Category Manager

The Orders of St John Care Trust; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK charity is seeking a highly experienced Category Manager to lead procurement strategy in IT, Marketing, and HR categories. Based in Oxfordshire, the role involves partnering with stakeholders, managing supplier contracts, and ensuring value for money through effective negotiations. Ideal candidates will hold a degree and CIPS qualification, alongside strong negotiation and analytical skills. A competitive salary and benefits are offered, including a pension and generous holiday allowance.

Benefits

Competitive Salary

Company pension

25 days holidays plus Bank holidays

Life Assurance

'My Rewards' discounts

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of IT, Marketing & HR categories.
• Ability to evaluate proposals from a cost and risk perspective.
• Experience in developing, drafting, and managing supplier contracts.

Responsibilities

• Partner with stakeholders to understand their requirements.
• Undertake tenders from RFI/RFQ to conclusion.
• Maximize ROI on spend with third parties.
• Manage risks and negotiate contracts effectively.

Skills

Commercial negotiation skills

Analytical and numerical skills

Supplier relationship management

Education

Degree educated and CIPS qualified

Job description

Category Manager – IT, Marketing and HR

Salary: up to £60,000 per annum DOE

Location: Oxfordshire - Sandford Gate until the end of the year, then Woodley House in Aylesbury

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week, with hybrid working 2-3 days working across OSJCT trust sites.

We’re looking for a highly experienced Senior Buyer / Category Manager to support on the delivery of our procurement strategy for our IT, Marketing & HR categories. Partnering with internal stakeholders to understand their business requirements, create and deliver solutions that offer tangible benefits and best value.

We are one of the largest Not for Profit Care providers in the UK specialising in providing relationship-centred care for older people in nursing, residential and independent living homes. As a charity we ensure that any revenue goes straight back into our homes for the benefit of our residents and employees who care for them.

About the role

It is an exciting time to join the Trust as we are making a significant investment in our estate and technology roadmap. To help us achieve efficiencies and minimise waste we will be looking for someone to research, plan and choose a range of goods and services based on business needs and budget.

Some typical duties will include:

• Partnering with key stakeholders to understand their medium to long terms requirements
• Undertaking tenders from RFI / RFQ to conclusion
• Developing supplier relationships that will drive innovation, continual improvement and best practice
• Maximises the ROI on spend with third parties
• Ensuring via collaboration with the business that agreed project targets are delivered to time and budget.
• Managing risks and ensuring value for money through effective negotiations and putting in place appropriate contractual relationships

About you

You will have a good understanding of the IT, Marketing & HR categories so you can confidently predict emerging trends, lean on your existing supplier networks to ensure our negotiations remain competitive.

Ideally you will be degree educated and CIPS qualified. Your commercial negotiation skills will be first rate as well as developing, drafting and managing supplier contracts. Alongside this you will have strong analytical and numerical skills so can confidently evaluate proposals from a cost and risk perspective.

In return, as a key member of the procurement team you can expect benefits such as:

• Competitive Salary
• Company pension
• 25 days holidays plus Bank holidays, increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service
• Life Assurance
• 'My Rewards' offering you discount on shopping, days out, restaurants and much more