Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice Principal; Payer

Overview

As a Principal within Kearney’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice, you will be a key contributor to the growth and development of the firm, working closely with clients and colleagues to develop insights and deliver high‑impact results. You will support engagements from start to finish—problem definition through analysis, synthesis, and client communication. You will contribute to client work addressing challenges related to corporate strategy, performance improvement, enterprise transformation, mergers & acquisitions, and commercial strategy initiatives across the Healthcare sector.

Given the continued growth of our Healthcare sector, we are particularly interested in candidates with experience across the payer and health insurance landscape as well as product and pricing strategy engagements.

• Lead large, complex Healthcare transformations from strategy through execution and value realization
• Support corporate, growth, and commercial go‑to‑market strategy engagements for Healthcare clients
• Serve as a trusted advisor to C‑suite and senior supply chain leaders
• Drive impact across core planning capabilities, including demand planning and forecasting, supply planning and network alignment, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) / Integrated Business Planning (IBP), inventory strategy and optimization, sense‑and‑respond and planning agility ("sense & pivot"), lead cross‑functional teams and independently manage high‑impact engagement work streams for large programs, translate complex analyses into clear executive‑ready insights and recommendations, and possess strong content depth and knowledge in industry hot topics

• Originate and expand client relationships, with a strong focus on growing planning‑related engagements
• Lead proposal development and actively contribute to senior‑level client pitches
• Demonstrate a commercial mindset, identifying opportunities within existing accounts and new clients
• Support the continued growth and differentiation of Kearney’s Healthcare & Life Sciences offering

• Lead large‑scale programs with end‑to‑end accountability for delivery and outcomes
• Mentor and develop team members while fostering a collaborative, high‑performing culture
• Provide coaching across engagements to ensure quality, consistency, and impact
• Actively contribute to building the next generation of planning leaders within the practice

After nearly 100 years, we know this business is fundamentally about making connections—between facts, figures, insights, strategies, tools, technologies, and above all, people. That’s why we look for collaborative, insightful, and inquisitive problem‑solvers who don’t accept the first thing in front of them and who are always unapologetically themselves.

• An MBA (preferred) and 10+ years of professional experience
• Relevant management consulting experience with strong market traction at the Principal level
• Experience working with clients in Healthcare, with experience across the payer and health insurance landscape as well as product and pricing strategy engagements
• Experience supporting Fortune 500 clients through long‑term engagements
• Proven experience managing proposal development, participating in client pitches, and driving business development within existing and new accounts
• A passion for leading teams and mentoring colleagues
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple major work streams within business design engagements
• Exceptional consulting skills (presentation, communication, analytics, problem solving, leadership, presence)
• A willingness to travel as required

Principal base salary – $245,000‑$270,000. Compensation is determined through a wide variety of factors. In addition to salary, individuals may be eligible for a discretionary performance bonus. Our full suite of benefits includes paid time off, 401(k) match and profit sharing, medical, dental and vision coverage, healthcare concierge, backup child/adult care, annual employer HSA contribution, home office stipend, subsidized…