Manager - Purchasing Category Expansion
108557
- London
- Prague
- San Jose
You will be part of Optimize, McKinsey’s global procurement capability, enhancing and protecting the firms’ resources and reputation by making responsible buying easy and creating leading solutions and experiences across our third-party ecosystem.
You will be part of our Global Purchasing Team. This team helps the firm to preserve value and mitigate risk by designing and operating colleague-centric third-party channels that incorporate the required level of control to protect the firm from risk while ensuring that colleagues can easily follow the process.
In this role, you will lead the design and execution of initiatives focused on process re-engineering, technology adoption, and change management aimed at enhancing control and compliance across third-party orders and financial transactions. You will design new third-party buying channels by assessing current processes and identifying gaps and challenges; and manage risk by ensuring proper controls and responsible practices are embedded in the financial transaction channel. Identifying opportunities and use cases for AI tools and agents to improve team tasks and workflows and driving AI adoption and responsible use in line with risk guidelines.
You will lead a cross-functional effort to implement newly designed financial transactions channels, establishing a No Control – No Pay program by partnering with Procurement Operations, Category Management, Third-Party Risk, Adoption & Performance, and Solutions teams, and, encompassing both process and system enhancements. This work includes assessing and redesigning current control and payment processes, incorporating critical controls that enable responsible practices, and driving third party transactions through preferred channels in collaboration with other departments.
You’ll gain new skills and build on the strengths you bring to the firm. In this high-profile role, you will be exposed to senior firm leadership and expected to collaborate closely outside of Optimize with firm, Finance, and other functional leadership, delivering significant impact for the firm.
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. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
- A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
- 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. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Exceptional benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.
- Undergraduate degree required; Advanced graduate degree (e.g., MBA, PhD, etc.) or equivalent work experience preferred
- 7+ years of corporate and/or consulting experience (experience as jEM/EM)
- Excellent organizational capabilities, including the ability to initiate tasks independently and see them through to completion
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and manage unforeseen outcomes by making informed, data-driven decisions grounded in evidence and logical analysis
- Curious mindset with a demonstrated ability to rapidly learn and apply new concepts across content areas, using AI as an enabler to enhance ideation, refine work products, and improve efficiency
- Ability to create product-focused materials/outputs, which may include PowerPoint decks, Excel models, articles, or other written deliverables
- Exceptional time management to meet your responsibilities in a complex and largely autonomous work environment
- Ability to work or attend meetings outside of traditional business hours or take on projects with limited or no notice at times
- Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, in English and local office language(s), with the ability to adjust your style to suit different perspectives and seniority levels