Category Manager in Ulverston

Procurement Category Manager

Exclusive Opportunity | Manufacturing | 15-Month Contract

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience - £50k+
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (role can be compressed to 4 days per week Monday to Thursday)
Hybrid working available - 3 days office, 1/2 days home

Butler Rose Procurement & Supply Chain are delighted to be exclusively representing a leading manufacturing organisation in the appointment of a Procurement Category Manager on a 15-month maternity cover contract.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced procurement professional to take ownership of key categories, develop strategic supplier relationships and deliver measurable commercial and operational improvements within a busy manufacturing environment.

The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting supply continuity, supplier performance, cost reduction and wider supply chain improvement, working closely with stakeholders across Procurement, Supply Chain, Operations, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Finance and Sales.

The Role

As Procurement Category Manager, you will be responsible for developing and implementing category strategies, managing key supplier relationships and leading commercial negotiations to ensure the business achieves the best overall value. The main priorities for this role will initially be Supplier Consolidation.

Key responsibilities will include:

1. Developing and implementing category strategies aligned with wider business objectives.
2. Identifying, evaluating and onboarding new suppliers where required.
3. Leading RFQ, RFP and tender processes.
4. Negotiating pricing, rebates, payment terms and commercial agreements.
5. Establishing fixed-term pricing agreements to manage cost volatility and improve budget visibility.
6. Monitoring commodity and market trends to identify commercial opportunities and supply risks.
7. Delivering measurable cost savings and value improvement initiatives.
8. Developing and maintaining strong strategic supplier relationships.
9. Managing supplier performance across cost, quality, service and delivery.
10. Leading regular supplier business reviews and performance assessments.
11. Developing supplier scorecards, KPIs and performance reporting.
12. Developing and managing Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) arrangements with strategic suppliers.
13. Supporting supply continuity through effective supplier planning and risk mitigation.
14. Supporting S&OP activity through supplier collaboration and demand alignment.
15. Using procurement, inventory and operational data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
16. Working cross-functionally to resolve supply challenges and drive continuous improvement.
17. Providing clear commercial and performance information to senior stakeholders to support decision-making.

About You

We are looking for an established procurement professional with strong commercial acumen and experience operating within a manufacturing environment.

You will ideally have:

1. A minimum of 5 years' procurement experience within a manufacturing or similarly complex operational environment.
2. Strong experience across strategic sourcing, supplier management and commercial negotiation.
3. Proven experience delivering cost savings and commercial improvements.
4. Experience managing supplier performance and developing supplier relationships.
5. Strong understanding of procurement, inventory and supply chain processes.
6. Experience working with an ERP/MRP system.
7. Strong analytical skills and confidence working with procurement and operational data.
8. Experience developing and using KPI dashboards and performance reporting tools.
9. Strong Excel skills, with Power BI experience highly desirable.
10. The ability to influence stakeholders across multiple functions and at different levels of an organisation.
11. Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
12. A proactive and commercially driven approach, with the ability to work independently and take ownership.

CIPS / MCIPS qualification or evidence of working towards this would be advantageous but is not essential.

Why This Opportunity?

This is a particularly interesting opportunity for someone who wants to step into a role where they can have a genuine commercial and operational impact.

You will have the opportunity to influence category strategy, supplier performance, cost, inventory and supply continuity, whilst working closely with senior stakeholders across the wider manufacturing operation.

The role offers a 37.5-hour working week, hybrid working and a strong benefits package including:

Company bonus

25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays

Hybrid working

This is an exclusive opportunity with Lindsey Tremble at Butler Rose Procurement & Supply Chain Lancaster.

If you are an experienced procurement professional with a strong manufacturing background and are interested in finding out more, please contact Butler Rose Procurement & Supply Chain for a confidential discussion.

All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. #IND-LL-25

Butler Rose is committed to equality in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer.
Butler Rose Ltd is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.