Category Manager (Indirects)

Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS); Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A professional institute in procurement seeks a Category Manager (Indirects) in Liverpool. This role involves strategically sourcing goods and services, developing category management strategies, and managing supplier relationships. Ideal candidates will have previous category management experience, strong procurement knowledge, and familiarity with SAP and Ariba. The position offers a hybrid working model and attractive benefits including a cash car allowance, enhanced pension, and personal development opportunities.

Benefits

Cash car allowance

25 days annual leave plus your birthday off

14.5% pension - 5% employee opt in / 9.5% employer

Hybrid and flexible working - 4 days in office / 1 day WFH

Flexible holiday option - buy 5 additional days

Enhanced family friendly & carers policies

Life assurance cover

Private medical insurance

Critical illness cover

Learning and development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Thorough understanding of procurement processes and frameworks.
• Excellent working understanding of category management and strategic sourcing.
• Competent in data analysis, manipulation and reporting is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Strategically source goods and services to improve quality and provide innovative opportunities.
• Create and develop category and sourcing plans in conjunction with stakeholders.
• Develop a network of strong supplier relationships to drive value.

Skills

Planning and organisation

Business awareness

Teamworking skills

Ability to influence others

Excellent communication skills

Creativity and innovation

Problem-solving

Education

Previous experience in a category management role

Understanding of procurement processes and frameworks

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Microsoft Office

Job description

Vacancy Name

Category Manager (Indirects)

Employment Type

Permanent

Country

United Kingdom

Location

Liverpool

Business Area

Commercial

Workplace Type

Hybrid

About Princes

The Princes Group has over 7,000 employees with offices and production sites in the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, France and Mauritius. Princes manufactures 350 different food and drink products responsibly sourced and enjoyed by consumers every day. None of this would be possible without striving to be an employer of choice, where our colleagues are proud to represent our business.

Role Description

The role of the Category Manager is to:

• Strategically source goods and services to improve quality and provide for innovative opportunities at the lowest total cost of ownership.
• Collaborate, create, publish and implement comprehensive category management strategies and lead cross functional teams in delivery.
• Ensure all goods and services are sourced responsibly in line with regulatory, ethical, technical, sustainability and customer requirements.
• Be a consultative partner, demonstrating knowledge across spend categories and providing insight to support and help to shape strategy.
• Be a champion for business processes and governance and support the Buying Controller with the development of other colleagues.

Dimensions:

• Allocated Indirect third party spend
• External contacts - Suppliers & Customers.
• Internal contacts - Commercial, Sales, Finance, Corporate Relations, Operations, Planning, Technical.
• Occasional travel will be required in this role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Create and develop category and sourcing plans in conjunction with business stakeholders.
• Obtain the lowest possible total cost of ownership through negotiation, market intelligence and supplier knowledge.
• Conduct regular reviews with key stakeholders and provide regular reporting on initiatives and cost reduction projects.
• Utilise ERP system to drive analytics and provide appropriate reports for use within category plans and for sharing and analysis with appropriate teams.
• Utilise appropriate tools to maximise value delivery (e-auctions, should cost modelling, TCO, value lever analysis).
• Demonstrate commercial awareness and lead negotiations across all allocated areas of third party spend.
• Develop a network of strong supplier relationships that create innovative opportunities to drive value.
• Make use of SRM tools and performance measures to drive supplier effectiveness.
• Maximise opportunities to mitigate risk across area of spend responsibility.
• Manage all aspects of spend throughout the life cycle.
• Operate as a subject matter expert across all allocated spend and act as a trusted partner to the business.
• Excellent working knowledge of the key personnel at each major supplier, their processes, internal systems and moreover understand cost drivers.
• Drive working capital reduction across the category.
• Develop and maintain responsible suppliers ensuring they are maintained to a standard to meet Princes / Industry standards (e.g. BRC).
• Ensure all suppliers comply with Princes ethical standards, are SEDEX registered (where appropriate) and may be audited.
• Manage contracts professionally and accurately, while maintaining cost conditions and source lists.
• Control currency requirements in line with group policy if required.
• Professionally resolve problems both internally and externally in a fair and ethical manner while protecting the long-term interests of the team and company.
• Support fully the efforts of other departments in achieving 100% stakeholder satisfaction.

Role Requirements

Qualifications/ Knowledge/ Experience:

• Thorough understanding of procurement processes and frameworks
• Previous experience in a category management role
• Excellent working understanding of category management, strategic sourcing, supplier development and value chain mapping
• Excellent working knowledge of allocated areas of spend
• Understanding of contract principles and clauses and be able to construct an interpret agreements
• Competent in data analysis, manipulation and reporting is desirable
• Strong working knowledge of SAP and Ariba
• Strong working knowledge of allocated of Microsoft Office

Personal Skills / Competencies:

• Planning and organisation
• Business awareness
• Teamworking skills
• Ability to influence others
• Excellent communication skills
• Creativity and innovation
• Working with people
• Proactive and pragmatic approach to solving problems

Benefits:

• Cash car allowance
• 25 days annual leave plus your birthday off
• 14.5% pension - 5% employee opt in / 9.5% employer
• Hybrid and flexible working - 4 days in office / 1 day WFH
• Flexible holiday option - buy 5 additional days
• Enhanced family friendly & carers policies
• Life assurance cover
• Private medical insurance
• Critical illness cover
• Learning and development opportunities.