Category Manager – Poultry & Red Meat

TN United Kingdom; Woking; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the food manufacturing sector is seeking a Category Manager for Poultry & Red Meat. The role focuses on executing procurement strategies, optimizing supplier relationships, and ensuring sustainable sourcing practices. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in procurement, excellent negotiation skills, and a proven ability to deliver commercial value. This position is crucial for maintaining quality standards while reducing costs and mitigating supply chain risks.

Qualifications

• Experience in multi-national, commercial organizations is essential.
• Proven track record of delivering commercial value through negotiation.

Responsibilities

• Maximizes end-to-end value creation by optimizing the supplier base.
• Ensures successful delivery of plans to rationalize co-packers.
• Measures and tracks supplier performance, resolving any issues.

Skills

Negotiation

Supplier Relationship Management

Analytical Skills

Communication

Education

Degree or equivalent

Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)

Job description

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Category Manager – Poultry & Red Meat, Woking

Client:

Nomad Foods

Location:

Woking, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

-

EU work permit required:

Yes

Job Reference:

e5159bda4714

Job Views:

3

Posted:

12.05.2025

Expiry Date:

26.06.2025

Job Description:

Overview

PURPOSE & IMPACT: The role supports the execution of the procurement strategy for the segment by ensuring business requirements are met through procuring goods and services in a sustainable and ethical way, whilst optimising costs, maintaining quality standards and mitigating supply chain risks.

Responsibilities

Delivers Commercial Value

• Maximises end-to-end value creation by optimising the supplier base, leveraging our scale, harmonising specifications for goods/services, and standardising payment and other contractual terms with suppliers.
• Continuously strives to identify ways to unlock value, working collaboratively with suppliers to identify what both parties can do to sustainably reduce costs.
• Uses market intelligence to forecast both price and market trends, leveraging this knowledge in negotiations with suppliers to deliver value.
• Owns the delivery of annual targets for productivity improvements, materials productivity, and reductions in COGs for the segment.

Sources goods & services in a sustainable and ethical way

• Minimises the environmental impact of our supply chain by working with the Sustainability Team to define the sustainable and ethical sourcing action plan for the segment and taking ownership of its delivery.
• Proactively builds supply chain resilience, taking proactive steps to de-risk our supply chain through the identification and resolution of risks.
• Leads the process to identify and select appropriate and compliant suppliers for their segment.
• Owns the management of supplier relationships, tailoring the approach by segment, subsegment, or product as required.
• Measures and tracks supplier performance, proactively resolving any issues—quality, service, or cost—whilst ensuring supplier compliance with internal policies and external regulations and laws.

* Where a supplier provides goods/services across multiple segments, then the Buyer with the highest spend will take the lead on managing the relationship and/or managing the rationalisation/insourcing discussions.

Delivers project outcomes on time and in full

• Ensures successful delivery of plans to rationalise co-packers and insource production by owning the execution of procurement actions for their segment and proactively collaborating with other teams.
• Enables successful changes to products & SKU rationalisation by proactively engaging with other teams, bringing insights from market intelligence and supplier performance to inform decisions, and taking ownership for delivery of procurement actions.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent
• Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) or similar qualification
• Experience of working in multi-national, commercial organisations of scale is essential. FMCG and Food Manufacturing sector experience preferred.
• Extensive experience in a procurement function within a matrix organisation.
• Proven track record of delivering commercial value through excellent negotiation skills, strong supplier relationship management, and commercial awareness.
• Experience of working on multi-function, multi-geography, and multi-category activities and projects.
• Excellent communication and analytical skills distilling detailed information down into key clear messages.