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Strategy Manager Jobs in Madison, WI (NOW HIRING)

NACBA

Director of Legal Strategy

Madison, WI · On-site

$130 - $150/hr

Manage outside counsel, experts, and litigation budgets as appropriate. * Collaborate with grants ... Excellent strategic judgment. * Outstanding oral and written communication. * Ability to manage ...

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Cliftonlarsonallen

Tax Manager or Director

Madison, WI · On-site

$111K - $146K/yr

As Our Ideal Candidate * 6 years of experience in a large professional services or public accounting firm, driving strategic management. * 10+ years experience highly preferred. * You have a bachelor ...

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Strategy Manager information

See Madison, WI salary details

$55.9K

$125.6K

$219.2K

How much do strategy manager jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for strategy manager in Madison, WI is $125,610.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $90,700.00 and $158,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

How much do strategy managers make in the US?

Strategy managers in the US typically earn a median annual salary of around $100,000 to $130,000, with higher earnings possible based on experience, industry, and location. Senior roles or those in large corporations can exceed $150,000 annually, often supplemented by bonuses and benefits.

What is a strategy manager?

A strategy manager oversees an organization’s progress toward departmental goals. As a strategy manager, you work closely with senior-level administrators to determine how best to reach the company’s objectives. Job duties vary, depending on the industry and the type of company, but they typically include collecting and analyzing data, researching trends, and mapping out plans to reach your goals. You may also train employees on how to implement your strategies more efficiently. Strategy managers typically work within a specific department of a large company, such as marketing, sales, or distribution. For example, a sales strategy manager serves as a liaison between upper management and the sales team, networks with potential clients and other business contacts, and trains the sales department on how to increase sales.

What is the difference between Strategy Manager vs Business Analyst?

AspectStrategy ManagerBusiness Analyst
Required CredentialsBachelor's degree; often MBA; strategic planning certificationsBachelor's degree; certifications like CBAP or PMI-PBA beneficial
Work EnvironmentCorporate strategy teams, consulting firms, senior managementProject teams, operational departments, consulting projects
Employer & Industry UsageLarge corporations, consulting firms, finance, techVarious industries including finance, healthcare, tech, and manufacturing

The main difference between a Strategy Manager and a Business Analyst lies in their focus and scope. Strategy Managers develop long-term plans and oversee strategic initiatives, while Business Analysts analyze business processes and support project implementation. Strategy Managers typically operate at a higher strategic level, whereas Business Analysts focus on specific projects and operational improvements.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a strategy manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Strategy Manager, you need strong analytical skills, business acumen, and experience in strategic planning, often supported by a degree in business, economics, or a related field. Familiarity with data analysis tools (such as Excel, Tableau, or Power BI), financial modeling, and consulting frameworks is commonly required, and an MBA or similar certification is advantageous. Exceptional communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills help drive alignment and effective execution of strategic initiatives. These skills are essential for guiding organizations toward long-term goals, making informed decisions, and maintaining a competitive edge.

How does a strategy manager typically collaborate with other departments within an organization?

Strategy Managers work closely with a variety of departments—including finance, marketing, operations, and executive leadership—to ensure organizational goals are aligned and strategic initiatives are executed effectively. They often facilitate cross-functional meetings, gather input from diverse stakeholders, and synthesize data to inform decision-making. This collaborative environment helps Strategy Managers identify potential challenges early and promotes buy-in for new initiatives across the company. Success in the role often depends on strong communication and relationship-building skills.
More about Strategy Manager jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Strategy jobs in Madison, WI? The most popular types of Strategy jobs in Madison, WI are:
What are popular job titles related to Strategy Manager jobs in Madison, WI? For Strategy Manager jobs in Madison, WI, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Strategy Manager jobs in Madison, WI look for? The top searched job categories for Strategy Manager jobs in Madison, WI are:
What cities near Madison, WI are hiring for Strategy Manager jobs? Cities near Madison, WI with the most Strategy Manager job openings:
Strategy Manager jobs near you
Infographic showing various Strategy Manager job openings in Madison, WI as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 83% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 82% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 15% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $125,628 per year, or $60.4 per hour.

Manager of Strategic Sourcing, Software and Engineering

Zendesk

Madison, WI • On-site

$130K - $168K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 28 days ago

Job description

Job Description

Manager of Strategic Sourcing, Software and Engineering

Location: Hybrid role in:

Austin, TX

Madison, WI

San Francisco, CA

The Global Strategic Sourcing team helps maximize value and minimize risk through Zendesk's vendor relationships and ensures the organization has the goods and services needed for success.

As Manager of Strategic Sourcing, you will play a key role during the sourcing strategy and execution across software and engineering categories. You'll use your innovative thinking, analytical and negotiating skills to oversee and lead highly complex negotiations, contract review, and usage forecasting to achieve top-line growth and maximize value to the company.

This role encompasses all aspects of the sourcing's responsibilities including category assessment, vendor due diligence, RFx, contract negotiations and vendor management.

Key responsibilities:

  • Strategic Guidance & Influence: Guide and influence business and senior leadership through key strategic projects and procurement strategy, focusing on critical vendor management, integration, and informed purchase guidance aligned to Zendesk growth and partner vision. This includes developing executive-level presentations and analysis for internal partner communications/updates.
  • Forecasting & Data Alignment: Develop, maintain, and validate accurate forecasts for usage, licenses, and capacity for key contracts (e.g., AWS, Google, MongoDB, Snowflake, and others) in collaboration with Engineering, IT, and business units to gather data and identify trends or potential risks to inform contract negotiations and prevent over-commitment or unnecessary costs.
  • AI/LLM Sourcing & Optimization: Lead sourcing strategy, complex negotiations, and vendor diversification for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Model (LLM) providers. Analyze and optimize AI/LLM consumption, including token usage and capacity planning, to inform contract negotiations and mitigate financial risk.
  • Sourcing Execution & Cost Management: Lead end-to-end sourcing execution, including market research, RFx strategy development, and acting as an escalation point for contract negotiations partnering with Legal, Security, and IT. Support spend management projects focused on savings, process efficiency, and risk reduction, including total cost of ownership evaluations and pricing audits.
  • Multi-Vendor LLM Strategy: Implement and manage a multi-vendor LLM ecosystem strategy, including coordinating sourcing for frontier labs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic), hyperscaler routes (e.g., AWS Bedrock, Gemini/Vertex), and open-weight model providers (e.g., Groq, Baseten) to ensure diversification, cost efficiency, and performance optimization.
  • Commercial Leverage & Commitment Discipline: Drive commercial leverage by maintaining commitment discipline (targeting ~60% of forecasted spend) and pursuing flexible, shorter (6-12 month) renewal cycles with major LLM providers to mitigate market volatility and pricing shifts.
  • AI Productivity Governance: Collaborate with Engineering and IT to manage the governance layer for internal AI productivity tooling (e.g., LibreChat, Claude Code, Gemini) to track seat vs. consumption costs and align model spend with security and legal approvals.

Personal qualities:

  • 5+ years of experience sourcing for a tech or software company
  • Strong software and engineering strategic negotiation skills
  • Proven team player and ability to build and maintain business partnerships
  • Executive level communication and presentation skills
  • Highly motivated towards achieving cost savings and operational improvement goals
  • Demonstrated subject matter expertise in the functional areas of Technology, product and engineering.
  • Proven success leading projects that impact multiple functional areas
  • Flexibility and influence in working in a high growth, high volume environment
  • Demonstrated subject matter expertise in AI infrastructure, including RAG frameworks, AI gateways, and consumption-based pricing models.
  • Understanding of how AI and automation are reshaping the competitive landscape for software and professional services vendors.
  • Proven ability to integrate commercial strategy with a technical ecosystem, specifically leveraging hyperscaler routes for negotiating better terms and model portability.
  • Experience negotiating with vendors offering revenue-based pricing models and managing data usage agreements that involve AI/LLM usage, such as API renewals.
The US annualized base salary range for this position is $116,000.00-$174,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.

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