Indirect Category Manager in Havant

Our purpose is simple; to keep people safe from fire every second of every day.

We specialise in the design and manufacture of high-quality fire detection solutions that protect people from fire in over 100 countries around the world.

At Apollo, we are always on the lookout for passionate people who want to make a difference. We seek talented and motivated individuals who want a rewarding and challenging career within an internationally renowned fire detection company.

Help grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day.

Responsibilities:

As the Category Manager, you will support and manage indirect and services spend across the business, partnering with function leads in areas such as Facilities, Logistics, Recruitment, Marketing & IT, but not limited to these categories.

You will act as the procurement lead and commercial partner for assigned indirect categories, balancing service quality, operational needs, cost, compliance, contractual protection and supplier performance.

For this you will understand and drive the:

Category Profile

• Develop and implement category strategies for assigned service categories in collaboration with functional stakeholders.
• Ensure category strategies align with Apollo business objectives and support growth, profitability, operational excellence and sustainability goals.
• Understand historical spend trends and business drivers to forecast future requirements, sourcing activity and budget impact.
• Build and maintain category roadmaps covering savings, contract renewals, supplier development, risk management and sustainability initiatives.
• Establish sourcing strategies based on total cost of ownership, service outcomes and contractual risk rather than purchase price alone.

Stakeholder Partnerships

• Build strong working relationships with Facilities, Logistics, Recruitment, Marketing, IT, HR, Finance and other business leaders.
• Act as the primary procurement lead for assigned functions and become a trusted business partner.
• Challenge requirements constructively while ensuring stakeholder objectives are understood and achieved.
• Facilitate cross-functional decision-making on sourcing, supplier selection, service scopes, SLAs and contract positions.
• Support business stakeholders through supplier escalations, contract queries and service performance issues.
• Promote procurement best practice, contract discipline and governance throughout the organisation.

Contract Strategy, Governance & Commercial Protection

• Own the contract lifecycle for assigned spend categories, from tender and negotiation through implementation, renewal, extension and termination.
• Develop contracting strategies that balance commercial value, operational flexibility, service accountability, supplier performance and business risk.
• Lead negotiation of all required agreements, for the different functions and requirements
• Act as the procurement subject matter expert for commercial contract terms and conditions
• Evaluate and negotiate contract terms covering performance, risk allocation, compliance, business continuity and governance requirements.
• Ensure all contracts contain clear scope, deliverables, pricing schedules, payment terms, SLA and KPI requirements, reporting obligations and governance arrangements.
• Challenge supplier-proposed contractual positions and negotiate commercially balanced agreements that protect Apollo's interests.
• Maintain visibility of contract expiry dates, renewal notice periods, extension options, price review mechanisms, indexation clauses and benchmarking opportunities.
• Proactively identify opportunities to renegotiate contracts to improve commercial value, reduce risk, resolve service issues and deliver efficiency improvements.
• Ensure contractual commitments are fully understood by business stakeholders and are effectively managed throughout the life of the agreement.
• Develop and maintain contract templates, commercial standards, negotiation playbooks and contract review checklists to improve procurement effectiveness.
• Review and interpret contractual pricing schedules, indexation mechanisms, minimum volume commitments and termination costs.
• Deliver cost reduction programmes and value-added initiatives across assigned categories.
• Utilise TCO and TCA methodologies to evaluate and compare sourcing options.
• Support annual budget planning through cost forecasting, contract review and market intelligence.
• Build strategic relationships with key service providers and develop supplier segmentation and relationship management plans.
• Conduct regular business reviews with strategic suppliers and hold suppliers accountable to agreed contractual obligations.
• Establish scorecards measuring cost, service, quality, responsiveness, innovation, contractual compliance and sustainability.
• Identify opportunities for suppliers to deliver continuous improvement and innovation.
• Manage supplier development programmes where service performance or contract compliance requires improvement.
• Maintain supplier and category risk assessments, including contractual, commercial, financial, operational, service continuity, compliance and reputational risks.
• Evaluate supplier financial health, service capability, scalability, resilience, insurance levels and business continuity arrangements.
• Develop risk mitigation plans and contingency strategies for critical services.
• Monitor market developments that could impact service continuity, capacity or cost.
• Support supplier audits and compliance assessments as required.
• Ensure suppliers comply with Apollo policies, ethical sourcing requirements, data protection obligations and sustainability expectations.

Sustainability & ESG

• Integrate sustainability objectives into category strategies, tender assessments, supplier selection and contract requirements.
• Support Apollo's Net Zero and wider sustainability commitments.
• Encourage suppliers to improve environmental, social and governance performance and provide appropriate sustainability reporting.
• Drive initiatives that reduce environmental impacts and improve responsible procurement practices across services spend.

Data & Reporting

• Develop and maintain category dashboards and performance metrics.
• Produce insights into expenditure, supplier performance, contract coverage, savings delivery, renewal pipeline and risk exposure.
• Present recommendations and business cases to stakeholders and leadership teams.
• Maintain accurate procurement records, supplier information and contract data within company systems.
• Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, systems templates and controls.
• Drive standardisation and procurement governance across all spend categories.
• Support digital procurement initiatives and automation opportunities.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, compliance and value creation.

The duties and responsibilities in this job description are not restrictive, and the post holder may be required to undertake any other duties which may be required from time to time. Any such duties should not, however, substantially change the general character of the post.

Apollo Fire Detectors offer a comprehensive compensation package and a wide range of health and wellness benefits.

• As we are a global company, packages can differ depending on the area/role
• Work-life Balance
  Flexi start and finish times, 1pm finish on a Friday available. Optional 9-day fortnight, 50/50 WFH *suitable for most UK indirect roles
• Paternal Leave
  14 weeks of paid parental leave (new parents) and phased return to work for those parents who take extended leave *available to all staff
• Enhanced Pension
  Pension scheme with an employer contribution of 10.5% (subject to conditions) *available to all UK staff
• EV Scheme
  Salary sacrifice car lease plan (Electric/Hybrid) and free electric car charging *available to all UK staff
• Health and Wellbeing
  Health cash plan, 24/7 support Healthline, in-house Occupational Health, comprehensive menopause package *available to all UK staff

Plus many more...

Why work for Apollo?

With locations in Havant, and Alton on the UKSouth Coast, we operate through regionaloffices in the UK and Germany that support ournetwork of partners and distributors onall five continents.

A Candidate Overview

Find out more about joining our team and what we look for in a candidate

Success Story

At Apollo, we offer personal development plans tailored to everyone. Listen to Emma explain how she found her journey from apprentice to HR Advisor

Warren, Senior Technical Support Engineer, 30+ years at Apollo

I have developed my expertise within Apollo and am able to engage with customers directly and share my knowledge as a technical engineer. Alongside that, the wonderful people that I get to work with everyday is the reason I’ve stuck with Apollo.

I love the 9-day fortnight because it gives me extra time to manage childcare and balance life while my husband is away in the Navy. It's been a game-changer for work-life balance and family time!

Kae, Requirements Engineer

It's fantastic that Apollo offers the option to buy more leave-it's a great sign that they value employee satisfaction and work-life balance and for me personally, this means more road trips in Benny the VW Campervan for next year.

Mandy, Business Technology Partner

Having access to a specialist menopause clinic was a real benefit of working for Apollo. Receiving a voucher and arranging the appointment was simple, and within a couple of weeks, I had an appointment with a menopause specialist.