Category Manager Band 6 Speciality: Procurement Salary: £39,959 - £48,117 per annum Weekly working pattern: Flexible working Home or remote working

UHNM; Wolverhampton; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Home or remote working

Job summary

UHNM is seeking two Category Managers to join the Non-Medical Strategic Procurement team across The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. The roles are 24-month fixed term contracts delivering key procurement projects.

Offered with full-time hours, 37.5 per week, flexible working and home/remote options. On-site attendance required two days per week with some travel to Stoke-on-Trent/Stafford as needed.

Qualifications

• Qualified to CIPS NVQ Level 4 or equivalent CIPS knowledge and/or experience which can be demonstrated using experience and knowledge
• Management or Leadership qualification

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of contracts and categories to meet Trusts' procurement objectives
• Ensure best value for money and compliance with procurement legislation and Standing Financial Instructions

Education

CIPS NVQ Level 4 or equivalent

Management or Leadership qualification

Job description

Main area Procurement Grade Band 6 Contract 24 months (Fixed term contract for 24 months to deliver specific projects.) Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working
• Home or remote working

37.5 hours per week (Normally, 3 days work from home, 2 days in office at RWT or WHT, but this can vary.) Job ref 205-8176212-B

Site New Cross Hospital Town Wolverhampton Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 20/11/2026 23:59

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Wolverhampton and Walsall team of the North Midlands and Black Country Procurement Group (NMBC), which is seeking to recruit 2 forward thinking, ambitious and commercially astute Category Managers to join their busy and evolving team on a 24-month fixed term contract.

The NMBC is comprised of The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (WHT), The Black Country Pathology Services (BCPS), North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust (NSCHT), Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust (BCHFT), Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) and Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU).

We reserve the right to close the advert earlier than the stated date.

There is no possibility of sponsorship for these roles, and applicants requiring sponsorship will therefore be rejected.

Due to the temporary nature of these roles, there will be no funding or time off for CIPS or other study.

On-site working is required for at least 2 days per week. Requests for home working for more than 3 days per week cannot be accepted.

Main duties of the job

These posts sit in the Non-Medical Strategic Procurement team for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and report to the Strategic Procurement Managers of the Medical and Non-Medical Strategic teams. The roles are directly responsible for the management of a portfolio of contracts and specific categories within the Procurement portfolio to meet the needs of the Trusts' strategy and customer base requirements, and the post holders will ensure best value for money at all times whilst ensuring compliance with Procurement Legislation, UK Law and the Trusts' respective Standing Financial Instructions.

The Category Managers will lead and support on the procurement of several goods and services for the Trusts and their partners. These posts will be integral to supporting the Department in the delivery of the Trusts' Procurement objectives.

Please note, although the position is based at Wolverhampton and Walsall, there may at times be some requirement for the successful postholder to travel to sites in Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford.

Working for our organisation

Part of the NMBC, the role is chiefly responsible for providing a service to both the Wolverhampton and the Walsall Trusts.

RWT:

With over 11,000 staff, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust provides care at the following locations:

New Cross Hospital – The main acute hospital delivers a wide range of planned and elective care, urgent and emergency care, maternity services, outpatient services, and highly specialist treatments.

West Park Hospital – The rehabilitation hospital provides inpatient and day care services, therapy services, and outpatient services.

Cannock Chase Hospital – This hospital delivers general surgery, orthopaedics, breast surgery, urology, dermatology/plastic surgery, and medical day case investigations and treatment.

More than 20 community sites for children and adults, including walk-in centres and therapy and rehabilitation services.

Primary care – 9 GP practices, which are located across the Wolverhampton area.

WHT:
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust provides local general hospital and community services to around 270,000 people in Walsall and the surrounding areas.

It is the only provider of NHS acute care in Walsall, providing inpatient and outpatient services at the Manor Hospital as well as a wide range of services in the community.

It provides services from 60 sites, including Health Centres and GP surgeries. Services include rapid response in the community and home-based care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We reserve the right to close the advert earlier than the stated date.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

• Qualified to CIPS NVQ Level 4 or equivalent CIPS knowledge and/or experience which can be demonstrated using experience and knowledge OR Procurement or business related degree or equivalent skills and abilities which can be demonstrated using experience and knowledge
• Management or Leadership qualification

Experience

Skills, ability and knowledge

Personal Qualities

Important information about your application

• All correspondence will be sent to you via the email address you applied from. Please ensure you check your emails regularly.
• References - please ensure you provide email addresses for all referees for the last three years of employment.
• We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from everyone regardless of ethnicity, disability, gender, age, faith or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.
• Flexible working will be considered in line with Trust policies
• New recruits are required to pay for their Disclosure and Barring Service check (and admin fee) prior to starting if the role requires a DBS check.

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) has been awarded the Gold Award for proudly supporting those who serve. We actively encourage applications from the Armed Forces community.

We will communicate with you regarding your job application via email. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the security of any emails sent/received via non encrypted format.

If you obtained your qualifications overseas, you will be required to provide an official government translation through ECCTIS (formerly known as NARIC). Please note, this is in addition to any professional registration requirements and not a replacement for your qualifications.

If you are currently in the UK on a visa, you must have at least six months remaining on your visa at the time of your start date to ensure sufficient time for the operational and training process associated with the role. The requirement of at least six months remaining on your visa does not apply to a Skilled Worker Visa, as a new Skilled Worker Visa would be required for a new role.

In line with the change of Immigration rules on 8th January 2026 if you require Sponsorship through the Skilled Worker Visa you must be able to provide B2 English evidence before a Certificate of Sponsorship can be issued.

Visa eligibility notice:
The UK Home Office has imposed an emergency brake on specific visa routes.

• Skilled Worker visas cannot currently be issued to Afghan nationals.
• Study visas cannot currently be issued to nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan.
  As a result, we are unable to progress applications requiring sponsorship under these routes.

UHNM supports the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist in preparing your supporting statement. However, we reserve the right to reject applications where AI has been used in a misleading manner, for example, by implying experience or understanding that the applicant does not possess or where its use is excessive or unfair. If AI has been used to support your application, you must declare this within your submission.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Name Steve Price Job title Head of Procurement – Non-Medical Strategic Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01902 695478