Category Manager, Clinical (Lab & Pharmacy) - Sourcing and Value Analysis

Category Manager – Clinical

The Category Manager – Clinical leads end-to-end sourcing and category management for assigned clinical spend (e.g., Surgery, GI, Cath, Cardiac Surgery, Nursing/Med-Surg, Lab, Pharmacy Support). This role develops and executes data-driven strategies, leads complex sourcing/negotiation, and manages key supplier relationships. They partner with Contracting, Clinical Value Analysis, physician leadership, clinical staff, Finance, Legal, and operational leaders to achieve savings, quality, patient safety, and risk management.

As the primary strategic owner of clinical spend portfolios, they collaborate across multi-disciplinary teams to optimize spend, contract strategy, clinical outcomes, standardization, evidence-based product selection, and operational efficiency for UTMB, aligning with reimbursement and patient care priorities.

Strategic Category Ownership and Planning:

• Manages a portfolio of clinical spend categories, contracts, and annual spend.
• Develops comprehensive category strategies and roadmaps (short-, medium-, long-term) using clinical spend data, evidence-based research, market intelligence, physician preference, reimbursement/payer analysis, TCO, and total cost of care models.
• Defines category segmentation, prioritizes sourcing initiatives (clinical outcomes, cost savings, product standardization, utilization management, risk mitigation), and aligns strategies with organizational clinical/financial objectives, quality metrics, annual savings targets, and service line priorities.
• Evaluates organizational impact of clinical spend categories to determine appropriate category management level.
• Participates in planning the annual strategic sourcing pipeline and contract renewal calendar with Contracting, Clinical Value Analysis, and Procurement.
• Drives successful implementation of new clinical procedures/technologies, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy, clinical effectiveness, reimbursement, and evidence-based standards.

Clinical Engagement and Evidence-Based Decision Making:

• Applies evidence-based healthcare practices, clinical standards, and outcome research to implement, evaluate, and standardize clinical products/services.
• Facilitates physician-led and multi-disciplinary clinical teams to review utilization, outcomes, and options for evidence-based product selection/standardization.
• Engages physicians, clinicians, and leadership in discussions on clinical practice variation, product preferences, utilization trends, and standardization opportunities, supported by clinical evidence and financial data.

Sourcing and Contracting Leadership:

• Develops and executes negotiation strategies incorporating clinical outcomes, quality, patient safety, total cost of care, physician preference, and vendor performance.
• Supports and participates in end-to-end sourcing events with Contracting FTEs, Clinical Value Analysis, and key stakeholders.
• Analyzes vendor proposals, clinical evidence, financial structures, utilization projections, and supplier data to determine clinical/financial risk; develops strategies to mitigate risk and optimize institutional value.
• Facilitates physician conversations and clinical consensus-building during sourcing; navigates complex clinical preference dynamics while focusing on evidence-based outcomes and institutional value.
• Collaborates with contracting and stakeholders to ensure clinical contracts, product agreements, and consignment arrangements include appropriate SLAs, clinical training commitments, terms, conditions, and performance measures for comprehensive business reviews.
• Ensures compliance with all regulatory requirements, policies, and procedures (FDA, Joint Commission, State of Texas procurement, UCC, UT System, UTMB institutional, patient safety protocols) internally and externally.

Supplier Relationship and Performance Management:

• Serves as primary supplier/manufacturer relationship manager for key clinical suppliers, supporting onboarding, business reviews, clinical training coordination, escalation management, and strategic partnership development.
• Collaborates on developing, implementing, and monitoring supplier performance scorecards/KPIs, evaluating clinical quality, product performance, patient safety, cost, service delivery (on-time delivery, backorder management, rep support), compliance, innovation, and risk mitigation.
• Drives corrective action plans and continuous improvement with underperforming suppliers; identifies and implements supplier-enabled clinical innovation, new technology evaluation, product standardization, and process improvements to support clinical excellence, patient safety, and operational efficiency.
• Manages and evaluates clinical contract relationships (GPO, IDN, manufacturer direct) to identify and maximize clinical value, cost savings, and new opportunities.
• Establishes quality standards/initiatives; monitors supplier performance against clinical quality standards and addresses quality, compliance, or patient safety…