Sr. Manager, Category Manager, Labor & Professional Services

About the Role

Establishes governance frameworks and sourcing standards for major professional services firms and 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. Serves as the primary procurement voice with senior/executive stakeholders and presents at executive committees. Shapes policy, standards, and governance while mentoring and developing category talent. Ensures category plans reflect stakeholder goals, market dynamics, and supplier capabilities.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Strategy & Value Creation

• Craft and socialize a bold, evidence-based multi-year category strategy tied to enterprise goals (growth, productivity, risk, ESG). Areas of opportunity include:
  • 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.
• 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.
• Own data quality across procurement systems (e.g., sourcing, CLM, P2P) and audit readiness records.
• Review and perform 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.
• 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, outcome-based, gainshare).
• Oversee and/or perform total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to sourcing decisions and supplier evaluations.
• Set deal architectures and negotiation plays; coach deal teams; engage executive sponsors and legal counsel to closure.
• Establish playbooks and guardrails for rebid/renewal strategies, indexation, benchmarking, and continuous improvement.

Supplier Partnership, Innovation, & Risk Management

• Chair executive governance with strategic consultancy partnerships; sponsor joint innovation roadmaps and transformation programs.
• Collaborate with HR and other governance areas to manage labor supplier performance across metrics such as fill rates, cycle times, attrition, quality of talent, compliance adherence, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Partner with HR Legal and Finance/Accounting to mitigate worker misclassification risks and ensure contingent workforce governance aligns with applicable labor regulations globally.
• Oversee risk management for the portfolio (cyber, supply continuity, financial, regulatory, ESG) with proactive mitigation and incident response.
• Segment suppliers (Tier 1/2) and implement governance (QBRs/ABRs, scorecards, corrective actions).
• Perform AQSCIR assessments for key suppliers.
• Lead supplier steering committees to drive collaboration, performance improvement, and risk mitigation.
• Facilitate supplier-led innovation and continuous improvement initiatives aligned to business outcomes.
• Hold quarterly and annual business reviews (QBRs/ABRs) with suppliers and relevant stakeholders.
• Drive adoption of preferred suppliers and manage change communication effectively.

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Establish enterprise-wide standards for services usage such as:
  • Rate card management
  • SOW approvals
  • Supplier onboarding
  • Headcount visibility
  • Contractor tenure monitoring
• Partner cross-functionally to design scalable contingent labor intake, approval, and tracking processes that balance governance with business agility.
• Elevate standards, templates, and systems; automate analytics and reporting; ensure data fidelity and audit readiness.
• Continuously improve ways of working across Legal, Security/Privacy, Finance/AP, and business units.
• Track cost savings and avoidance progress against targets and pipeline forecasts.
• Coordinate cross-functional approvals (Security/IT, Privacy, Compliance, Finance, AP, Legal) and drive issue resolution.
• Coach and assign work to sourcing resources (analysts/specialists) aligned to the wave plan.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner closely with HR, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal, and critical functional business leaders to assure governance and align workforce sourcing strategies with organizational priorities.
• Map stakeholder ecosystems and develop engagement strategies based on influence, impact, and business needs.
• Act as a strategic advisor helping stakeholders determine the most appropriate engagement model for external advisory and/or labor needs.
• Engage stakeholders to understand business requirements, pain points, and future needs.
• Maintain a cadence of meetings and communications with key stakeholders and their leadership teams.
• Act as a trusted advisor and liaison between procurement and business units.
• Communicate clearly and professionally across all channels (in-person meetings, email, video calls), tailoring messages to diverse audiences.
• Represent procurement in steering committees, executive briefings, and supplier governance forums.
• Support stakeholder projects with high responsiveness, strategic input, and proactive problem-solving.
• Craft compelling storylines and materials.

Financial Performance

• Deliver measurable value through enterprise professional services governance/negotiation, labor rate and markup optimization, supplier consolidation, etc.
• Analyze labor spend trends, rate inflation, utilization patterns, and supplier concentration risks to support budgeting and workforce planning decisions.
• Engage consistently with Finance and stakeholders in the budgeting process, aligning procurement plans with financial goals.
• Coordinate with Finance for savings tracking and bottom-line impact protection.
• Deliver measurable cost savings and avoidance, tracking progress against targets and pipeline forecasts.
• Apply Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to sourcing decisions and supplier evaluations.
• Optimize contract value through improved terms, pricing structures, and performance incentives.

Leadership & Change

• Mentor and support a matrixed and cross-functional team of procurement professionals and governance partners to build skills and succession; promote a high-performance, inclusive culture.
• Design and execute change management and communications for enterprise rollouts; craft executive narratives and decision memos.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in supply chain, finance, project management, or related field.
• 8-10+ years of experience, heavy in managing large/complex Professional Services and/or Contingent Labor categories in a strategic sourcing or category management environment.
• Strong understanding of “Big Four” service provider ecosystem and workforce operating models including supplier-direct programs, VMS tools, and MSP solutions.
• Demonstrated executive communication and storytelling skills; track record influencing VP/C-suite decisions.
• Expert fluency in benchmarking, TCO, complex contracting, commercial strategy, and supplier performance governance at scale.
• Expert analytical skills with working knowledge of procure-to-pay, RFx processes, and contract basics/playbooks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA or Master’s) strongly preferred in supply chain, finance, project management, or related field.
• 10-12+ years of experience in progressive category management/strategic sourcing experience, including leadership of large, complex negotiations and cross-enterprise programs.
• Experience building or maturing contingent workforce programs, VMS models, and MSP structures; including experience with platforms such as: Beeline, SAP Fieldglass, etc.
• Experience leading transformation (operating model, digital S2P, supplier ecosystem) across multiple regions.
• Certifications: CPSM/CIPS; PMP/Prosci or equivalent change credentials; Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
• Domain depth in one or more enterprise functions (e.g., HR, IT, Finance, Professional Services, Facilities/CRE).
• Experience in large, global enterprise with exposure to both indirect (corporate) and direct (client-facing) procurement models.
• Recent/current experience working across time zones.
• Strong grasp of software licensing models (SaaS/PaaS/IaaS, subscription vs. perpetual) and associated services.

Skills & Competencies

Core

• Composure in high-visibility and executive environments.
• Strategic thinking and structured problem solving; ability to think upstream and downstream to frame choices and drive decisions.
• Executive presence; concise narrative building; board-quality materials.
• Proven ability to build strong stakeholder