Commercial Category Manager in Leeds

The Procurement Division is responsible for ensuring value-for-money for the Bank for approximately £300m of third party spend annually; and compliance with procurement policies and regulations when the Bank purchases goods, services and works. The team is responsible for undertaking the end-to-end procurement process across a broad range of categories to support all parts of the Bank, implementing category strategies and managing the future sourcing timeline.

This role of Commercial Category Manager is within the Procurement Division's Category & Contract Management – Technology team. The position offers the opportunity to develop expertise in the procurement profession and further your procurement career. The role is part of the Technology Category team, which is responsible for procuring IT infrastructure, hardware, software, support, cyber, data, consultancy (professional services), and cloud services.

The Commercial Category Manager is responsible for:

• The delivery of a pipeline of procurement activity, in collaboration with stakeholders within the Bank and other Procurement colleagues.
• Developing procurement strategies and identifying routes to market.
• Supporting business areas in developing specifications.
• Producing tender documents including developing detailed award criteria, commercial models and selecting appropriate contract terms.
• Managing the subject matter experts/stakeholders/commercial analyst through the full procurement process including supporting, advising, training on evaluations, managing conflict and communication.
• Administering the tender period including managing clarifications, co-ordinating bidder briefings and meetings.
• Running the evaluation process including leading or supporting scoring moderation meetings and undertaking commercial evaluations.
• Drafting and finalising contracts ensuring relevant risks and policies are addressed.
• Managing the transition from sourcing to contract management of the live contract with the Contract owner/manager.
• Creating, reviewing, amending, managing approval, and publishing of notices for tendering opportunities and contract awards.

Other responsibilities include:

• Advising the Commercial Business Partner on the strategic direction of the category, by collaborating closely with colleagues across the Bank to understand business area strategies and long-term requirements.
• Generating and analysing essential spend data, market insights, supplier reports and contract performance metrics to support business areas.
• Providing governance support to ensure compliance with the directions of the Commercial Oversight Group and other management boards.
• Liaising with professionals in Finance, Environment, Social and Governance, Technology, Cyber, Legal and other areas, to ensure compliance with savings targets and environmental measures.
• Supporting the Commercial Business Partner embed effective risk management by implementing risk controls to drive compliance to policy.
• Supporting the Commercial Business Partner with the development of commercial competencies across the Bank, through regular engagement and training.
• Driving sustainability in the category, by notably working closely with Subject Matter Specialists.
• Working with the Supplier Management team to ensure supplier and contract management best practice is implemented in line with the Bank's framework.
• Providing support to the wider team to meet peaks in tendering activity.

Role Requirements:

Minimum Criteria

• Proven track record of managing a complex pipeline of work, delivering innovative commercial solutions through the application of strategic sourcing techniques and use of relevant systems and contracts.
• Experience of the end-to-end sourcing process for high value and/or high complexity contracts.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of working in procurement in the public sector.
• Experience of the Public Contract regulations PCR2015; and knowledge of the Procurement Act 2023.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and assertiveness, with ability to challenge.
• Strong communication skills, ability to build rapport and constructive relationships.
• Knowledge and experience of a range of routes-to-market and contract models.
• Demonstrable excellent organisational, planning and time management skills.
• Demonstrable ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Self-motivation, with the ability to work both on your own initiative and as part of a team.
• Attention to detail when drafting and reviewing documents.
• Capability to translate data into meaningful insights for appropriate audiences and presenting outcomes to those audiences.
• MCIPS qualification (or working towards).

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of e-procurement systems (for example Proactis, Oracle).
• Experience of Technology procurements and knowledge of industry standard forms of contract.
• Supplier and/or contract management expertise (post-contract award).

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve. At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work.

We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it's by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we'll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the 'Candidate Personal Information' under the 'Disability Confident Scheme' section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.

Salary circa: London - £51,440 - £57,000; Leeds - £46,320 - £52,000.

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package.

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance.

The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages. This role closes on 1st March.

We are the UK's central bank - and we are a bank like no other; known by our peers for our world-leading thinking on policy and strategy.

Our mission is to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability. We seek to keep prices stable and people's money safe.

There's much to gain from working with us - from career defining work at the heart of the UK economy, being part of a fantastic team, and a rewarding compensation package. Join us and find a bank like no other. Together, we can make a difference.