Category Manager - Media & Marketing
McKinsey & Company
Marketing & Communications
Madrid, Spain · Prague, Czechia · Lisbon, Portugal · Poznań, Poland · London, UK
Posted on Feb 21, 2026
Category Manager - Media & Marketing
Job ID: 106016
Do you want to work on complex and pressing challenges—the kind that bring together curious, ambitious, and determined leaders who strive to become better every day? If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.
Your Impact
As Category Manager for Media and Marketing, you will lead a high-impact, enterprise-wide portfolio spanning a diverse ecosystem of media and marketing suppliers. This includes publishers, editorial partners, social media platforms, branding and creative agencies, and digital media vendors.
You will be accountable for shaping and executing a comprehensive category strategy that advances the firm’s brand objectives, supports business priorities, drives financial value, ensures regulatory and policy compliance, and enhances the overall effectiveness and reach of our marketing investments.
In this strategic role, you will define the long-term direction of the Media and Marketing category by developing forward-looking strategies, cultivating strong cross-functional partnerships, and building high-value relationships with critical suppliers who shape the firm’s global brand presence and market engagement. You will drive innovation and efficiency in how the firm sources and manages media and marketing services across global and regional markets, ensuring supplier partnerships deliver measurable business outcomes and meaningful audience impact.
You will develop and implement global and regional category strategies aligned with brand, growth, and communications objectives. Through disciplined supplier lifecycle management—spanning sourcing, contracting, performance management, and continuous improvement—you will optimize how the firm engages with its marketing ecosystem.
Working closely with Marketing, Communications, Finance, Legal, Risk, and Compliance teams, you will identify opportunities to rationalize the supplier landscape, consolidate strategic partnerships, and unlock cost efficiencies without compromising brand quality, creative excellence, reach, or performance. You will lead commercial negotiations, including rate cards, scopes of work, performance incentives, and contract renewals, while strengthening contract structures and mitigating commercial and reputational risk.
Through robust supplier performance management and clearly defined KPIs, you will ensure partners deliver against quality, innovation, sustainability, and value targets. You will continuously evaluate evolving industry trends, emerging platforms, digital capabilities, and new supplier models to inform category strategy and position the firm at the forefront of media and marketing excellence.
Your work will drive the evolution toward a scalable, data-informed, and future-ready category strategy—unlocking value through strong supplier relationships, operational discipline, and strategic investment decisions that enable the firm to grow its brand, amplify its voice, and innovate with confidence.
You’ll have the opportunity to build new skills, expand your industry exposure, and make a tangible impact on how the firm engages with its marketing and media partners globally.
Your Growth
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.
Your qualifications and skills
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
- 5–10 years of experience in category management, strategic sourcing, or procurement, with a strong preference for media and/or marketing categories
- Demonstrated experience managing suppliers such as media agencies, publishers, editorial partners, social media platforms, branding or creative agencies
- Strong commercial acumen with proven negotiation and influencing skills
- Experience working in complex, global, matrixed organizations
- Ability to operate independently with minimal guidance while collaborating effectively with cross-functional stakeholders
- Recognized ability to engage with senior business partners and external suppliers, including Legal and Risk teams
- Experience with supplier performance management and governance frameworks
- Professional procurement certification (e.g., CPSM, CIPS) considered an asset
- International experience and understanding of regional market dynamics strongly preferred
Please review the additional requirements regarding essential job functions of McKinsey colleagues.
Our unwavering commitment to integrity drives everything we do, guiding us to always act in the best interests of our clients, our people, and the communities we serve.
FOR U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
FOR NON-U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. For additional details regarding our global EEO policy and diversity initiatives, please visit our McKinsey Careers and Diversity & Inclusion sites.
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Job Skill Group - CSSA
Job Skill Code - MPC - Procurement Manager
Function -
Industry -
Post to LinkedIn - Yes
Posted to LinkedIn Date - Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 GMT 2026
LinkedIn Posting City - London
LinkedIn Posting State/Province -
LinkedIn Posting Country - United Kingdom
LinkedIn Job Title - Category Manager - Media & Marketing
LinkedIn Function - Consulting;Marketing;Supply Chain
LinkedIn Industry - Management Consulting
LinkedIn Seniority Level - Mid-Senior level
Job Skill Code - MPC - Procurement Manager
Function -
Industry -
Post to LinkedIn - Yes
Posted to LinkedIn Date - Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 GMT 2026
LinkedIn Posting City - London
LinkedIn Posting State/Province -
LinkedIn Posting Country - United Kingdom
LinkedIn Job Title - Category Manager - Media & Marketing
LinkedIn Function - Consulting;Marketing;Supply Chain
LinkedIn Industry - Management Consulting
LinkedIn Seniority Level - Mid-Senior level