Lead Category Manager

Role: Lead Category Manager

Location: Hybrid working

Duration: Permanent

Salary: £53,755 to £60,504 per annum + excellent benefits.

Experienced Lead Category Manager sought for a public sector organisation based in the South East of England, on a permanent basis to assist the category teams and work with key stakeholders and suppliers to build a reputation for excellence in the procurement services. The candidate will be experienced in building relationships with existing clients and new clients through delivering a high-quality service.

The Lead Category Manager will be responsible for:

• Work with stakeholders to ensure that service specifications, procurement evaluation criteria and assessment processes are fit for purpose and will result in the effective procurement of individual services
• Support delivery against an annual procurement delivery plan in line with the organisations objectives to support Acute, Community and Mental Health Trusts for collaborative and independent projects
• Take the lead in individual procurements including responsibility for the preparation of tender documentation, undertaking briefings, assessment of bidder documentation according to financial viability, risk, sustainability and alignment with collaborative procurement strategies
• Manage and build relationships within multi-disciplinary procurement project teams
• Lead the process of evaluation and bid assessment, ensuring that the processes are equitable, transparent and defensible and ensure that the customer attains best quality and value
• Be responsible for the assessment of bidder documentation according to financial viability, risk, sustainability and alignment with current strategies
• Liaise with and manage external contractors, maintaining effective partnership working whenever external procurement resource is required
• Provide specialist procurement support and advice to Trust Stakeholders and other partners
• Be responsible for maintaining communications around any current procurement and for preparing briefings for Directors and drafting Board papers as appropriate
• Be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the overall approach and ensuring systems and processes for procurement are appropriate, fair transparent and non-discriminatory in line with national policy and relevant legislation
• Maintain accurate records in accordance with good commercial practice, Standing Orders and the relevant organisations Freedom of Information Policy
• Work with the Heads of Procurement across the region to ensure the necessary information to make informed decisions regarding the best practice procurement approach
• Advise on the impact of the procurements and the implementation of NHS policy or initiatives and service developments
• Develop and contribute to procurement methodologies, policies and procedures
• Advise on best practice procurement, working collaboratively with other agencies wherever possible.

Essential Skills for the Lead Category Manager the role:

• CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma or equivalent is Essential, working towards CIPS Level 6 is Desirable, or equivalent qualification or relevant experience
• Degree or equivalent relevant qualifications or experience
• At least 5 years' functional experience in procurement with a clear understanding of best practice techniques in category management
• Relevant experience to Category Services procurement with a good history of successful delivery
• NHS or Public Sector experience including familiarity with UK and EU legislation/law within procurement is required.

If you would like to apply for this Category Lead Manager role or would like to find out more, please apply online or contact Rebecca Dawson. The deadline for CVs for this role is the 6th January, with interviews being held on the 21st and 22nd January on site.

Sellick Partnership is proud to be an inclusive and accessible recruitment business and we support applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances. Please note, our advertisements use years' experience, hourly rates, and salary levels purely as a guide and we assess applications based on the experience and skills evidenced on the CV. For information on how your personal details may be used by Sellick Partnership, please review our data processing notice on our website.