What are the responsibilities and job description for the Category Manager position at EXL?
Category Manager – Professional Services
Work location- Hybrid- Milwaukee, WI
Category Manager will drive end-to-end sourcing execution and category management for Professional Services spend, including consulting, advisory, IT services, legal, staffing, and BPO. The role combines hands-on sourcing delivery with category strategy & execution, commercial structuring, and stakeholder engagement to deliver cost, quality, and business outcomes.
Responsibilities:
- Support development and execution of category strategies for professional services spend
- Identify opportunities for rate optimization, vendor consolidation, and scope rationalization
- Manage demand pipelines and align sourcing with organizational priorities
- Execute sourcing engagements across consulting firms, system integrators, staffing vendors, legal firms, and BPO providers
- Develop and manage rate cards, benchmarking, and pricing frameworks across service providers
- Negotiate resource mix, utilization assumptions, and delivery models (onshore/offshore)
- Managed end-to-end sourcing cycle, understand business needs, perform vendor research to identify potential participants to getting the contract signed
- Develop and published RFP in Ariba
- Conduct market research and analysis to identify potential suppliers, evaluate their capabilities, and gather market intelligence to support decision-making
- Lead supplier selection and qualification processes, including issuing RFIs, RFPs, and conducting supplier evaluations and negotiations
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to understand their requirements and ensure the sourcing strategy meets their needs
- Negotiate contracts, terms, and pricing with suppliers to secure favorable agreements that optimize value while mitigating risks
- Manage project plan for all assigned sourcing requests from requirement gathering to contracting
- Negotiate contracts, terms, and pricing with suppliers to secure favorable agreements (MSA/SOW) that optimize value while mitigating risks
- Liaise with legal, business and supplier to finalize contracts
- Document and analyze supplier responses to ensure it contains valid and detailed information
- Co-ordination with various stakeholders (business, procurement, suppliers) for setting up meetings, presentations and other sessions
- Liaising with business stakeholders, procurement team and suppliers to ensure timely and successful completions of tasks and activities (related to RFx events, NDA management and contracting)
- Partner with business stakeholders, Finance, Legal, and delivery teams to understand requirements and drive sourcing outcomes
- Maintaining project plans/ tracker for all requests and sourcing events, including timely reporting to all stakeholders
- Track and report savings, cost avoidance, and spend visibility across professional services categories
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree
- 5 years of sourcing/procurement experience with a focus on professional services, consulting, advisory, BPO etc
- Proven experience as a Sourcing Specialist, Procurement Specialist, or similar role
- Strong knowledge of strategic sourcing methodologies, procurement best practices, and supplier management
- Must possess excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Good project management/ business analysis/ process analysis skills
- Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities
- Professional certifications such as Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) or Project Management Professional (PMP)® Certification will be a plus
Business hours: US 9-5 EST hours
Salary : $80,000 - $120,000