Principal Procurement Category Manager (NHS SBS Business Services)

Sopra Steria
Are you an experienced procurement professional with a background in NHS or Public Sector? Do you enjoy the challenge of developing strategic sourcing programmes & strategies?

NHS Shared Business Services are seeking a procurement category professional to join a growing team as a Principal Category Manager. You’ll lead a team with the delivery of solutions across our client base as well as running several projects within the key markets.

With your track record, skills and determination, you’ll deliver a highly professional and adaptable client service approach. We’ll promise you an exciting experience, making a difference to everyone touched by the healthcare system.

We can offer great career progression opportunities, ability to be based anywhere across the UK, benefits which you can flex to meet your needs and training and development opportunities. This position is predominantly home based, but there is an expectation to attend meetings at our Salford office once/ twice per month.

What you’ll be doing:

• Working within the Business Services category for the NHS to create innovative solutions delivering value for money
• Leading multiple strategic programmes and developing relationship management regimes with NHS and public sector suppliers, ensuring maximum return on investment on commercial spend across the whole of the public sector
• Using your expertise and commercial acumen to develop key category strategies for supplier and contract management
• Taking the lead on a high value project portfolio, along with the associated creation and development of tender documentation
• Pursuing procurement excellence through the implementation of efficient and effective procurement projects within key markets
• Lead and develop a team of Category Managers and Buyers
• Supporting the Senior Category Managers with the management of key areas of improvement such as review of purchasing procedures, legal updates & benchmarking
• Analyse data and identify areas of cost savings and operational improvements to inform procurement plans

What you’ll bring:

• Experience or knowledge of working with the NHS and/or Public Sector
• Knowledge of UK Public Contracts Regulations (PCR 2015)
• Experience or knowledge of working within a Business Services category
• CIPS Level 4 or above
• IT literate (experienced user of tools such as: Ariba/Jaggaer/Bravo/Atamis/Coupa) Advanced

It would be great if you had:

• Experience and/or knowledge of NHS Terms and Conditions
• Knowledge of Healthcare/ Public Sector Categories

If you are interested in this role but not sure if your skills and experience are exactly what we’re looking for, please do apply, we’d love to hear from you!

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

Location: Anywhere UK (travel to the NW Hub (Salford) and to client and supplier sites monthly)

Security Clearance Level: Enhanced DBS

Internal Recruiter: Amy

Salary: Up to £50,000 per annum (depending upon experience and development needs)

Benefits: £5,400 car allowance, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy additional days, health cash plan, life assurance, pension, and generous flexible benefits fund

Although this role is advertised as full-time, we support many ways of working and can offer a range of flexible working arrangements.

So, if you’re interested and need to work flexibly, we encourage you to apply and talk to us about what might be possible.

Loved reading about this job and want to know more about us?

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) was created by the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver corporate services to the NHS. A unique joint venture with Sopra Steria, a European leader in digital services and software development, we make life easier for NHS employees, patients, and suppliers, and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. Proud members of the NHS family, we provide finance & accounting, digital, procurement and workforce services to more than half the NHS in England, and our solutions are underpinned by cutting-edge technologies and our teams’ expertise, in-depth understanding of the NHS, and commitment to service excellence.

We share common values and unity of purpose with the rest of the NHS family, are committed to being a force for good, and are dedicated and empowered to act responsibly and sustainably at organisational, team and individual level.

Would you like to join us on our journey?

We embrace difference as a source of creativity, innovation and competitive advantage and are striving to become a more diverse organisation. We welcome applications from people with a diverse variety of backgrounds and identities. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. We have partnered with Vercida , the UK’s largest diversity and inclusion focused careers site, where all our vacancies are available in an accessible format.
If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, to enable you to perform to the best of your ability, please let us know when completing your application. We participate in the Disability Confident scheme and are committed to offering an interview to any candidate with a disability, who meets the minimum criteria for the role. If you believe this could apply to you, please let us know when completing your application.