Senior Category Manager

To lead, develop and execute category strategies across high-value direct and indirect spend categories with a total spend exceeding £200 million annually. The Senior Category Manager will be responsible for delivering measurable commercial outcomes, influencing business decision-making through data-driven insight, challenging demand and spend behaviours, and supporting the continued development of procurement capability, governance and supplier management across the organisation. This role requires a commercially driven and entrepreneurial individual who can operate effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment, balancing immediate value delivery with longer-term capability development. The successful candidate will have the ability to identify and create opportunities, build stakeholder relationships where none currently exist, and establish Procurement as a trusted business partner Key Responsibilities Category Strategy & Leadership Develop and maintain category strategies that optimise cost, quality, risk, resilience and supplier performance. Align category strategies to business priorities and future organisational requirements. Challenge business demand, specifications and legacy approaches to ensure expenditure delivers maximum value. Build and maintain category plans, opportunity pipelines and sourcing strategies across assigned spend areas. Lead category governance and performance review activities with key stakeholders. Commercial Delivery & Value Creation Deliver measurable commercial value through cost reduction, cost avoidance, supplier optimisation, demand management and risk mitigation initiatives. Lead complex sourcing, negotiation and contracting activities across strategic categories. Develop and execute multi-year category plans aligned to business objectives. Support robust value tracking and reporting in partnership with Finance and business stakeholders. Drive sustainable commercial outcomes rather than one-off procurement events. Stakeholder Management & Influence Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across the organisation and act as a trusted commercial advisor. Proactively identify, engage and develop relationships in areas where Procurement has limited or no existing presence. Establish credibility and trust through commercial expertise, delivery and effective partnership. Influence expenditure decisions through insight, market knowledge and commercial expertise. Challenge existing ways of working and spend behaviours where appropriate. Facilitate alignment across business functions to support procurement and category objectives. Increase Procurement visibility, engagement and commercial influence across the organisation. Support the development of commercial awareness and procurement engagement across the business. Supplier & Market Management Develop supplier strategies that improve performance, service quality, resilience and innovation. Lead strategic supplier relationships and commercial negotiations. Monitor market trends, emerging risks and opportunities within assigned categories. Support effective contract management and supplier governance activities. Ensure key suppliers are aligned to business objectives and performance expectations. Data, Insight & Analysis Leverage spend data, market intelligence and commercial analysis to identify opportunities and risks. Translate data into actionable recommendations and category strategies. Utilise total cost of ownership, cost modelling and benchmarking techniques where appropriate. Present clear and concise insights to business stakeholders and senior leadership. Direct and prioritise analytical support resources to maximise category and business outcomes. Work closely with shared procurement data analysts to ensure analytical activity is focused on the highest-value commercial opportunities. Procurement Capability & Continuous Improvement Operate effectively within a developing procurement environment, helping shape practical and scalable ways of working. Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, governance, reporting and category management disciplines. Demonstrate a proactive and solution-focused approach to delivering outcomes despite ambiguity, competing priorities or imperfect information. Support the ongoing development of procurement capability across the organisation. Contribute to the continuous improvement of procurement tools, data and reporting capabilities. Act as a change agent, helping stakeholders adopt improved commercial and procurement practices. Governance, Compliance & Risk Ensure compliance with procurement governance requirements, sourcing frameworks and delegated authority limits. Identify and mitigate commercial, operational, contractual and supplier-related risks. Support audit, assurance and governance activities where required. Promote transparency, accountability and appropriate commercial controls across procurement activities. Skills, Knowledge and Expertise Significant Procurement and Category Management experience with a proven track record of delivering value across direct and/or indirect spend categories. Experience managing complex, multi-category portfolios within large, international or geographically dispersed organisations. Demonstrated success leading strategic sourcing, supplier management and commercial negotiation activities. Proven ability to build stakeholder relationships and establish credibility in environments where Procurement engagement is limited, developing or immature. Demonstrated success identifying opportunities, creating demand for procurement support and influencing business decisions through relationship development and commercial insight. Strong stakeholder management skills with the confidence to influence and challenge senior decision-makers. Proven ability to operate independently, take ownership and deliver results in a dynamic environment. Strong analytical capability, with the ability to translate data into commercially compelling recommendations. Experience working with analytical resources and translating business requirements into actionable insight. Experience operating successfully within a growing, transforming or evolving organisation where processes, governance and ways of working were being developed or enhanced. Demonstrates an entrepreneurial mindset, identifying opportunities, overcoming obstacles and delivering results with limited structure or direction. Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution. Strong communication, influencing and relationship-building skills. Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, Finance or a related discipline. CIPS, CPSM or equivalent professional qualification desirable. MBA or postgraduate qualification advantageous but not essential.