Category Manager - Indirect

Category Manager - Corporate Business Services

Leading organisation requires a Category Manager to support a broad Corporate Business Services portfolio, with a particular focus on Customer Contact Centres, Facilities Management and outsourced business services.

This is an exciting opportunity for a procurement professional seeking a genuine blend of strategic category management and hands-on sourcing delivery. Working closely with business stakeholders, the Category Manager will lead tendering activities, develop long-term category strategies and drive commercial value across a range of customer-facing and business-critical service contracts. Hybrid working can be offered - 2 days on site, and 3 remote.

The Category Manager will be responsible for developing and executing category strategies across Corporate Business Services, whilst leading sourcing projects from market engagement and tender through to negotiation, award and supplier management. The role offers a strong mix of strategic and operational procurement activity, making it well-suited to candidates who enjoy both category leadership and delivering tangible sourcing outcomes.

Specific duties of the Category Manager include:

• Develop and implement category strategies across Customer Contact Centres, Facilities Management and wider Corporate Business Services categories.
• Lead a pipeline of sourcing and tendering activity, including RFPs, competitive tenders, supplier negotiations and contract awards.
• Partner with stakeholders to understand demand requirements and develop procurement solutions aligned with business objectives.
• Identify opportunities to reduce cost, improve service delivery and mitigate commercial risk across key spend areas.
• Manage supplier relationships and performance, driving continuous improvement and innovation.
• Deliver value throughout the procurement lifecycle, from category planning and sourcing through to contract and supplier management.
• Conduct market analysis and supplier benchmarking to support category strategy development.
• Promote procurement best practice, governance and commercial rigour across all procurement activities.

Category Manager applicants should meet the following criteria:

• Previous procurement or category management experience across Corporate Business Services.
• Experience within Customer Contact Centres, Facilities Management, BPO, Customer Services, Professional Services or other indirect spend categories.
• Strong experience of sourcing, tendering, negotiation and contract management.
• Demonstrable experience developing and implementing category strategies.
• Ability to operate across both strategic category management and tactical sourcing activities.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills.
• CIPS/MCIPS qualified, or working towards qualification, desirable.

This represents an excellent opportunity to join a market-leading organisation in a role that combines strategic category leadership with a healthy pipeline of sourcing and tendering activity across a diverse Corporate Business Services portfolio.