Category Specialist

Cloister Resourcing Ltd; England; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Category Specialist to enhance their Procurement function. This role involves managing spend categories, supporting category strategy development, and collaborating with internal stakeholders. Ideal candidates will possess strong analytical skills and a proactive mindset, making a measurable impact in procurement.

Qualifications

• Experience in manipulating complex datasets and deriving actionable insights.
• Strong category strategy development skills.
• Excellent analytical, planning, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage category spending and supply sourcing aligned with value management strategies.
• Support the delivery of category strategies and lead sub-category strategy development.
• Gather and analyze category spend data, including market trends.

Skills

Analytical skills

Category strategy development

Problem-solving skills

Interpersonal effectiveness

Job description

We are seeking a Category Specialist to join our growing Procurement function. In this role, you will be responsible for both sourcing activities and the ongoing management of spend categories, ensuring alignment with organisational value management strategies and business needs.

Working closely with the Category Manager and Senior Category Manager, you will support the development and execution of both category and sub–category strategies. You ll help gather data and insights, contribute to strategic planning, and ensure procurement involvement is embedded early in the project lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage category spending and supply sourcing in alignment with agreed value management strategies and demand forecasts.

• Collaborate with the Category Manager to support the delivery of category strategies and lead on specific sub–category strategy development and implementation.

• Gather and consolidate customer requirements, volume demands, and technical specifications, providing critical input to inform strategic decisions.

• Collect and analyse category and sub–category spend data, including market trends and commodity pricing.

• Perform initial analysis to identify opportunities for improvement and value creation, sharing insights with the Category Manager.

• Develop strong internal relationships to ensure early engagement of procurement in third–party spend and external supplier decisions.

About You:

We re looking for someone who brings a balance of analytical strength, commercial awareness, and interpersonal effectiveness.

You will have:

• Experience in manipulating complex datasets and deriving actionable insights.

• Strong category strategy development skills, with the ability to design and deliver compelling sourcing plans.

• A performance and delivery–oriented mindset, able to work cross–functionally to achieve common goals.

• A proactive, can–do attitude, comfortable working both independently and as part of a team.

• Excellent analytical, planning, and problem–solving skills.

• The ability to build and sustain effective relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.

This is a great opportunity for someone looking to advance their procurement career in a role that offers exposure, ownership, and development.

Apply now to be part of a strategic team making a measurable impact.