Procurement Category Specialist

The Procurement Category Specialist supports broad category management and ongoing contracting activities within the Procurement & Vendor Management function. The Specialist partners closely with Category Managers and the wider business, delivering data-driven insights, category performance analysis, and reporting to optimise third-party vendor spend, contract utilisation and sourcing outcomes. This role applies structured data analysis, reporting and category intelligence to inform vendor strategy, sourcing decisions, contract negotiations and compliance monitoring. The Specialist works closely with the Contracts Manager to support contract lifecycle management activities, vendor performance tracking, sourcing initiatives and system-enabled procurement processes. The position operates independently within organisational frameworks and contributes analytical expertise, insights and structured recommendations that enhance procurement efficiency, cost optimisation, risk mitigation and stakeholder alignment. The role may be based in eligible jurisdictions in the UK and reports to the Contracts Manager.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Category Management & Spend Analytics: Analyse vendor spend data to identify trends, cost drivers, consolidation opportunities and risk exposures; develop and execute category plans aligned with organisational sourcing and procurement strategy; monitor category performance metrics and provide regular dashboards to the Contracts Manager and leadership; conduct horizon scanning to identify market developments, pricing trends and emerging supplier risks; contribute analytical input to sourcing events, RFP evaluations and vendor selection processes.
• Contract Lifecycle & Vendor Support: Provide analytical support for contract negotiations by preparing financial summaries, usage analyses and benchmarking insights; track contract milestones, renewal dates and performance metrics in partnership with the Contracts Manager; assist in monitoring vendor compliance, service levels and contractual obligations; support outsourced contract management activities with data reporting and performance tracking; respond to stakeholder inquiries regarding procurement processes, contract status and vendor data.
• Process Optimisation & Systems Support: Identify process inefficiencies and recommend workflow improvements within the S2P lifecycle; support contract management system reporting and data governance; assist in documentation of procurement procedures, policies and analytics standards; contribute to development of dashboards, KPI frameworks and compliance reporting structures.
• Insights, Reporting & Data Exploration (Desirable): Independently collate, cleanse, analyse and interpret procurement and contract data using established tools and methodologies; develop standardised and ad-hoc reports related to contract utilisation, renewal timelines, compliance and vendor performance; create visual dashboards and executive-ready summaries that translate complex data into actionable insights; support forecasting, benchmarking and cost modelling efforts to inform negotiations and strategic sourcing decisions; maintain data integrity within procurement systems and reporting databases.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Economics, Law or related field.
• 1–3 years of experience in procurement, sourcing, category management, finance or contract operations.
• Experience working with procurement or contract management systems is preferred.
• Experience supporting vendor negotiations or sourcing initiatives is advantageous.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency including pivot tables, complex formulas (INDEX/MATCH or XLOOKUP, nested IF, SUMIFS), data cleansing and transformation, basic financial modelling.
• Must have strong working understanding of service agreements vs. goods contracts, pricing models (fixed fee, time & materials, subscription, milestone-based), KPI and dashboard reporting, data validation and integrity controls, translation of raw procurement data into visual executive summaries and automation of recurring reporting where possible.
• Experience with total cost of ownership concepts, basic cost modelling, data analysis and interpretation, trend analysis and variance analysis.
• Required working knowledge of at least one of the following: Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems, Procure-to-Pay (P2P) or Source-to-Pay (S2P) platforms, ERP systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, Workday Financials, Coupa, Ariba), vendor management systems, contract metadata fields, renewal tracking, supplier performance reporting, spend categorisation.
• Desirable experience creating reports or dashboards using Power BI, Tableau or equivalent BI tool or advanced Excel reporting models.

Compensation

Expected salary range: UK £37,600–£48,500 per year. All salary ranges are subject to adjustment based on experience, education, location and other factors relevant to the position.

Physical Requirements

Energy to put in the hours of concentrated work necessary to achieve goals while maintaining a positive attitude.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. CFA Institute prohibits both discrimination and harassment with regard to all identifying characteristics: any individual employee, group of employees, or prospective employee on the basis of race, colour, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, religion, creed or belief, age, marital or partnership status, marital or family status, caregiver status, pregnancy and maternity, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, physical abilities/qualities, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, predisposing genetic characteristic, military or veteran status, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence or sex offence or stalking, unemployment status, infectious disease carrier status, migrant worker status, educational background, socio-economic status, geographic location and culture or any other basis protected by applicable law. This policy impacts all aspects of employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training, development, promotion, demotion, layoff, recall, furlough, transfer, leave of absence and dismissal. This is a global policy that applies to all CFA Institute employees, regardless of location.