Category Buyer

**Category Buyer - Enterprise IT & Digital Service**

**Duration: 12 Months Contract**

**Location: Gaydon**

**Division: Digital Purchasing**

**The Opportunity**
- The Clients’ digital procurement team has responsibility for creating and managing external commercial relationships that support the Clients’ product offerings within the Digital space.
- It is the key point of interface for major software, services and digital content providers.
- It is wide stretching and requirements vary from niche products to large global enterprise solutions.
- The IT products and solutions you will purchase, impact all areas of the business and are critical to the success of the Client.
- As such, the stakeholders and suppliers that you will engage with are also varied meaning this is a great role for anyone looking to progress their career within an exciting purchasing team and category.
- Reporting to the Purchasing Manager you will have global responsibility for specific categories, commodities and services on behalf of the Client.
- You will utilise your experience to analyse, define, and implement commercial and sourcing strategies for your designated product areas, including make vs buy vs collaborate decisions.
- This role will see you lead the sourcing or collaborative activity through the contracting process, supported by in-market teams providing regional market intelligence and expertise.
- You will be responsible for ongoing relationship management, including regular business reviews, ensuring the relationships deliver quality, delivery, cost, innovation and responsiveness requirements, are aligned to programme or project timing plans, and that the product meets end stakeholder expectations.
- You will support and work closely with the in-market teams and engage with specialists within the Global Purchasing function as required to ensure optimum value creation and delivery for the Client.
- The role requires a high level of interaction with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
- You will be accountable for the successful commercial and contractual completion of sourcing projects and for developing and establishing a pipeline of sourcing activities in line with contract expiry dates, potential cost saving opportunities and new investment projects.

**Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities**

**Strategy & Sourcing**:

- Responsible for Strategic Category Plan (SCP) creation and delivery
- Delivering sourcing in line with policy and to agreed targets through the Global Sourcing Process (GSP) and deploying Total Cost of Ownership approach
- Leading complex supplier negotiations including legal and financial approval pre-Contract / Purchase Order, engaging specialist teams and Global Purchasing Finance
- Responsible for delivering against savings programme targets

**Contract & Supplier Relationship Management**
- Working with Stakeholders and Finance to operate the contract management governance
- Responsible for managing dispute resolution process
- Change management of the contracts and Purchase Orders
- Support Financial reconciliation activities, as required
- Contract audit/reviews in line with requirements
- Ensuring the Supplier Relationship Management and Supplier Performance Management processes are carried out effectively
- Responsible for organising and conducting the Supplier business reviews, capture the minutes and actions and work with suppliers and internal stakeholders to complete the actions

**Knowledge, Skills and Experience**

**Essential**:

- An individual who is results driven, demonstrates, tenacity, drive and perseverance, with the ability to deliver in a complex, highly demanding environment.
- Degree qualified or equivalent experience preferred
- Commercial Awareness and Negotiation skills
- Understand category management principles
- Strategic thinking
- Global business understanding and experience
- Operational Contract Management experience
- Relationship management - internal and external
- Category knowledge and demonstrated experience
- Flexibility and agility to be able to adjust to changing business needs

**Desirable**:

- Experience of stakeholder operational deployment / requirements of category (e.g. has worked in the stakeholder area of the specific category)
- Category knowledge and demonstrated experience
- Previous supplier experience within category
- Experience in drafting contract documents required for the establishment of business content elements, e.g. SOWs, LOAs, SLAs etc.
- Relevant professional qualification

Excellent Opportunity with immediate starts available.

**Job Types**: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 12 months

**Salary**: £35.00-£40.00 per hour

**Benefits**:

- On-site parking
- Work from home

Schedule:

- 8 hour shift
- Monday to Friday
- No weekends

Work Location: One location