Strategic Category Manager - Public Sector | Hybrid

Adecco Portugal; Pulborough; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Adecco Group UK & Ireland is recruiting a Category & Sourcing Manager to lead category strategies for a public sector client in West Sussex. You will work hybrid, with 2/3 days in the Durrington office and the rest from home, and you will drive value through strategic sourcing and supplier management.

The role requires strong negotiation, spend analytics, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders across the organisation to reduce total cost of ownership and deliver measurable procurement

Qualifications

• Contractual and commercial negotiation skills.
• Stakeholder engagement at senior level and influencing abilities.
• Significant experience within Category Management, Strategic Sourcing or Procurement.
• A recognised procurement qualification such as CIPS (or equivalent).
• Strong experience developing and delivering category strategies with measurable outcomes.
• Advanced analytical and commercial skills for spend data interpretation.
• Strategic thinking with a hands-on approach.
• Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and supplier relationship delivery.
• Experience in Engineering/Construction; Asset Purchase & Hire; Indirect Procurement; Operational Service Delivery.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement category strategies aligned to procurement objectives.
• Analyse spend data, market trends, and supplier performance to identify savings.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand requirements, demand, and future needs.
• Lead spend analysis, opportunity assessments, and value management initiatives.
• Drive demand aggregation, specification standardisation, and efficiencies.
• Reduce tail spend and increase procurement compliance through sourcing activities.
• Support sourcing projects through full lifecycle from strategy to supplier selection.
• Build relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers for outcomes.
• Identify and implement innovative solutions and best practices from the market.
• Monitor category performance, track benefits, and report value delivery.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, governance and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Category management

Strategic sourcing

Negotiation

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical skills

Strategic thinking

Education

CIPS (or equivalent)

Job description

Adecco Group UK & Ireland is recruiting a Category & Sourcing Manager to lead category strategies for a public sector client in West Sussex. You will work hybrid, with 2/3 days in the Durrington office and the rest from home, and you will drive value through strategic sourcing and supplier management.

The role requires strong negotiation, spend analytics, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders across the organisation to reduce total cost of ownership and deliver measurable procurement