Global Category Manager – Sales Support

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Job Description

.About the role :

This role is a member of the Indirect Procurement team and is responsible for developing and executing the global category strategy for Marketing & Sales Support. The role partners closely with Commercial stakeholders to understand business priorities, shape demand, develop sourcing strategies, manage supplier relationships and category contracts, and deliver measurable enterprise value.

The Global Category Manager uses market intelligence, supplier insights, spend analytics, and business requirements to build and continuously evolve the category strategy. The role balances cost, service, innovation, risk, sustainability, and business performance while ensuring solutions support the needs of Commercial teams across markets.

OBJECTIVES:

• Develop and execute the global Marketing & Sales Support category strategy to maximize enterprise value from external spend while balancing financial performance, innovation, service quality, risk, sustainability, and business outcomes.
• Act as a strategic business partner to Commercial stakeholders, influencing how external spend and supplier capabilities are deployed to support business priorities and operational effectiveness.
• Leverage market intelligence, supplier insights, digital capabilities, and data driven decision making to identify opportunities, shape demand, and accelerate value creation.
• Lead cross functional collaboration to translate the category strategy into executable sourcing initiatives, supplier strategies, and measurable business results.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Develop, implement, and continuously evolve the global Marketing & Sales Support category strategy in alignment with enterprise priorities, Commercial objectives, and long-term value creation goals.
• Develop a detailed understanding of category spend, including what is purchased, key demand drivers, supplier concentration, geographic differences, business requirements, and the addressability of spend.
• Use market intelligence, spend analytics, supplier insights, and emerging technologies to identify opportunities, shape demand, and improve category performance.
• Own and manage a multiyear category pipeline across strategic sourcing, demand management, supplier optimization, commercial improvement, and other value opportunities.
• Partner with stakeholders early in the planning process to influence requirements, specifications, service models, supplier strategies, commercial models, and sourcing decisions before commitments are made.
• Lead complex global and regional sourcing initiatives, supplier negotiations, selections, transitions, and contract implementations across Marketing & Sales Support services.
• Develop commercial strategies and models, including pricing frameworks, rate structures, discounts, volume arrangements, incentives, service levels, performance mechanisms, and other approaches that improve transparency, competitiveness, and value.
• Design and manage a supplier ecosystem that balances specialized capabilities, competitiveness, service quality, innovation, resilience, performance, and evolving business needs.
• Establish supplier segmentation, governance, performance management, business reviews, issue resolution, and strategic relationship management approaches that support continuous improvement and value realization.
• Lead the category commercial contracting strategy, including the development and optimization of Master Service Agreement frameworks that downstream service agreements, Statements of Work, and purchase orders can leverage.
• Manage category spend end to end, including tail spend analysis and the development of appropriate buying channels, preferred supplier approaches, and spend management strategies.
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, standardization, demand management, commercial model optimization, and process improvement where they support business objectives.
• Integrate supplier risk, business continuity, responsible sourcing, quality, privacy, information security, and sustainability considerations into category and supplier strategies.
• Ensure compliance with Procurement policies, contractual obligations, applicable regulatory requirements, and enterprise governance standards.
• Monitor market developments, supplier capabilities, technology, and evolving commercial models that could improve the effectiveness or efficiency of Marketing & Sales Support services.
• 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.
• Maintain an end-to-end view of assigned spend, demand, pipeline, contracts, supplier performance, risk, tail spend, and value realization.
• Escalate material portfolio choices and exceptions to the Global Category Lead.
• Use market intelligence, advanced analytics, automation, and responsible AI solutions to improve decisions, execution speed, transparency, and stakeholder experience.
• Build trusted relationships and influence across Commercial functions, Global Finance, Value Delivery, Takeda Business Solutions, Legal, Procurement, regional teams, and other relevant cross functional groups.
• 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 supply chain, business, finance, or another relevant field required.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITIES:

• 8+ years of experience in category management, strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, commercial strategy, or related function within complex global and matrixed organizations.
• Proven experience developing and executing global or multi market category strategies that deliver sustainable enterprise value and support business objectives.
• Subject matter expertise in Marketing & Sales Support spend categories or comparable Commercial services categories, preferably within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or another highly regulated industry.
• Strong understanding of Commercial business needs and the ability to translate stakeholder requirements into effective category, sourcing, contracting, and supplier strategies.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including expertise in strategic sourcing, negotiations, supplier economics, total cost of ownership, contracting, pricing models, and value management.
• Ability to analyze complex spend and supplier landscapes and translate insights into actionable category strategies and sourcing opportunities.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to engage, constructively challenge, and align senior leaders across functions, business units, and geographies.
• Strong supplier relationship management capabilities, including supplier segmentation, governance, performance management, issue resolution, risk mitigation, and strategic partnership development.
• Track record of delivering measurable outcomes across cost optimization, productivity, business performance, supplier innovation, risk management, and sustainability.
• Knowledge of supplier risk, business continuity, regulatory requirements, responsible sourcing, and sustainable Procurement practices.
• Experience using digital Procurement technologies, advanced analytics, automation, and AI enabled solutions to improve decision making and business outcomes.
• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, and cross functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence outcomes and drive change in a dynamic global environment.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Experience managing Commercial or Marketing & Sales Support service categories across multiple countries or regions.
• Experience developing global commercial frameworks that require thoughtful regional or local adaptation.
• Experience operating in a regulated environment with complex stakeholder, supplier, privacy, and contracting requirements.

Locations

Base Salary Range:

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.

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