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- Tasks: Lead category strategy and sourcing for diverse spend categories, ensuring high-quality procurement.
- Company: Join Scania, a company committed to exceptional products and customer service.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days leave, competitive pension, enhanced parental leave, and a loan car scheme.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by driving strategic procurement and supplier performance.
- Qualifications: Proven expertise in Category Management and strong stakeholder engagement skills.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for innovation and sustainability in procurement.
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 per annum
Benefits:
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Competitive pension
- Enhanced parental leave
- Eligibility for annual bonus scheme
- Access to a fantastic loan car scheme
- 4× basic salary life assurance
Role Overview
This role leads category strategy and sourcing activity for various direct and indirect categories. It combines strategic category ownership with hands‑on operational delivery, ensuring high‑quality procurement execution, strong commercial governance, and effective supplier performance management.
Core Responsibilities:
- Own and deliver category strategies across diverse 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 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.
Qualifications:
- Category Management expertise – a proven track record within Category Management.
- Strategic thinker – able to create short- and long-term strategy for the business.
- Solution orientated – seeks ways to aid the business to succeed.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement – navigates conversations and influences decisions with stakeholders throughout the business.
- Commercial acumen – able to understand business requirements and create understanding.
About Scania
Scania is dedicated to delivering exceptional products and services to our customers. The successful candidate will reflect our core values: customer first, respect, elimination of waste, responsibility and team spirit in all we do.
Category Manager in Milton Keynes employer: Scania Nederland B.V.
Contact Detail:
Scania Nederland B.V. Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Category Manager in Milton Keynes
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in your 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 role thoroughly. Understand their values and how they align with yours. This will help you answer questions confidently and show that you're genuinely interested in the position.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Conduct mock interviews with friends or family to get comfortable with common questions. This will help you articulate your experience and skills effectively when it counts.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A simple thank-you email can leave a lasting impression and keep you top of mind. Plus, it shows your enthusiasm for the role and the company.
We think you need these skills to ace Category Manager in Milton Keynes
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 solution-oriented mindset and excellent stakeholder engagement. Let us know why you're the perfect fit for our team at StudySmarter.
Showcase Your Achievements: Don’t just list your responsibilities; highlight your achievements in previous roles. We love to see how you've driven continuous improvement and innovation in procurement. Numbers and results speak volumes!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and get you on the path to joining our fantastic team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Scania Nederland B.V.
✨Know Your Categories
Before the interview, dive deep into the categories you'll be managing. Understand the market trends, key suppliers, and challenges in those areas. This will show your strategic thinking and preparedness.
✨Showcase Your Negotiation Skills
Be ready to discuss specific examples of successful negotiations you've led. Highlight how you achieved value for money and managed risks. This will demonstrate your commercial acumen and hands-on experience.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
Prepare to talk about how you've effectively engaged with stakeholders in the past. Share examples of how you navigated conversations and influenced decisions, as this is crucial for the role.
✨Emphasise Sustainability and Compliance
Familiarise yourself with sustainability practices and compliance standards relevant to procurement. Be prepared to discuss how you've integrated these principles into your category strategies, aligning with the company's values.