Category Manager

£43,391 to £53,994 per annum (for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £62,093 per annum)

Hybrid
This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location with the opportunity to work remotely available in line with our Adaptive Working Framework.

We have one simple promise - to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.

The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.

We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 - making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

The Finance and Procurement teams play a crucial role in enabling the University to deliver on its strategic aims. This involves managing and maximising the University's financial resources while providing expert financial advice and support to the wider University community.

Our responsibilities encompass a wide range of essential functions, including providing strategic business partnering, delivering value from supplier relationships, managing effective working capital and cashflow and providing key financial support for our students. Additionally, we oversee all aspects of payroll and pensions management, and deliver comprehensive support for financial systems, tax compliance, and audit needs. Through these activities, we provide assurance to the University community around the financial health and efficiency of the University, supporting its mission and operations.

This key role sits within the University's central Procurement team, supporting a wide range of devolved purchasing activity across the main Kedleston Road campus in Derby and our sites in Buxton and Chesterfield.

As Category Manager, you will be an integral part of our category led strategic procurement function, supporting and managing several procurement categories with a high annual spend. You will shape and implement a strong, forward thinking category management approach that reflects our core values, promotes sustainable and responsible procurement, and delivers exceptional value for the University and its partners.

This is an opportunity to help develop category strategies with a focus for value for money, supporting key stakeholders and enhancing the student journey.

We are looking for a professional who is Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS) qualified or actively working towards the qualification, or who brings equivalent relevant experience with a commitment to completing the qualification within an agreed timeframe. You will have a strong track record in defining and managing a portfolio of spend categories, applying best practice approaches to understand demand and supply to deliver measurable benefits.

You will also bring experience of managing risk across a diverse stakeholder community and a broad range of contract portfolios, ensuring robust, compliant and value focused procurement outcomes. Additionally, you will be confident in influencing staff at all levels, driving positive change and fostering a culture of continuous improvement across the organisation.

• Develop and execute the category management strategy for your designated category. Apply best practices for supplier relationship management and contract management. Employ category management toolkits as necessary to ensure practices are effective and compliant with regulation and policy. Provide training and support to your stakeholders and wider communities, to drive best practice and compliance into these communities.
• Apply category management toolkits to inform decision making and deliver savings and value as agreed. Apply a strong category management to promote the use of supply agreements and partnership working with stakeholders to improve collaborative spend, pursue expenditure reduction and promote best value in line with declared strategies.
• Ensure tenders and contractual obligations are managed in a sustainable and ethical fashion incorporating Social Value and Modern Slavery requirements.
• Engage with key people from across the University and its associated businesses to ensure best practice in stakeholder management.
• Represent the University and the Procurement team, working with senior management at both internal and external events and meetings (appropriate to the role grade) as and when required.
• To provide a professional, effective and compliant support service to the University across all categories and in all matters.
• With support from the Senior Procurement Team, develop, execute and maintain your category strategy across a portfolio of procurement commodities using appropriate tools and techniques to inform decision making and deliver various savings and value.
• Maintain and review various procurement systems and processes to ensure these remain effective and complaint with regulation. Provide training and support to our stakeholders and wider communities periodically and help to drive best practice and compliance into these communities.
• Work with stakeholders to consolidate requirements to develop clear, detailed specifications and provide recommendations/procurement strategies for your assigned portfolio and to assist the Senior Procurement Team on opportunities for consolidation.
• Prepare, analyse and evaluate tenders for goods and services as directed by the Senior Procurement Team, ensuring transparency and fairness in compliance to the University's Purchasing Policy and Procedures.
• Engage with key suppliers in the category portfolio to help deliver benefits to the University in an ethical and sustainable way. Identify and create appropriate relationships on a supplier-by-supplier basis, manage risk and deliver benefit at all times.
• Ensure contracts resulting from procurement activity are appropriate to the nature of the requirements, contain sufficient and appropriate provisions for risk management and value delivery and that each contract is effectively managed with the supplier to deliver the expected benefits. This will involve both directly managing contracts and as an advisory/escalation point.
• Ensure a comprehensive approach to identification and management of risk is inbuilt in all procurement activity. Proactively identify and manage supply side risk and ensure that operational risk is identified and addressed as necessary to do so. Develop in-built risk management processes at a category level to help reduce overall risks to the University.
• Give advice and support to the Purchasing Team to ensure compliance to regulations, policies and procedures.
• Adopt a pragmatic approach to Continuous Improvement by learning from our past experiences with a view to making things better for future projects. Incorporate these learnings into appropriate systems and processes and drive a continuous improvement ethos across our internal and external stakeholders.
• Take up any other related projects and lead as requested by the Senior Procurement Team.
• Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS) qualified or evidence of actively working towards ( or equivalent relevant experience with a requirement to complete the qualification within an agreed timescale)

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of defining and managing a portfolio of spend categories using appropriate best practice to build knowledge of demand and supply and ensure realistic strategies are in place and delivering expected benefits
• Experience of planning and delivering tender projects under Public Procurement Regulations using electronic tendering platforms
• Knowledge and experience of using Framework Agreements
• Experience of managing risk across a broad community of stakeholders and contract portfolios

Skills, knowledge & abilities

• Able to effectively prioritise, managing several tenders and stakeholders concurrently
• Well-developed interpersonal skills, able to build positive relationships with colleagues, customers and key stakeholders and effectively lead project teams
• Good understanding of UK Procurement regulations and procedures
• Capable of influencing and working with staff at all levels to drive change
• Knowledge of trends and best practice in Procurement
• Highly competent/computer literate with a number of Microsoft Office applications and relevant software packages

Business Requirements

• Willingness and flexibility to travel and work between University and external sites in a cost effective and timely manner
• Flexible approach to workloads, work patterns and variety

Qualifications

• Degree in a procurement business related subject

Experience

• Experience of working in Higher Education Sector or another public organisation
• Experience of working within a large, devolved organisation
• Experience of using an e-procurement system
• Experience of integrating and evaluating Social Value within their role
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