Role: Procurement Category Manager
Role Type: Permanent
Salary: Up to c £55k per annum
Location: Reading/Hybrid
Purpose of the Role
The Category Manager leads the design, delivery, and end-to-end management of assigned procurement categories and framework agreements, ensuring commercial value, regulatory compliance, strong supplier performance, and high-quality outcomes for members. The role combines strategic category and framework development and end-to-end sourcing; with responsibility for the effective mobilisation, operational governance and performance of the framework.
Key Responsibilities
Category Strategy, Market Insight & Commercial Development
- Lead the strategic development and delivery of assigned categories, ensuring frameworks are commercially strong, compliant, scalable, and aligned with member and sector priorities.
- Use market intelligence, to shape category strategies and identify opportunities for value, innovation, and improved adoption.
- Analyse spend, pricing, utilisation and market risks to inform commercial decisions and highlight areas for optimisation. Provide clear market insight, inflationary analysis, and commercial tools to support strategic planning and decision-making.
Sourcing, Tendering & Framework Delivery
- Plan and deliver end-to-end sourcing projects, ensuring compliance with UK public procurement regulations
- Develop sourcing and category strategies, documentation, evaluation and pricing models that reflect member needs and market conditions.
- Lead supplier engagement, negotiation and award processes to secure commercially robust, high-quality framework agreements.
- Ensure frameworks are mobilised effectively, with clear implementation plans, communication and handover
Framework Governance, Compliance & Risk Management
- Maintain strong governance across all frameworks, ensuring documentation, processes and decisions meet audit and regulatory standards
- Monitor supplier performance, contractual commitments, KPIs and risk indicators, escalating issues and driving corrective action where required.
- Manage change control, cost price reviews and contractual variations to maintain commercial integrity and member value.
- Ensure frameworks remain compliant, up-to-date and responsive to sector changes, regulatory updates and emerging risks.
Supplier Relationship & Performance Management
Act as the category lead for supplier relationships, ensuring suppliers deliver consistently high performance and member value.
- Conduct regular supplier reviews, performance assessments and strategic discussions to drive continuous improvement.
- Use data, KPIs and member feedback to challenge underperformance and support suppliers in delivering agreed outcomes.
- Promote innovation, sustainability, social value and sector-wide improvements through proactive supplier engagement.
Engagement, Collaboration & Sector Support
- Engage with members to understand needs, gather feedback and ensure frameworks remain relevant and effective.
- Provide clear guidance, training and communication to support member utilisation and best practice.
- Collaborate with partners and sector bodies to align category strategies, share intelligence and support sector-wide initiatives.
- Represent the organisation on working groups, events and collaborative projects to strengthen sector impact and knowledge sharing.
Data, Systems & Reporting
- Ensure accurate and timely updates across procurement, contract and supplier management systems.
- Use data to monitor utilisation, performance, risk and commercial outcomes, producing clear reports and insights for decision-making.
- Maintain high standards of data quality, audit readiness and documentation accuracy across all category and framework activities.
- Support continuous improvement through analysis, reporting and identification of opportunities for efficiency and enhanced member value.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Proven experience in public sector procurement and complex category management.
- Strong knowledge of UK public procurement regulations
- Experience designing, procuring and delivering framework agreements and complex sourcing projects.
- Strong experience in supplier negotiation, contract management, supplier relationship management and performance management.
- Ability to interpret complex requirements and translate them into effective procurement and category strategies.
- Strong commercial acumen and data-driven decision-making skills.
- Experience using procurement, supplier and contract management systems.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, influencing and relationship-building skills.
- Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple procurement projects and ongoing framework responsibilities.
- CIPS/MCIPS accreditation or willingness to undertake.
Key Competencies
- Strategic and commercial thinking
- Category and procurement expertise
- Supplier and stakeholder management
- Analytical thinking and use of data
- Project and framework lifecycle management
- Communication, influencing and negotiation
- Attention to detail and data accuracy
- Governance and compliance discipline
- Collaborative working and knowledge sharing
- Continuous improvement
Procurement Manager in Reading employer: MLC Partners Careers
MLC Partners is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that prioritises collaboration and innovation. With a focus on employee growth, you will have access to ongoing professional development opportunities while enjoying the flexibility of predominantly remote working. Join us to make a meaningful impact in a supportive environment where your financial expertise can drive strategic decisions across the UK.
