Category Lead

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Woking; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Structured career development

25 days holiday + BH

Enhanced company pension

Discretionary bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Sabbatical opportunity

Lifestyle benefits (discounts)

Parental leave

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

McLaren Automotive is seeking an Indirect Procurement Category Lead to drive category strategies across Construction, Facilities Management, Capex, and Professional services.

You will own strategic sourcing, lead senior-level negotiations with suppliers, and partner across internal stakeholders up to C-suite to ensure value, risk mitigation, and supply resilience. Based in Woking and Oxfordshire, the role offers a broad, high-impact procurement remit.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of the global procurement landscape, regulations, and market dynamics.
• Strong negotiation and contract management capability.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects concurrently.
• Excellent communication and senior stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong commercial awareness and risk assessment.
• Strong team player with good interpersonal skills.
• Collaborative and approachable.
• Proven experience developing category strategies in a matrix organisation.
• Strong background leading complex sourcing programmes.
• Demonstrated delivery of cost savings and spend optimisation.
• Self-driven and outcome-focused.
• Collaborative, with the ability to build effective working relationships across teams and functions.
• Strong influencer with sound commercial judgement.
• Calm, structured and decisive under pressure.
• Strategic thinker with strong prioritisation skills.
• Methodical and detail oriented, with a clear focus on delivery and outcomes.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Able to prioritise a demanding workload while maintaining control of outcomes and stakeholder expectations.

Responsibilities

• Identify commercial opportunities and develop sourcing strategies and answer sourcing decisions across the Category portfolio in charge of.
• Deliver sourcing approaches that deliver value, financial savings, supply assurance and risk mitigation aligned to the category strategies.
• Apply contractual expertise to implement commercial protections, and performance measures.
• Work closely with internal service owners to support demand management, supplier performance and ongoing category optimisation.

Skills

Negotiation

Contract management

Stakeholder mgmt

Global markets

Analytical mindset

Category strategy

Sourcing strategy

Mentoring

Team collaboration

Communication

Influence

Commercial awareness

Risk assessment

Job description

What to Expect

We are currently recruiting for a Indirect Category Lead to be based in Woking Surrey & Bicester, OxfordshireAs an Indirect Procurement Category Lead, you will manage procurement activities and support the business across spend categories for a key & exciting development project driving McLaren’s growth. These may include, but are not limited to, Construction, Facilities Management, Capex expenditure & Professional services with corporate functions. You will own the category strategies and lead the execution of strategic and complex sourcing activities across the full procurement lifecycle, ensuring value creation, commercial governance, supply resilience and risk mitigation.

This role requires:

• Strong understanding of both the UK and Global markets
• Good negotiation skills
• Structured & detail-driven analytical mindset
• Ability to collaborate and influence with stakeholders at all levels particularly at a higher-level.
• Ability to mentor & guide younger team members and support McLaren management in creating a high-performing culture

What You'll Do

• Identify commercial opportunities and develop sourcing strategies and answer sourcing decisions across the Category portfolio in charge of.
• Deliver sourcing approaches that deliver value, financial savings, supply assurance and risk mitigation aligned to the category strategies.
• Apply contractual expertise to implement commercial protections, and performance measures.
• Work closely with internal service owners to support demand management, supplier performance and ongoing category optimisation.

Stakeholder Management:

• Act as the primary commercial interface between McLaren and suppliers.
• Lead high‑value negotiations ensuring optimal commercial outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with Internal stakeholders up to C‑suite members.
• Report & present sourcing strategies & nomination to senior stakeholders

Process & Governance

• Ensure consistent, compliant procurement processes are applied to select suppliers that deliver optimum value and service for McLaren. This includes supplier due diligence, risk assessment, evaluation, negotiation and contract execution.
• Lead the set up and execution of strategic and complex sourcing projects across defined categories, including senior stakeholder engagement and governance approvals.
• Apply detailed knowledge of contractual terms and conditions, ensuring contracts remain commercially robust, budgets are controlled, change is managed effectively and risk is mitigated.
• Apply strong contract management ensuring budgets, change and risk are controlled.

What You'll Bring

Business Knowledge

• – Knowledge of the global procurement landscape, regulations, and market dynamics.
• – Good commercial awareness with an ability to assess risk in the appropriate context.

Essential Functional / Technical Skills

• – Strong negotiation and contract management capability.
• – Ability to manage multiple complex projects concurrently.
• – Excellent communication and senior stakeholder engagement skills.
• – Strong commercial awareness and risk assessment.
• – Strong team player with good interpersonal skills
• – Collaborative and approachable

Personal Attributes / Competencies

• – Proven experience developing category strategies in a matrix organisation.
• – Strong background leading complex sourcing programmes.
• – Demonstrated delivery of cost savings and spend optimisation.
• – Self‑driven and outcome‑focused.
• – Collaborative, with the ability to build effective working relationships across teams and functions.
• – Strong influencer with sound commercial judgement.
• – Calm, structured and decisive under pressure.
• – Strategic thinker with strong prioritisation skills.
• – Methodical and detail oriented, with a clear focus on delivery and outcomes.
• – Strategic thinker with the ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• – Able to prioritise a demanding workload while maintaining control of outcomes and stakeholder expectations.

What We'll Do for You

We offer a wide – ranging benefits package, which includes:

• Structured career development framework
• 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holiday. Annual buy & sell up to five days
• Enhanced company pension scheme
• Discretionary annual bonus award
• Private medical insurance and health cash plan
• Life assurance benefit
• Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years’ service
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• Generous parental leave policies
• A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice

Who Are We?

No restraints. No limitations. We don’t simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath‑making performance road cars.

It takes a community to do what we do. A diverse group of people with many areas of expertise, united by their passion to deliver visionary products and set new benchmarks.

McLaren Automotive commits to equal opportunity for all. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is at the heart of our impact, it drives our innovation and enables us to truly create something special. Join us on our journey.