IT Category Manager

IT Category Manager

Flexible Location – Travel Required

Full Time, Permanent

Band 3 / £65,000-£75,000 (dependent on experience)

Serco is seeking a highly skilled IT Category Manager with strong IT knowledge and exceptional stakeholder management skills to join our global Procurement team. This critical role provides IT category and market expertise, ensuring that Serco's IT spend delivers maximum value while managing risk and maintaining robust supplier relationships globally.

You will be a confident negotiator, able to manage difficult conversations and push back effectively with suppliers and internal stakeholders alike. Your ability to influence at senior levels and your strategic mindset will be key to your success.

As part of this you'll:

• Develop and execute comprehensive global IT category strategies aligned with Serco's corporate goals and local market needs.
• Collaborate closely with key stakeholders, Procurement colleagues, and Serco's third-party Procurement Delivery Partner to identify business requirements and deliver best value.
• Optimise value delivery, mitigate risks, and enhance supplier performance through continuous monitoring, analysis, and relationship management.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives with suppliers to drive innovation and operational efficiency.
• Ensure that all benefits from category strategies and supplier relationships are clearly identified, tracked, and delivered.
• Act as a trusted advisor, building and maintaining strong senior-level relationships across business units, contracts, and suppliers.
• Support compliance with Serco Procurement Policies and Standards and lead by example in embodying Serco's values.

What you'll need to do the role:

• Proven IT category management experience. Postgraduate qualifications (e.g., MSc, MBA) or professional procurement qualifications (e.g., MCIPS) are advantageous.
• Deep IT category, supplier, and market subject matter expertise with a track record of delivering complex, large-scale procurement initiatives.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand diverse business needs and manage supplier relationships in a complex, competitive environment.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills, capable of engaging senior stakeholders, including MD and Board levels.
• Comfortable managing difficult conversations, pushing back on suppliers and internal teams when necessary to safeguard Serco's interests.
• Strategic thinker with the flexibility to adapt to local requirements and a creative approach to problem-solving.
• Demonstrates resilience, credibility, and professionalism in a fast-paced and changing environment.

Why Serco:

Meaningful and vital work: In this position, your work is vital to the business, in terms of decisions and growth. You will gain a world of opportunity working for a globally operating business delivering essential services across 5 vital sectors, personal growth, achievement and development won't be hard to find. You'll also work with great people. You'll find yourself working in a highly motivated, supportive environment where no two days are the same, with experienced colleagues who strive for excellence.

What we offer:

• Company car
• Private healthcare
• Bonus scheme of 5% on target and 10% exceeding targets
• Flexible working considered
• Pension – 6%
• Chance to contribute to innovation in the public services
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
• Serco discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping discounts, and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
• A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Simply Health Cash Plans, and more.
• A wealth of career development training to suit your future aspirations. These range from role specific training, leadership coaching, formal study and much more to support you to build your career with Serco.
• A safe and supportive culture.

About Serco

At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Apply

Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the 'Ban the Box' pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on to discuss.