategic Sourcing

Supplier Management

Category Management

Contract Negotiation

Stakeholder Influence

English Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, finance, economics, or related field

Master's degree or MBA preferred

Job description

Job Description

POSITION SUMMARY:

This role manages the Global Consulting category, including strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, technology advisory, and other knowledge based professional services. The role will help the business define the right problem, scope, resource model, supplier, and commercial structure before engagements are launched, while executing the global direction established by the Global Category Lead.

Working within the strategy and governance established by the Global Category Lead, this role owns category execution from end to end. The Global Category Manager converts enterprise priorities 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.

OBJECTIVES:

• Develop and execute the Consulting category plan in alignment with enterprise priorities and the strategy set 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 supported by effective governance, preferred buying channels, and measurable performance outcomes.
• Lead enterprise wide initiatives for selected subcategories to drive excellence in external spend management
• Deliver an actionable sourcing and value pipeline across cost, service, innovation, compliance, sustainability, risk, and stakeholder experience.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• 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 strategy, management, operations, transformation, finance, human resources, technology advisory, and related consulting services.
• Challenge whether consulting is the right solution by evaluating internal capability, alternative delivery models, specialist providers, automation potential, and other external resource options.
• Work with 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, fixed fee and outcome based models, expenses, deliverable acceptance, intellectual property, data protections, and termination rights.
• Reduce supplier fragmentation and leakage by directing demand to the right 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 the global category strategy into an executable category plan, initiative pipeline, sourcing calendar, supplier roadmap, and stakeholder engagement plan.
• Operate within global strategies, decision rights, preferred supplier models, commercial frameworks, and buying channels while adapting execution to legitimate regional, market, and functional requirements.
• 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, P&L 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 create clarity on decisions, actions, owners, milestones, and value outcomes.
• Provide the Global Category Lead with clear insights, recommendations, risks, decisions required, and progress against the category plan.

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, finance, economics, or a related field required.
• Master's degree or MBA preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITIES:

• 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 categories such as 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 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, with 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.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• 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.

Takeda Compensation and Benefits Summary

We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. We are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices.

For Location:

Boston, MA

U.S. Base Salary Range:

$154,400.00 - $242,550.00

The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job. The actual base salary offered will be in accordance with state or local minimum wage requirements for the job location.

For information about our benefits, please click here.

EEO Statement

Takeda is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.

Locations

Boston, MA

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type

Regular

Time Type

Full time

Job Exempt

Yes

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.