Principal Category Manager

TN United Kingdom; Warwick; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the UK is seeking a Principal Category Manager to oversee capital procurement strategies for the National Gas programme. This role involves leading procurement teams, developing strategic plans, and ensuring stakeholder satisfaction while driving value improvements in project delivery. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in strategic sourcing and stakeholder engagement, with a strong focus on commercial awareness and innovative problem-solving.

Qualifications

• Experience of strategic sourcing in a multi-stakeholder environment.
• Excellent strategic sourcing skills and supplier management processes.
• Ability to think creatively to solve complex sourcing challenges.

Responsibilities

• Lead capital procurement and asset teams, manage performance through coaching.
• Track supply market developments, ensuring engagement with suppliers.
• Define and update category strategies for operations and asset categories.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Supplier relationship management

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial awareness

Analytical skills

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Social network you want to login/join with:

Principal Category Manager - Projects, Asset & Operations
Warwick - Hybrid working

Accountable for delivery of the capital procurement strategy for the National Gas programme of projects, as well as leading the operations and asset category teams. Create strategic procurement plans for the delivery of financial and non-financial value improvements in the delivery of the capital programme of works.

You will have overall accountability for the quality of work delivered by the capital, operations and asset Procurement team and will have to set and maintain high standards, and will work closely with the business to align outcomes and deliverables to priorities ensuring external market insight and engagement is leveraged and applied to category and project strategies. Within the operations and assets categories savings delivered, value generated, stakeholder satisfaction, demand management and visibility will be critical.

Responsibilities:

Lead the capital Procurement, operations and asset teams, develop talent and manage performance through coaching, guidance and regular reviews, continually assessing capability of the team

Continually track the supply market, keeping abreast of developments, trends, risks and opportunities, ensuring the teams are continually engaging with existing and potential suppliers and ahead of external market factors

Define and keeping up to date category strategies for the operations and asset categories

Lead and help govern the team, providing direction as they perform strategic sourcing activities for large value, complex capital programmes which align with the business broader strategies

Work closely with the Procurement Business Partners to translate business requirements into actionable project and category strategies

Champion sustainable procurement and adoption of modern construction methods. Considers the benefits of aligning with the Government Construction Playbook

Is a role model for collaboration with senior business stakeholders. Proactively engage with the business to develop relevant strategies through procurement insights which complement the business plan

Constructively challenge to maximise opportunity and mitigate risk in all aspects of the capital programme delivery

Support development of the procurement plans looking at least 12 months ahead

Maintain a healthy pipeline of supplier management activity which identifies and delivers incremental opportunities

Work closely with the other teams (e.g. operational, technology, finance) as a leader to ensure appropriate collaboration and best practice sharing while ensuring cross collaboration on common issues and opportunities for asset lifecycle procurement (Design, Build, Maintain, Operate).

Identify continuous improvement opportunities in category and programme procurement activity which will drive benefit into the supply chain

Ensure the quality and timeliness of sourcing project delivery

Structure and manage the work of multiple project team members

Requirements:

Experience of strategic sourcing in a multi-stakeholder and multi-site environment

Excellent and demonstrable strategic sourcing skills, including knowledge of all aspects of the strategic sourcing and supplier relationship management processes

Excellent and demonstrable experience of creating and managing a programme of procurement activity

Can demonstrate an ability to think creatively to solve ill-defined and complex sourcing challenges

Deep knowledge of suitable construction contract forms including the NEC suite

Experience of stakeholder engagement within a challenging environment

Excellent commercial awareness and hunger for best value

Self-starter, resilient and tenacious under pressure

Core Skills and Knowledge:

Interpersonal skills, leadership skills - advanced

Commercial acumen, stakeholder and supplier management - advanced

Analytical mind, excel and PowerPoint skills - advanced

Procurement lifecycle process knowledge - advanced

Aldwych Consulting values diversity and promotes equality. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business.