Procurement Category Specialist

Procurement Category Specialist - Global Engineering & Industrial Organisation

Locations:
Manchester / Surrey / Yorkshire (Hybrid: 2 days per week on site)

Salary:
£50,000–£56,000 +Discretionary bonus + excellent benefits

Category Spend:
c. £50m

Step into a high-impact role within one of the world's most respected engineering organisations, operating at the cutting edge of chemicals, gases and technical manufacturing. This is a standout opportunity for a rising procurement professional looking to accelerate their career within a complex, strategic, and commercially critical category.

You will manage end-to-end procurement activity across special gases, packaged gases, electronic gases and chemicals, blending strategic category ownership with hands-on delivery. Expect exposure to high-value negotiations, supplier optimisation, cross-functional stakeholder influence, and international collaboration across EMEA.

If you're driven, commercially sharp, and ready to develop into a true category leader, this role will give you depth, visibility, and progression you won't easily find elsewhere.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver category strategies aligned to business priorities, productivity targets and risk mitigation
• Lead value improvement initiatives (cost optimisation, alternative sourcing, process efficiencies, value engineering)
• Build, develop and manage supplier relationships, driving continuous improvement and innovation
• Identify, evaluate and onboard new suppliers to support category growth and resilience
• Negotiate pricing, commercial terms and contract agreements
• Conduct robust market and supply analysis to monitor trends, regulation, and competitive positioning
• Ensure strong governance, contract compliance and risk management
• Oversee procurement lifecycle activities including contract drafting, review and execution
• Manage supplier KPIs and performance reviews, implementing corrective actions where necessary
• Champion total cost of ownership thinking and challenge historic practices
• Work closely with supply chain, logistics, planning and operations teams to support business continuity
• Engage with senior leaders (Finance, BU Heads, Operations, Supply Chain) to align procurement strategy and delivery
• Collaborate across EMEA/global procurement networks to leverage best practice and scale advantages

About You:

You're a proactive, curious and commercially driven procurement professional with foundational experience and a desire to develop into a strategic category leader.

Essential:

• 3–5 years' procurement experience (direct spend)
• Confident stakeholder engagement and influencing skills
• Proven experience supporting both tactical and strategic procurement activity
• Strong negotiation ability and commercial acumen
• Comfortable navigating complex environments with multiple priorities
• Exposure to international suppliers or multi-regional markets

Desirable:

• Experience within chemicals, industrial gases, special gases, technical or engineering categories
• Degree or equivalent professional experience
• CIPS qualification (or currently studying)
• Understanding of contract drafting and management
• Background in industrial, manufacturing or engineering environments

What's on Offer

• £50,000–£58,000 base salary
• 10% annual bonus
• Hybrid working (2 days per week on site)
• Occasional UK travel (minimal global travel)
• Meaningful ownership of a specialist, high-value category
• Clear progression path into a senior procurement position

Why This Role?

• Visibility:
  Direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision-making
• Growth:
  The organisation actively develops procurement talent into senior roles
• Scale:
  Work within a global function and learn best practice from a world-class procurement network
• Impact:
  Every project you deliver will be measurable, commercial, and business-critical

Interview Process

1. Initial 30–45 min call:
   CV overview, motivations, capability alignment
2. Final panel interview:
   Technical, behavioural, and scenario-based assessment

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you're ambitious, commercially minded and excited by the prospect of owning a technical, high-value category in a global engineering business, we'd love to hear from you. This role offers genuine development, senior support, and the opportunity to make a visible impact from day one.

Apply now and build a procurement career with scale, purpose and progression.