Senior Category Manager (Technology)

Credible procurement partner. Sustainable supplier management. Impacting the future.

Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship. Closing date: 28 January 2026 23:55. This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact as soon as possible.

Recruitment process: Two competency-based interviews (potentially with an exercise). Interview date: From the week commencing 02 February 2026.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer. We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone determined, someone like you.

Cancer Research UK’s Procurement team plays a critical role in ensuring the charity has the resources it needs to operate and deliver on our mission. Managing around £200m of annual spend, we are driving an ambitious transformation to create a strategic, data-driven procurement function that delivers value, mitigates risk, and fosters innovation. By embedding procurement best practice across the organisation, we aim to maximise value for money, enhance quality, improve efficiency, and uphold our promise to direct 80p of every £1 donated towards beating cancer.

As a Senior Category Manager, you’ll be accountable for driving value and impact for Cancer Research UK by leading the development and execution of strategic procurement initiatives across our technology-related services and solutions spend categories. As well as helping the charity to mitigate risk, you’ll support the organisation’s long-term goals through effective supplier partnerships and commercial strategies. This will involve building strong relationships with senior stakeholders and influencing key decision-making across Technology and the wider organisation, ultimately ensuring that Procurement delivers measurable benefits aligned with Cancer Research UK’s mission to beat cancer.

What will I be doing?

• Leading and managing procurement activities across Technology, ensuring value for money, compliance, and alignment with Cancer Research UK’s mission to beat cancer. This includes managed services, SaaS, cloud, and infrastructure.
• Developing and delivering category strategies that align with the organisation’s objectives, using market insights, risk analysis, and stakeholder input to drive value and efficiency.
• Engaging and influencing senior stakeholders across Technology and the wider charity to ensure procurement strategies are understood, supported, and embedded in business planning.
• Leading on IT sourcing activities (including supplier evaluation, selection, and competitive tendering) to ensure optimal quality, cost, and service outcomes.
• Negotiating and drafting commercial contracts that secure robust terms, mitigate risk, and maximise value for Cancer Research UK.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to manage supplier relationships, ensuring delivery against KPIs and continuous improvement.
• Identifying and mitigating supplier risks to protect the charity’s operational and reputational interests.
• Monitoring and reporting on category performance to ensure delivery of savings, value, and alignment with Cancer Research UK’s strategic goals.

What are we looking for?

• Procurement professional with experience owning Technology categories in large, complex organisations.
• Proven ability to build and manage strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels to drive collaboration and innovation.
• Strong influencing and communication skills, with experience in securing stakeholder buy-in for complex technology procurement strategies.
• Extensive experience in leading change IT categories, identifying opportunities for digital and operational improvement and delivering measurable benefits.
• Deep expertise in managing complex IT contracts and supplier relationships, including managed services, SaaS, cloud, and infrastructure, ensuring compliance, performance, and value delivery.
• In-depth knowledge of category management principles, with a track record of developing and executing IT category strategies that align with organisational goals and technology roadmaps.
• Comprehensive experience in end-to-end sourcing within IT categories, including tendering, supplier evaluation, and delivering excellent stakeholder experiences across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Advanced negotiation skills, with a history of securing favourable commercial terms and drafting robust IT contract schedules, including SLAs, KPIs, and exit strategies.

What will I gain?

Each and every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that’s impressive. In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies and processes to enable you to do your job well. Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more. We don’t forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture. Our work - from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy - will change the world. It’s exciting to be part of our team.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us. For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.