Category Manager

Michael Page

A fantastic opportunity to join a growing public sector body as Category Manager.

Client Details

GreenSquareAccord was formed in April 2021 from the merger of the similar-sized Accord Housing Association, based in the West Midlands, and GreenSquare Group, based in the South West.

Both organisations have a long history of providing affordable homes and support services for people in need. GreenSquare’s origins date back to 1866 when the Oxford Cottage Improvement Company Limited established itself as a local pioneer in driving housing reform.

And the origins of Accord date back even further with the creation of the Harpers Almshouse charity in 1511 to provide lodging for poor men visiting Walsall.

For both Accord and GreenSquare, various partnerships and mergers in more recent years have brought together locally-based housing associations; and, in Accord’s case, there has been significant growth in the delivery of care and support services.

Now, this coming together of these two strong organisations has created one that’s even stronger with ambitions to do more – and do it better – than either could on its own.

Description

We are looking to hire a Category Manager to join the procurement team. The successful placeholder will proactively coordinate and manage procurement activity, maximising savings and value for money, for a range of assigned spend categories & projects.

The role will consist of but not be limited to:

• Develop effective relationships with a wide range of internal stakeholders.
• Conduct market analysis to recommend supply market approach.
• Understand supplier and market trends to determine leverage opportunities.
• Analyse spend data to identify cost saving opportunities.
• Support stakeholder specification generation, commercial and pricing terms and contract management process.
• Manage full tender lifecycle via supplier portal (In-tend).
• Management of category contracts to maximise consolidation benefits.
• Manage forward procurement plan for category contracts identify aggregation opportunities, and to plan the implementation of contracts on a timely basis to ensure compliance.
• Monitor supplier spend and manage performance throughout contract life.
• Maintain accurate and real-time data for transparency and reporting.
• Identify operational /process improvement opportunities.
• Deliver support and guidance as required to ensure optimum performance of team.
• Provide internal training to stakeholders as required.

Profile

• Strong commercial and business awareness
• Knowledge of Public Contract Regs 2015
• Proactive solution finder
• Commited to process improvement
• Driving change where required
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to evaluate suppliers and tender responses from analysis of contractual information
• Understanding of contract and procurement management: processes, drafting, negotiating of commercial contracts, evaluating compliance, SLA performance management
• Managing end to end high risk/value procurement projects
• Ability to build working partnerships

Job Offer

• Basic salary 40,000 – 43,000 depending on experience
• 26 days annual leave which rises with service (plus your birthday off)
• Flexitime
• Support with CIPS training
• Excellent competetive pension scheme
• Hybrid working with 1-2 days per week on site.
• Office base choice available of either Central Birmingham or Chippenham
• Further public sector benefits