Category Lead

Category Lead

Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members that serves communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. We deliver personalized health care experiences and partner closely with providers to ensure members are genuinely cared for.

We're a team that owns our work with accountability, makes data-driven decisions, embraces continuous learning, and celebrates collaboration — because success is a team sport. It's our mission to be there in the moments that matter most for our members and employees. Join us in creating a community of connected care, where coordinated, quality service is the norm and every member feels valued.

The Category Lead is accountable for category performance, vendor outcomes, and strategic alignment across assigned business functions. Rather than focusing on RFx execution alone, this role emphasizes when and why to go to market, how to structure the existing vendor ecosystems, and how to continuously improve performance across categories.

You will:

• Lead the full vendor lifecycle for strategic vendors (Tier One = Vendors with direct Category Lead ownership) while supporting broader vendor portfolio on business demand
• Own category strategy and vendor outcomes, while working with Contract Managers to execute sourcing initiatives aligned to those strategies
• Act as the single point of accountability for category health, value delivery, and business alignment.

Why this role:

• Shape Medica's Procurement transformation to a category-led operating model
• Expand influence beyond sourcing and contracting into enterprise decision-making
• Own end-to-end vendor and category outcomes

Performs other duties as assigned.

Key Accountabilities

• Category & Strategy Leadership
  • Own and evolve category strategies aligned to business objectives, financial targets, and risk frameworks
  • Use market intelligence, supplier insights, and internal data to shape proactive plans and sourcing approaches
  • Identify opportunities to consolidate vendors, optimize demand, and improve overall category performance.
• Strategic Sourcing Integration
  • Lead RFx strategies (RFI/RFP/RFQ) tied to category plans
  • Partner with ES&P peers and business stakeholders to structure deals, negotiate outcomes, and align contracts to business value from a pre-sale position. (Commercial contract experience is nice to have but not required as contracting is managed by a separate function.)
  • Apply best-practice sourcing levers such as benchmarking, competitive analysis, & pricing models to improve outcomes without increasing process burden
• Data-Driven Decision Making
  • Leverage spend data, market insights, and performance metrics to lead decisions and prioritize actions
  • Develop reporting on savings, value realization, and service performance
  • Leverage market insights, spend data, and vendor performance metrics to inform strategy, prioritize actions, and drive measurable outcomes
• Business Partnership & Advisory
  • Serve as the primary strategic interface between business stakeholders and vendor ecosystem
  • Translate business needs into category strategies, sourcing approaches, and vendor actions
  • Influence senior leaders through data-driven insights and forward-looking recommendations
• Vendor Lifecycle & Performance Management
  • Maintain vendor scorecards, SLAs, and performance dashboards to ensure strong service delivery and accountability for strategic vendors. Reports on broader vendor portfolio ticket performance
  • Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and remediation plans with vendors
  • Facilitate Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and ongoing strategic engagement with strategic vendors
• Risk, Compliance & Governance
  • Ensure vendor and category alignment with contractual obligations, regulatory requirements, and risk frameworks identified during pre and post contracting audit
  • Monitor compliance, manage audit findings, and mitigate risks across the category
  • Partner with internal teams (Risk, Compliance, Legal) to ensure consistent governance

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, or related field
• 8+ years of experience in vendor management, sourcing, or procurement (Combine is ok!)
• Strong understanding of vendor lifecycle management and sourcing principles
• Experience partnering with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders
• Proven ability to influence decisions and deliver measurable business outcomes
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with internal and vendor executives
• Industry experience in healthcare, fintech, or technology (preferred)
• Knowledge of compliance- and regulatory- heavy functions (Fraud, Payments, Compliance, Information Security) is a plus

Preferred Qualifications

• Can connect market dynamics, vendor performance, and business goals
• Builds trust with stakeholders and vendor executives
• Understands pricing, contracts, and value levers
• Uses analytics to lead decisions and tell a compelling story
• Drives outcomes while managing competing priorities
• Thrives in a transforming, evolving operating model
• Experience with Zip Procurement, Workday, Microsoft Products, including Power BI

This position is an Office role, which requires an employee to work onsite, on average, 3 days per week. We are open to candidates located near one of the following office locations: Minnetonka, MN, or Madison, WI.

The full salary grade for this position is $88,800 - $152,300. While the full salary grade is provided, the typical hiring salary range for this role is expected to be between $88,800 - $133,245. Annual salary range placement will depend on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, education, work experience, applicable certifications and/or licensure, the position's scope and responsibility, internal pay equity and external market salary data.  In addition to compensation, Medica offers a generous total rewards package that includes competitive medical, dental, vision, PTO, Holidays, paid volunteer time off, 401K contributions, caregiver services and many other benefits to support our employees.

The compensation and benefits information is provided as of the date of this posting. Medica's compensation and benefits are subject to change at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

Eligibility to work in the US: Medica does not offer work visa sponsorship for this role. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. Employment is contingent on verification of identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

We are an Equal Opportunity employer, where all qualified candidates receive consideration for employment indiscriminate of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.