Principal Category Manager

Would you enjoy supporting the NHS and Wider Public Sector in helping to meet the 10-Year Plan and supporting organizations in meeting / shaping their digital agendas? If you are an experienced procurement leader and would like to join our Digital & IT Category as a Principal Category Manager, then please apply!

You will be responsible for several projects in our Infrastructure sub-team that will support the delivery of social care and ‘care at home’, cloud solutions, and end user devices. All our projects are in flight, and we have several exciting opportunities for new Frameworks that require development and feasibility.

You will work with a group of industry-leading suppliers and manage complex commercial relationships, maintaining a regular cadence of contract and supplier relationship management meetings, building existing relationships to support great outcomes for our customers. As well as working with suppliers you will also work with our customers where required to provide support, guidance and expertise in our framework and market knowledge.

You will lead a small team and take ownership of the Infrastructure sub-category, developing specific strategic sourcing programs/strategies across our client base and being responsible for the delivery of several key projects as well as managing, motivating and providing leadership to the team.

This position is predominantly home-based, but there is an expectation of attending meetings at our Salford office once/twice per month, which may vary depending on the business need.

What you'll be doing:

• Provide leadership and management of a small team within the sub-category area providing support, coaching and direction to aid in their development.
• Be responsible for leading a new Procurement Act ’23 procurement for Technology Enabled Care Services 3 which will help the NHS and healthcare institutions to increase availability of beds and promote more care in the community.
• Be responsible for one of the largest Frameworks in the Digital & IT portfolio, managing the provision of end user devices under Link 4.
• Promoting growth strategies and marketing opportunities to help grow our existing and new framework portfolio.
• Navigate a complex governance structure; producing high quality documentation for Procurement Review Boards and engaging with the government’s Spend Control process for high value procurement activity.
• Develop high quality procurement documentation for tender activity as well as other internal and external documentation as and when required by the business.
• Analyze data and identify areas of cost savings and operational improvements to advise procurement plans.
• Supporting the Senior Category Manager with the management of the team and portfolio to ensure we achieve our strategic objectives around: growth, productivity, quality and people performance.

What you’ll bring:

• Experience of working within IT markets (or sub-categories) and knowledge of their supply chains.
• Public Sector procurement experience at an experienced level, demonstrating clear accountabilities held with tactical and strategic level objectives.
• Knowledge of UK Public Contracts Regulations (PCR 2015) and PA23, and experience in operating in compliance with these.
• Ability to demonstrate commercial acumen and promote/market our frameworks to ensure continued growth and development.
• Familiarity with contract Terms and Conditions, and experience in drafting and negotiating.
• Project management experience to ensure compliance and delivery of our project on-time and in full.
• Experience of managing small teams with clear examples of support, coaching and leadership.
• CIPS Level 5 (or equivalent) or working towards.

It would be great if you had (but not essential):

• Experience and/or knowledge of NHS Terms and Conditions.
• Experience and/or knowledge of working within the NHS.
• Experience of developing Frameworks within another authority or private sector institution.

If you are interested in this role but not sure if your skills and experience are exactly what we’re looking for, please do apply, we’d love to hear from you!

Benefits: 5,400 car allowance (can be taken as a cash equivalent or used on our EV car scheme), 3% flex fund (can be taken as cash equivalent or to be used on benefits) 25 days annual leave, with the option to buy additional days, private medical, life assurance, pension, and generous flexible benefits fund.

Although this role is advertised as full-time, we believe that flexibility at work can promote work/life balance, increase your motivation, reduce stress and improve performance and productivity. We support different ways of working and can offer a range of flexible working arrangements. So, if you’re interested and need to work flexibly, we encourage you to apply and talk to us about what might be possible.

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) was created by the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver corporate services to the NHS. A unique joint venture with Sopra Steria, a European leader in digital services and software development, we make life easier for NHS employees, patients, and suppliers, and deliver value for money to the taxpayer.