Category Manager - Engineering & Capital Projects in London

A major UK industrial group is seeking an experienced Category Manager - Engineering & Capital Projects to lead end-to-end procurement across a substantial and growing portfolio of capital projects. This is a high-visibility, stakeholder-facing role partnering with engineering and project teams nationwide to ensure strong governance, commercial value, risk mitigation and compliant delivery across a complex capital investment programme.

The Opportunity: Capital investment is accelerating significantly, with annual CAPEX rising towards £200m and a live portfolio of over 1000 projects at any one time. This role operates within the core delivery band of projects typically valued between £0.5m and £3m, where you will take direct procurement ownership. Projects above this band are supported at Group level, but you may interface where required. Given the volume and scale of investment, success in this role requires intelligent prioritisation, pipeline ownership and the ability to embed structured processes that enable safe and compliant self-serve activity within the wider project community.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead capital procurement activity for a portfolio of projects typically within the £0.5m-£3m range, prioritising effectively to maximise commercial impact.
• Own the sourcing lifecycle once projects reach procurement stage: tendering, negotiation, contracting, governance and delivery follow-through.
• Partner closely with engineering and project stakeholders nationally, maintaining visible engagement and ensuring procurement governance remains embedded.
• Apply structured sourcing discipline and robust commercial thinking, including risk management, payment structures, contract controls and total cost of ownership evaluation.
• Embed practical tools and capability within the business (e.g., contract templates, guardrails, foundational guidance) to reduce risk where direct procurement involvement is not feasible.
• Operate confidently in a large, complex organisation where approvals may take time; maintain resilience and momentum across multiple concurrent projects.

What We Are Looking For:

• Proven CAPEX procurement experience, with clear evidence of leading sourcing events and negotiating commercial agreements within capital projects.
• Strong appreciation that specification is king in capital environments, with the ability to challenge and shape scope before tender.
• Experience selecting and managing EPC, turnkey or multi-lot contracting strategies.
• Desirable familiarity with model-form contracts such as NEC and/or FIDIC.
• Strong stakeholder management capability - visible, proactive, assertive and commercially credible.
• Experience within heavy industry, construction materials, utilities, chemicals or large multi-site manufacturing environments is highly advantageous. Transferable CAPEX backgrounds will be considered where governance and contracting exposure is strong.
• This role requires drive and self-motivation. You will not be handed a weekly project list - you must build and manage your own pipeline and remain front and centre with project teams.

Location & Travel:

This is a National Field-Based / Home-Based role. There is no expectation of daily head office attendance. Success is driven by engagement with project stakeholders across the UK, with travel ranging from Scotland to the South Coast depending on project location. Candidates should ideally be centrally located with strong motorway/rail connectivity, but flexibility exists provided national travel is acceptable.

Package:

• £65,000 base salary
• Car allowance (£7,500) or company car
• 15% bonus
• Private medical (family cover)
• Full blue-chip benefits package

The breadth of capital exposure, scale of investment and long-term career platform within a major industrial group offer significant professional development opportunity.