Procurement Category Manager - #2081731

We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Procurement Category Manager to join our clients Finance and Procurement team. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in delivering strategic procurement outcomes, supporting major projects, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring compliance with public sector procurement legislation.

As Procurement Category Manager, you will lead a category portfolio, providing expert procurement, commercial, contract management and supply chain advice to senior stakeholders. You will work collaboratively across the institution to deliver value for money, manage risk, and support our clients strategic objectives.

This role combines strategic procurement leadership with operational delivery and offers the opportunity to influence high-value procurement decisions across a diverse range of categories.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Procurement & Category Management

• Develop and implement category strategies that align with our clients priorities and deliver measurable value.
• Build market intelligence through research, benchmarking and spend analysis.
• Lead procurement projects from concept to contract award, including market engagement, specification development, tendering and contract implementation.
• Identify and recommend the most appropriate procurement routes and commercial solutions.
• Ensure compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 and other relevant legislation.

Stakeholder & Supplier Management

• Provide expert procurement and commercial advice to senior stakeholders across the business.
• Build strong partnerships with teams to support strategic decision-making.
• Lead stakeholder engagement activities throughout procurement projects.
• Manage key supplier and contract relationships to ensure performance, value and continuous improvement.

Leadership & Team Management

• Provide leadership, coaching and performance management for direct reports.
• Support the development of a high-performing procurement team through mentoring, training and knowledge sharing.
• Act as an escalation point for procurement and contract management issues.
• Contribute to service planning, resource allocation and operational excellence.

Contract Management & Governance

• Lead and advise on contract management activities for our clients key suppliers.
• Authorise purchase orders and contracts in accordance with financial regulations.
• Maintain procurement systems, records and reporting requirements, including tender logs, contract databases and procurement pipelines.
• Ensure procurement activity is conducted with transparency, integrity and compliance.

Continuous Improvement & Collaboration

• Lead procurement initiatives that improve processes, efficiency and stakeholder experience.
• Contribute to policy development, service improvement and best practice implementation.
• Work collaboratively with external procurement bodies and regional partners to support collaborative and ethical procurement initiatives.
• Support transformational projects and strategic business initiatives.

About You

You will be a driven, procurement professional with strong commercial awareness, excellent stakeholder management skills and experience operating within a regulated procurement environment.

Essential Requirements

• Procurement qualification or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience managing procurement and/or contract management activities within one or more categories such as construction, services, IT, software or professional services.
• Strong knowledge of public sector procurement regulations and commercial legislation.
• Experience delivering complex procurement projects and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Experience providing expert advice and commercial guidance to senior stakeholders.
• Experience letting and managing contracts for goods, services and/or works.
• Experience supervising or managing staff.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, literacy and numeracy skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Desirable

• Experience developing and delivering procurement training or stakeholder engagement events.
• Experience contributing to policy development and organisational standards.
• Knowledge of procurement systems and e-procurement platforms.

What We're Looking For

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Excellent customer service and stakeholder engagement capabilities.
• The ability to communicate and influence effectively at all levels.
• A collaborative and partnership-focused approach.
• Commercial awareness and strategic thinking.
• Evidence-based decision making and problem-solving skills.

Why Join Our Client?

This is a dynamic and diverse opportunity to make a significant impact within a complex and rewarding environment. You'll work on high-profile procurement projects, influence strategic decision-making, and help deliver value and innovation across the business while developing your own professional career in a supportive and collaborative team who meet on a fortnightly basis for business specific training.

For more information about the role, company, benefits please apply/contact [email protected] directly.