Category Manager

Please Note: This is a remote role, with regular travel to our Glasgow Head Office, Suppliers & Stores throughout the UK
The Category Manager will be responsible for the management of City Groups’ (UK & Ireland) supplier relationships, this includes all PPM and reactive suppliers within a given customer contract.
The Category Manager will be strategically minded and will support in the development and implementation of procurement strategies ensuring cost efficiency, quality and supplier reliability. The role involves managing supplier relationships, negotiating contracts and collaborating with internal stakeholders to meet City and our Client’s objectives.
You will work within the supplier management team working with the procurement operations team to drive supplier compliance and sourcing team to support the supplier management process. The role will also require a high level of collaboration with our store operations teams to ensure that the supplier management team are close to any emerging issues with the suppliers.
You will create strong oversight and assurance processes and use data driven insight to give a view across your allocated suppliers. Once in place, you’ll use this to monitor any emerging issues and risks in relation to supplier performance, legal or regulatory compliance, due diligence, or financial control.
A key requirement of the role will be drive City’s supplier management improvement programme, owning supplier performance, communicating and embedding new governance in line with procurement best practice to enable the Group to consistently measure and manage supplier performance and risk according to the materiality of the relationship and the services delivered. This SRM approach, once established will set targets to deliver additional value from its relationships. Building partnerships that yield innovative solutions and continuous improvement. There may be a requirement to support Operations with Out of Hours support.
Key Accountabilities:
* Manage all supplier relationships and contract delivery for allocated suppliers
* Build strong engagement and trust with City’s customers, responding promptly to client requests and using performance scorecards to demonstrate achievement of delivery targets and contractual compliance
* Support category strategy development.
* Create and oversee a regular supplier audit regime to assure City and its customers of suppliers’ compliance regarding health and safety, and other key compliance aspects
* Work will customers to set annual budgets and ensure alignment within wider procurement team to deliver schedule of services in line with budget
* Act as an escalation point for all supplier related issues
* Exercise financial control by monitoring actual spend versus budget on a monthly basis, ensuring that any overruns are challenged and reported
* Work with finance team to resolve any supplier payment or accounting issues.
* Build strong relationships with store operations team
* Carry out in-store visits and deal directly with the senior client on all issues
* Work with wider procurement team and finance team to manage all budgets within target, optimising the best value and where possible the lowest cost, without compromising service (where required)
* Review management information to ensure delivery of customer KPI’s/SLA’s and statutory obligations meet or exceed requirements
* Escalation of PPM task closures and certification (for areas where we don’t have a National Manager/Specialist)
* Create a standard reporting pack for all key supplier relationships, providing updates to the wider city team and customer where required.
* Support reactive job delivery and quote process with city field teams where there are issues across the supply chain or with specific suppliers.
* Lead regular monthly supplier service reviews with allocated suppliers.
* investigate any supplier escalations, assessing the situation and ensuring remedial action plans are put in place and work with the wider procurement team to coordinate responses to the client.
* Communicate all material breaches or escalations head of supplier management and the Head of Procurement and Strategic Partnerships
* Ensure the effective implementation of escalation and critical incident management processes to protect service delivery.
* Lead and manage performance improvement plans within the allocated supply chain.
* Develop and promote a culture of behavioural safety within the team, ensuring effective reporting and investigation of any potential hazards or near misses, incidents, and accidents.
* Work in conjunction with the Sourcing Managers and the customer onboarding team to ensure effective contract mobilisation following contract award
* Actively promote supplier development in order to help identify and target efficiencies and innovative solutions that deliver more value to City and its customers.
* Work with the strategic supplier management lead to ensure full integration with performance management programs across all suppliers.
* Work with the wider business and FM support teams to identify opportunities and agree plans to deliver process improvement, efficiency, and best practice.
* Ensure alignment with the wider business and operational teams to embed a one city approach when dealing with suppliers
* Manage the overall delivery of objectives in accordance with the business strategy.
Financial Responsibilities:
The Category Manager will work with the wider procurement team to ensuring contract charges are accurate and aligned to the services delivered. In addition, the Category Managers will work with finance and the wider procurement team to review and over or under spend, supporting preparation of budgets where required.
The Category Manager will also be expected to positively impact the P&L of the company through the delivery of in contract savings.
People Responsibilities:
The Category Manager will not have any direct reports but will be expected to collaborate positively with a wide group of stakeholders including the client, wider procurement team and field operations.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
5 years’ experience of working within a procurement or supplier management environment ideally within the FM or retail sector
CIPS qualification or equivalent is desired
A working knowledge of the maintenance service within the FM industry is preferrable, with previous working knowledge of a multi-site contracted environment being desirable.
Knowledge of retail and hospitality or customer service industry, preferred, but not essential
Skills:
Strong commercial and supplier management experience and capability
Ability to collaborate with disparate teams
Strategic and Procurement Process mindset
Ability to build, nurture and grow relationships with suppliers and customers
Credibility to deliver a successful SRM programme
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Ability to critically challenge
Understanding of contracts and the key service deliverables within contracts
Ability to build strong stakeholder relationships, influence and work with people at all levels across a diverse and complex business structure
Excellent verbal and written communication skills to communicate persuasively and confidently at senior management level
Ability to work comfortably in a fast-paced, changing and high-pressure environment
Able to demonstrate a high level of strategic and commercial acumen.
Experience:
Experience of delivering a supplier management programme in a large organisation
Substantial supplier and contract management experience in a senior role
Experience in supporting negotiation of significant supplier contracts
Demonstrable experience in managing supplier relationships
Experience in delivering change
Excellent analytical skills and understanding of management information and the ability to evaluate and assess financial data to make informed decisions.
Gravitas to build strong relationships with internal stakeholders, senior leaders, suppliers and customers
Proven track record in educating stakeholders and gaining alignment to a supplier management framework
Proven track record of managing supplier performance and resolving commercial and contractual issues
Strong communication skills and ability to present confidently and credibly
Experience in managing regional multi-site suppliers
Strong PC literacy, with experience in extracting, collating, and presenting performance data
Strong results focus, takes accountability for own performance and that of the team.
Experience in managing financial budgets.
Full UK driving licence

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