Sr. Manager, Category Manager, Labor & Professional Services

Position Overview Establishes governance frameworks and sourcing standards for major professional services firms, and in contingent labor engagements across the enterprise. Drives supplier rationalization and preferred supplier strategies for consulting firms, staffing agencies, and outsourced labor providers. Evaluates and creates fit-for-purpose workforce operating models, including direct supplier management, VMS-enabled programs, or scaled MSP partnerships based on organizational size and spend profile. Owns a complex, high‑spend category (or portfolio) with global scope and enterprise impact. Leads cross‑functional project teams and external partners to deliver multi‑year roadmaps and operating model changes. Primary procurement voice with senior/executive stakeholders; presents at executive committees. Shapes policy, standards, and governance; mentors and develops the category talent bench. Ensures category plans reflect stakeholder goals, market dynamics, and supplier capabilities Influences functional leaders; presents recommendations and status at leadership forums. Champions adoption of preferred suppliers, standards, and policies across the business. Leverages analysis to shape strategic insights and market intelligence frameworks that inform category strategy, RFx prioritization, supplier negotiations, and contract terms Scrutinizes variable and complex data to identify and prioritize sourcing and planning opportunities that drive competitive advantage and long-term value Leads sourcing waves and supplier business reviews; accountable for savings and value realization. Key Responsibilities Enterprise Strategy & Value Creation Craft and socialize a bold, evidence‑based multi‑year category strategy tied to enterprise goals (growth, productivity, risk, ESG). Possible areas of opportunity: Management consulting Temporary staffing Statement-of-work (SOW) services Independent contractor engagements Workforce solutions/MSP programs Develop labor rate benchmarking frameworks and market intelligence to improve rate competitiveness, geographic alignment, and workforce planning decisions. Identify opportunities to reduce unmanaged spend, rogue staffing engagements, mark-up inconsistencies, and duplicate supplier utilization. Identify and deliver step‑change value levers (portfolio simplification, demand challenge, supplier ecosystem redesign, digital automation). Stand up structured value tracking with Finance; validate and publish results to executives. Build and maintain a living category strategy (demand, market, supplier, risk, and should-cost). Translate strategy into an annual sourcing wave plan and prioritized contract pipeline with mitigation actions for expirations/renewals. Owns data quality across procurement systems (e.g., sourcing, CLM, P2P) and audit readiness records Reviews and performs analytics and market research that inform strategic planning decisions, RFx, negotiation prep, and category direction Manage intake queue; validate requirements; set expectations on timelines and next steps Maintain project trackers, savings logs, contract records, and supplier profiles for audit readiness Create, refresh, publish, and communicate preferred supplier lists and engagement playbooks Critical Sourcing & Complex Negotiation Lead negotiations involving: SOW commercial structures Rate card & labor mix structures Volume discounts Delivery accountability Staffing markups & conversion fees Supplier tiering models Evaluate and negotiate VMS platform solutions and workforce operating models appropriate for organizational scale, complexity, and spend maturity in the labor space. Conduct in-depth market analysis to inform RFx development, supplier negotiations, and contract terms Identify and prioritize sourcing opportunities that drive competitive advantage and long-term value Own and drive marquee RFx/sole‑source events and renewals with enterprise‑wide implications; negotiate creative commercial constructs (risk‑share, o…