McKinsey & Company
Senior Category Manager - External Capabilities & Insights
McKinsey & Company, Boston, Massachusetts, us, 02298
Senior Category Manager - External Capabilities & Insights
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Senior Category Manager - External Capabilities & Insights
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McKinsey & Company Who You'll Work With You are someone who thrives in a high-performance environment, bringing a growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle meaningful challenges that have a real impact. In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we’ll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities to help you quickly broaden your expertise, grow into a well-rounded professional, and contribute to work that truly makes a difference.
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. A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. 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. Exceptional benefits: On top of a competitive salary, we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family. Your Impact As Senior Category Manager for Expert Network Services (ENS), you will lead one of the firm’s most strategically significant and highest-risk categories as part of the External Capabilities and Insights (eC&I) team.
ENS, a ~$150M portfolio, underpins thousands of client engagements annually by enabling distinctive expert discovery. You will be the firm’s owner for our ENS Category, accountable for setting a bold, multi-year strategy and ensuring its disciplined execution.
You will drive operational excellence, stronger automation, onboarding and payment controls, robust supplier KPIs, and strategic negotiations that enhance quality, resilience, and economics. Your Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred 10+ years of relevant experience in consulting, category management, or research/knowledge management. Deep expertise in external capabilities strategy, with a strong understanding of supplier ecosystems, contracting models, and governance frameworks Demonstrated experience leading complex, high-impact initiatives with senior-level visibility and cross-functional engagement Proven ability to work across senior stakeholder groups - practices, CSTs, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Optimize; with credibility and influence Strong commercial acumen and experience with vendor negotiations, financial performance tracking, and cost/value optimization Experience managing outsourced service models and driving adoption of third-party capabilities in professional services or client-service environments Familiarity with GenAI enabled solutions and innovation integration is a strong plus Structured problem solver with advanced analytical and decision-making capabilities Strong leadership presence with the ability to coach, develop, and inspire high-performing teams Entrepreneurial mindset, resilient under pressure, and energized by ambiguity and ownership Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; able to distill complex challenges into clear, compelling insights for senior audiences
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Join to apply for the
Senior Category Manager - External Capabilities & Insights
role at
McKinsey & Company Who You'll Work With You are someone who thrives in a high-performance environment, bringing a growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit to tackle meaningful challenges that have a real impact. In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we’ll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities to help you quickly broaden your expertise, grow into a well-rounded professional, and contribute to work that truly makes a difference.
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. A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. 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. Exceptional benefits: On top of a competitive salary, we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family. Your Impact As Senior Category Manager for Expert Network Services (ENS), you will lead one of the firm’s most strategically significant and highest-risk categories as part of the External Capabilities and Insights (eC&I) team.
ENS, a ~$150M portfolio, underpins thousands of client engagements annually by enabling distinctive expert discovery. You will be the firm’s owner for our ENS Category, accountable for setting a bold, multi-year strategy and ensuring its disciplined execution.
You will drive operational excellence, stronger automation, onboarding and payment controls, robust supplier KPIs, and strategic negotiations that enhance quality, resilience, and economics. Your Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred 10+ years of relevant experience in consulting, category management, or research/knowledge management. Deep expertise in external capabilities strategy, with a strong understanding of supplier ecosystems, contracting models, and governance frameworks Demonstrated experience leading complex, high-impact initiatives with senior-level visibility and cross-functional engagement Proven ability to work across senior stakeholder groups - practices, CSTs, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Optimize; with credibility and influence Strong commercial acumen and experience with vendor negotiations, financial performance tracking, and cost/value optimization Experience managing outsourced service models and driving adoption of third-party capabilities in professional services or client-service environments Familiarity with GenAI enabled solutions and innovation integration is a strong plus Structured problem solver with advanced analytical and decision-making capabilities Strong leadership presence with the ability to coach, develop, and inspire high-performing teams Entrepreneurial mindset, resilient under pressure, and energized by ambiguity and ownership Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; able to distill complex challenges into clear, compelling insights for senior audiences
#J-18808-Ljbffr