At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead category strategy and sourcing for diverse portfolios, ensuring high-quality procurement execution.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking organisation in Milton Keynes with a hybrid working model.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days leave, competitive pension, enhanced parental leave, and a fantastic loan car scheme.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping the future of our organisation through innovation and strategic thinking.
- Qualifications: Proven expertise in Category Management and strong stakeholder engagement skills required.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for professional growth and a focus on sustainability.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 40000 £ per year.
Location: Milton Keynes / Hybrid working
Working Hours: Monday to Friday (8.45am – 5pm)
Salary: From £40,000 plus an excellent benefits package, including:
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Competitive pension
- Enhanced parental leave
- Eligibility to annual bonus scheme
- Access to a fantastic loan car scheme
- 4x basic salary life assurance
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the category strategy and sourcing activity for various direct and indirect categories. This role combines strategic category ownership with hands-on operational delivery, ensuring high-quality procurement execution, strong commercial governance, and effective supplier performance management.
The Category Manager will work closely with Services, Marketing, Sales, Operations, H&S, Finance and Legal, supporting investment programmes, ensuring compliant day-to-day operations, and delivering measurable commercial value across all assigned indirect spend areas.
About you:
- Category Management expertise – a proven track record within Category Management is required for this role.
- Strategic thinker – create short and long-term strategy for the business.
- Solutions orientated – seeking ways to aid the business succeed.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement – navigating conversations and influencing decisions with stakeholders throughout the business.
- Commercial acumen - able to understand business requirements and create understanding.
In this role you will:
- Own and deliver category strategies across a diverse portfolio of indirect spend categories, providing clear strategic direction alongside hands‑on sourcing execution.
- Lead end‑to‑end procurement activity across core and smaller categories, including RFx development, supplier evaluation, negotiation, contracting and onboarding.
- Provide procurement and commercial support to a wide range of business initiatives and projects, ensuring sound sourcing approaches, risk management and value for money.
- Maintain strong commercial governance, ensuring compliance with procurement policies, delegated authority limits, contract management standards and audit requirements.
- Draft, review and negotiate contracts, ensuring appropriate commercial terms, risk allocation and compliance with internal standards.
- Provide day‑to‑day operational procurement support, resolving supplier issues, managing contract renewals, and supporting stakeholders with ongoing commercial needs.
- Manage a portfolio of smaller and tactical categories, applying proportionate sourcing approaches while maintaining control, visibility and value.
- Lead supplier relationship management, monitoring performance against KPIs and SLAs, addressing issues, and driving continuous improvement and innovation.
- Partner with internal stakeholders to align category strategies to business priorities, challenge specifications and demand, and provide pragmatic commercial advice.
- Contribute to sustainability, compliance and ESG objectives across the supply base, embedding responsible sourcing principles into category strategies.
- Improve procurement engagement with the business by driving earlier involvement, clearer governance, standardised workflows and smoother sourcing cycles across multiple categories.
Closing date: 28.04.26
Please note, the closing date for this role is subject to change pending volume of applications.
Next steps: If you like the sound of this position, please apply today. Your application will be reviewed by the hiring manager or a member of the Scania Recruitment Team. If you are successful at this stage, you will be invited to have a conversation and discuss the role further.
We understand that every candidate is unique, and we strive to accommodate your needs. If you require any adjustments during the application process, please reach out to our Recruitment Team, we’ll be happy to discuss these with you.
Category Manager employer: Scania (Great Britain) Limited
Contact Detail:
Scania (Great Britain) Limited Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Category Manager
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, attend events, and connect on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their values and how your skills as a Category Manager can help them achieve their goals. Tailor your responses to show you're the perfect fit!
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your negotiation skills! As a Category Manager, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to negotiate contracts and manage supplier relationships. Role-play with a friend to build confidence before the real deal.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining our team at this exciting time.
We think you need these skills to ace Category Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Category Manager role. Highlight your category management expertise and strategic thinking skills. We want to see how your experience aligns with our needs!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to showcase your solutions-oriented mindset and excellent stakeholder engagement abilities. Let us know why you're the perfect fit for this exciting opportunity.
Showcase Your Achievements: When detailing your past roles, focus on measurable achievements. We love numbers! Whether it's cost savings or improved supplier performance, show us how you've made an impact in previous positions.
Apply Through Our Website: Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, we can’t wait to hear from you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Scania (Great Britain) Limited
✨Know Your Categories
Before the interview, dive deep into the categories you'll be managing. Understand the market trends, key suppliers, and potential challenges. This knowledge will not only impress your interviewers but also show that you're genuinely interested in the role.
✨Showcase Your Strategic Thinking
Prepare to discuss your approach to creating short and long-term strategies. Think of examples where you've successfully implemented category strategies in the past. Be ready to explain how you align these strategies with business priorities and drive measurable value.
✨Engage Stakeholders Effectively
Highlight your experience in stakeholder engagement. Prepare examples of how you've navigated complex conversations and influenced decisions. This is crucial for a Category Manager, so demonstrate your ability to build relationships and communicate effectively across departments.
✨Demonstrate Commercial Acumen
Be prepared to discuss how you understand business requirements and create solutions that add value. Share specific instances where your commercial insights led to successful negotiations or improved supplier performance. This will showcase your ability to contribute to the organisation's bottom line.