Senior Category Manager - External Capabilities and Insights, Knowledge and Data

McKinsey & Company; Newark (NJ); On-site; USD 159,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player seeks a Category Manager to join their External Capabilities & Insights team. This pivotal role involves managing a substantial portfolio of external resources, driving strategic initiatives, and optimizing service lines. You will collaborate with senior leadership to shape category strategies and ensure alignment with business needs. The firm values innovation, and you will lead efforts to integrate advanced capabilities, including generative AI, to enhance decision-making. If you thrive in a high-performance culture and are eager to make a significant impact, this opportunity is for you.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Mental health support

Parental leave

Retirement contributions program

Financial guidance

Paid time off

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in consulting or category management.
• Deep understanding of external capabilities and strategic resource management.

Responsibilities

• Drive category management and oversee critical service lines.
• Manage vendor strategy and contract negotiations for outsourcing.

Skills

Consulting

Category Management

Strategic Resource Management

Analytical Skills

Vendor Management

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree

MBA or Advanced Degree

Job description

Procurement
Category Manager - External Capabilities and Insights
Job ID: 96435

Do you want to work on complex and pressing challenges-the kind that bring together curious, ambitious, and determined leaders who strive to become better every day? If this sounds like you, you've come to the right place.

Your Impact

You will join the External Capabilities & Insights (eC&I) team, a high-performing group managing a $300M+ portfolio of external resources that power the firm's client service. As part of this team, you will serve as a strategic partner to the Global Director of eC&I, driving category management, overseeing critical service lines, and leading strategic and operational excellence.

eC&I functions as a Center of Excellence, providing Client Service Teams (CSTs) and Practices with cutting-edge external capabilities. The team operates across three key pillars: (a) Client Service & Innovation Enablement - Building an external ecosystem aligned with the firm's strategy, (b) Risk Mitigation - Managing third-party risks and governance, (c) Efficient Resource & Spend Management - driving adoption, cost optimization, and impact.

The team delivers five critical service lines-Expert Network Services, Surveys, Data, Knowledge, and Business Research & Analytics Outsourcing-impacting over 98% of CSTs globally. It is deeply integrated with practices and boasts an exceptional global talent pool.

In this role, you will serve as a critical enabler for the Global Director, driving four key areas of focus: Category Management, Overseeing Service Lines (e.g., Outsourced Research & Analytics), Driving Strategic Initiatives & Team Priorities, and Providing Oversight for Team Operations.

Category Management & Strategic Resource Deployment

You will shape and execute a comprehensive category strategy for a portfolio of external capabilities, ensuring strong alignment with business needs. Acting as a thought partner to practices, CSTs, and senior leadership, you will influence how external resources are integrated into client service. Additionally, you will oversee capability deployment across diverse use cases, optimizing access, engagement, and impact. Your role will include establishing governance mechanisms and best practices in contracting, risk mitigation, and commercial models. Collaboration with Finance and Practices will be key to modernizing economic models and ensuring that resource investments are commercially viable and scalable.

Overseeing Service Lines - e.g., Outsourced Research & Analytics

You will be responsible for managing and optimizing five service lines, ensuring that external providers deliver high-value solutions to the firm. This includes overseeing vendor strategy, contract negotiations, and commercial management for key outsourcing relationships. You will also play a pivotal role in driving emerging generative AI (gen AI) initiatives, ensuring the firm maximizes efficiency and innovation through these advancements.

Driving Strategic Initiatives & Team Priorities

Leading high-impact strategic initiatives, you will drive both Firm-wide priorities and internal initiatives that enhance eC&I's effectiveness. Your focus will be on developing and implementing scalable models for high-value capabilities, balancing cost, risk, and client impact. Additionally, you will spearhead innovation efforts, integrating gen AI capabilities and data-driven insights to enhance decision-making and unlock new efficiencies.

Providing Oversight for Team Operations

You will provide strategic oversight of core eC&I operations, ensuring financial health, governance adherence, and process excellence. This includes guiding the work of the Chassis team to ensure seamless execution of external capability sourcing, deployment, and tracking. You will also support the development and refinement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the eC&I Single Source of Truth for sourcing, deployment, and risk governance. Furthermore, you will oversee financial KPIs, budget monitoring, cost-recovery models, and performance tracking, ensuring financial discipline and strategic investment allocation. Engaging with Legal, Risk, Finance, and Practices, you will ensure strong alignment and compliance across all operational functions.

Your Growth

Driving lasting impact and building long-term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high performance/high reward culture - doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward.

In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we'll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues-at all levels-will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you'll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won't find anywhere else.

When you join us, you will have:

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You'll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm's diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients. Plus, you'll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• World-class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package, which includes medical, dental, mental health, and vision coverage for you, your spouse/partner, and children.

Your qualifications and skills

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in consulting, strategy, category management, or research/knowledge management.
• Deep understanding of the external capabilities landscape and strategic resource management.
• Experience partnering with senior leadership on strategic initiatives, operations, and execution.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a structured, data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex stakeholder landscapes, working across teams, functions, and geographies.
• Experience with outsourced service models, vendor management, and financial performance tracking is a plus.
• Deep entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to execute at both strategic and operational levels.
• Excellent communication skills-able to distill complexity into clear, actionable insights for senior leaders.

Please review the additional requirements regarding essential job functions of McKinsey colleagues.

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FOR U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Certain US jurisdictions require McKinsey & Company to include a reasonable estimate of the salary for this role.
For new joiners for this role in the United States, including all office locations where the job may be performed, a reasonable estimated range
is $159,200 - $212,100 USD -to help you understand what you can expect. This reflects our best estimate of the lowest to highest
[salary/hourly wages] for this role at the time of this posting, ensuring you have a clear picture right from the start, though it's important
to remember that actual salaries may vary. Factors like your office location, your unique blend of experience and skills, start date and our current
organizational needs all play a part in determining the final figure. Certain roles are also eligible for bonuses, subject to McKinsey's discretion
and based on factors such as individual and/or organizational performance.

Additionally, we provide a comprehensive benefits package that reflects our commitment to the wellness of our colleagues and their families.
This includes medical, mental health, dental and vision coverage, telemedicine services, life, accident and disability insurance, parental leave and family planning benefits, caregiving resources, a generous retirement contributions program, financial guidance,
and paid time off.

FOR NON-U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. For additional details
regarding our global EEO policy and diversity initiatives, please visit our
McKinsey Careers and
Diversity & Inclusion sites.

Job Skill Group - CSSA

Job Skill Code - MPC - Procurement Manager

Function -

Industry -

Post to LinkedIn - Yes

Posted to LinkedIn Date - Mon Mar 24 00:00:00 GMT 2025

LinkedIn Posting City - Miramar

LinkedIn Posting State/Province - Florida

LinkedIn Posting Country - United States

LinkedIn Job Title - Category Manager - External Capabilities and Insights

LinkedIn Function - Supply Chain

LinkedIn Industry - Logistics and Supply Chain

LinkedIn Seniority Level - Mid-Senior level