Procurement Category Manager

London with Hybrid working (2 days in the office per week)

Salary £60k + Excellent Benefits

Our client is a leading retailer who not only provide an amazing social space where everyone is welcome and feels a sense of belonging, but they have also developed an incredible employee value proposition.

They describe life with them as dynamic, exciting, and always evolving. As well as working with some of the most cutting-edge, iconic and boundary-pushing brands, designers and creatives, they also offer their team members opportunities to help make a positive difference through their network of communities

They are looking to appoint a highly experienced Procurement and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) professional with a proven track record in the advertised Category and a deep understanding of best practice processes in Procurement and Supplier Relationship Management to manage its Retail Products & Services category.

The Procurement Category Manager will develop and maintain strong relationships with the business to become the single point of contact on all commercial and supplier performance matters for the category.

The Procurement Category Manager will develop sound commercial category plans (strategic, tactical, and including SRM) to deliver real value to the business along with clear supplier performance management via a formal Supplier Relationship Management process for the category. The Procurement Category Manager will identify and deliver real/demonstrable cost savings, enhanced service, and mitigated risk.

The Procurement Category Manager will develop and maintain a right sized, high performing, professional procurement team for the category to meet the business requirements.

The Procurement Category manager will also be required to develop and deliver RFx's, Benchmarking, and formal Supplier Relationship/performance management activities as required.

In this role you will:

• Design, Develop and implement the Procurement strategy for the Retail Products & Services category to meet business requirements, this must align with the overall Procurement Strategy to facilitate Procurement Centre of Excellence (CoE) establishing a business partnership model across the functions to agree sourcing strategies, to help transform Procurement across all areas of GNFR
• Creation and delivery of Procurement strategies and targets for the Retail Products & Services Category
• To lead the development and implementation of procurement policies and system strategies conducting tendering, contract management, spend analytics and supplier performance management for the category also supporting the wider Procurement function.

Key Requirements:

• Proven track record of delivery in Procurement Category management in the Retail Products & Services category in retail or a similar fast paced service environment. experience to cover all aspects of Retail Products & Services
• Proven track record of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
• Strong stakeholder management
• Experienced people manager
• Strong influencer
• Effective supplier performance manager
• Senior level negotiator of contracts with program and project management experience
• Proven success of purchasing for internal customers

Technical Skills:

• Excellent negotiator
• Deep understanding of Procurement category management and Supplier Relationship Management best practice preferably within Retail Products & Services
• Essential deep knowledge of Microsoft MS Excel and other MS Office applications (i.e. Word, PowerPoint)
• Creating and managing complex tender and benchmarking exercises
• Able to create appropriate commercial models to suit requirements in the Retail Products & Services category
• Experienced in drafting and interpretation of contracts and clauses, in depth understanding of Contracts with deep Retail Products & Services category specific knowledge
• High level negotiations and category/Supplier Relationship Management
• Degree level education or CIPS an advantage

Personal Attributes/ Behavioural Skills:

• Strong leadership abilities to effectively influence and manage internal and external senior leaders
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Excellent communication, reporting and interpersonal skills
• Analytical skills
• Planning and organising skills
• Customer service skills
• Coaching and influencing
• Highly team oriented
• Problem solving and an ability to focus on multiple projects
• Numerate

Our client embraces everyone and are committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive working culture. They are leading with purpose to not only increase the visibility and recognition of under-represented talent within their organisation, but the wider industry too. Everyone is welcome - irrespective of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age or disability, they stand by equal opportunities for all.

If this sounds like you, please send your CV through to me at: alex.steel@1st-executive.com Interviews will take place ASAP.