Category Manager – Additives & Ingredients - Peterborough

Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK

Contract: Full time, Permanent – 37.5 hours per week – 2/3 days per week onsite

About the role

As a Category Manager at AB Agri, you will be responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of raw materials and ingredients, including commodity and non-commodity items such as premixes, amino acids, phosphates, and limestone. This role involves developing and implementing category strategies, negotiating contracts, and managing supplier relationships across multiple regions including the UK, Europe, China, and the US. Based at our Peterborough site, you will work closely with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders to ensure effective sourcing and supply chain performance. You will bring proficient project management and stakeholder engagement skills to navigate an environment, contributing to the continued development and success of AB Agri’s procurement function within the agricultural sector.

What you'll be doing:

• Manage a diverse portfolio of raw materials and ingredients, including commodities, premixes, amino acids, phosphates, and limestone, ensuring effective sourcing and supply.
• Develop and implement category strategies that optimise cost, quality, and supply risk across multiple regions including the UK, China, Europe, and the US.
• Negotiate pricing and contract terms with suppliers, establishing robust commercial agreements that support business objectives.
• Manage and coordinate eSourcing activities and tenders, utilising tools such as ScanMarket to support competitive sourcing processes.
• Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders, including technical teams and project managers, to support value-added projects and resolve supply chain issues.
• Monitor market trends, supplier performance, and category risks to proactively identify opportunities for improvement and innovation.
• Work within a team structure reporting to the Senior Category Manager, contributing to a collaborative and proficient procurement function.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and demonstrate motivation to progress within the procurement and supply chain function.

What we're looking for:

• Experienced in procurement or category management, ideally within raw materials, ingredients, or additives in a manufacturing or agricultural environment.
• Strong negotiation skills with a track record of successfully managing supplier contracts and delivering cost savings.
• Experience managing multiple categories or product lines, demonstrating adaptability and effective prioritisation.
• Ability to develop and implement category strategies that align with broader business goals and mitigate supply risks.
• Proficient in eSourcing tools and tender management, with a strategic approach to supplier evaluation and selection.
• Excellent project management and stakeholder engagement skills, capable of working collaboratively across teams and regions.
• Ambitious and proactive mindset, eager to learn and progress within a well-established procurement team.
• Comfortable working in a hybrid environment based in Peterborough, with effective communication skills to engage both internal and external partners.

About the Company

ABN is the UK’s number one animal feed business, serving pig and poultry producers across the UK. These range from large corporate customers through to family-owned farm enterprises. We service these customers with feed, nutrition, advice, and related services.

We’re part of AB Agri, the agricultural division of Associated British Foods (ABF plc) and we’re passionate about feeding the world responsibly and affordably by making quality animal feed, creating nutrition and technology-based products, and offering data services for the agri-food industry. What sets us apart is how we delight our customers - and that’s because of great people like you. People with different life experiences who share common values. Together we’re building a fair, innovative and inclusive culture.

As a Disability Confident employer, we’re committed to ensuring our application and recruitment processes work for everyone so if you need any additional support (like alternative formats for your application, bringing a support dog to the offices, a sign language interpreter - or anything else) just let us know.

Application Notes

We hope you feel that AB Agri is somewhere you can thrive and so we’d love to hear from you. We get a lot of applications for our roles and sometimes need to close the process early so register your details and upload your CV via our careers website as soon as you can – it will only take a few minutes.

When you do, we’ll ask you some equal opportunities questions just to ensure our recruitment process is inclusive – or show us areas we can improve. This information is anonymised, separate from your application and is never seen by the hiring panel. You can choose not to answer these questions and this won’t affect your application.

Apply today or contact our recruitment team for more information.

Agencies and media sales

AB Agri group politely requests no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We don’t accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.