Category Specialist

Phoenix Group Holdings; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading savings and retirement organization is seeking a professional to lead sourcing and procurement of Professional Services. The ideal candidate will develop strategies, negotiate contracts, and manage supplier relationships to ensure service quality and cost efficiency. Responsibilities include implementing cost savings, mitigating risks, and collaborating with internal teams. The role requires strong negotiating skills, analytical problem-solving, and knowledge of the Professional Services market. This position offers a competitive salary and flexible working options.

Benefits

16% bonus up to 32%

Private medical cover

38 days annual leave

Excellent pension

12x salary life assurance

Income protection

3x volunteering days

Qualifications

• Proven negotiating skills to influence stakeholders.
• Strong analytical abilities with a data-driven approach.
• Inquisitive mindset regarding the Professional Services market.
• Confidence in negotiating contract terms.
• Understanding of financial services regulations.
• Experience with procurement systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and assess sourcing strategies for Professional Services.
• Manage relationships with Professional Services suppliers.
• Negotiate contracts to achieve cost savings.
• Identify and mitigate sourcing-related risks.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders for strategic support.
• Promote continuous improvement in procurement practices.

Skills

Negotiating skills

Analytical and problem-solving skills

Knowledge of the Professional Services market

Commercial terms negotiation

Financial services regulation understanding

Procurement tools experience

Job description

Job Type: Permanent

Location: This role could be based in either our Edinburgh, London or Birmingham offices with time spent working in the office and at home.

Flexible working: All of our roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.

Closing Date: 21/01/2026

Salary and benefits: £50,000 - £55,000 plus 16% bonus up to 32%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more

Who are we?

We want to be the best place that any of our 6,600 colleagues have ever worked.

We’re Phoenix Group, we’re a long-term savings and retirement business. We offer a range of products across our market-leading brands, Standard Life, SunLife, Phoenix Life and ReAssure. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a pension with us. We’re a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050, and we’re not done yet.

The role

The role holder will be responsible for identifying, evaluating, and acquiring Professional Services and Temporary Staffing services from external third parties. They will be involved in researching market trends, negotiating contracts, managing third-party relationships, and ensuring the selected services aligns with company standards and objectives.

Key responsibilities

• Category strategy development: Develop and implement sourcing strategies and plans for Professional Services and Temporary Staffing.
• Supplier selection and management: Research the supply market to identify, assess and commercially manage end to end relationships with Professional Services suppliers to ensure the delivery of high-quality services at competitive pricing.
• Sourcing and negotiation: Lead, or support, the sourcing process for Professional Services - negotiate contracts and manage supplier performance to achieve cost savings and mitigate risks.
• Deliver and embed cost savings: Implement cost optimisation strategies including, but not limited to, demand management and process efficiencies to drive savings and improve profitability.
• Risk Management: Proactively identify and mitigate risks associated with sourcing activities, including managing regulatory contractual change, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards, supplier risks, contract risks and ensure business continuity.
• Cross functional collaboration: Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including Finance, Legal, Risk, and Business Unit Executives to understand their needs and requirements and provide strategic guidance and support.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives with the Centre of Excellence team ensuring that procurement and third‑party management best practices is adopted to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Commercial Partnerships.

What are we looking for?

• Negotiating skills with the ability to influence and communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills with a data driven approach to decision‑making.
• Knowledge of the Professional Services market and an inquisitive mind.
• Working knowledge of contracting models, commercial terms and conditions and the confidence to negotiate them.
• Working knowledge of financial services regulation.
• Experience of working with procurement tools and systems.

We want to hire the whole version of you.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.