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Indirect Procurement - Category Manager

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Category Manager - Indirect Procurement (Non - IT)

VetPartners Limited, York (Hybrid)

Established in 2015, VetPartners is made up of some of the most well-respected and trusted small animal, equine, mixed, and farm practices across the UK and parts of Europe. VetPartners aims to be a great place to work, focusing on the development and wellbeing of its people. Everyone makes the tea here at VetPartners!

We're on the lookout for someone to join our friendly procurement team as a Category Manager in our central support office, situated in York. You will focus on sourcing goods and services that are essential for the company's operations and manage 3rd party supplier contracts and relationships. As part of a small yet highly skilled procurement team you'll contribute to improving the company's cost efficiency and management of the indirect 3rd party spend. All categories of indirect spending will be covered such as business services, professional services, marketing, HR services, property and facilities, fleet, etc (technology is not a must), with a main focus on fleet, office supplies, energy and utilities, insurance, professional services, and travel and expenses. You'll support the senior procurement manager and the group indirect procurement director under the overarching Commercial / Operations umbrella in driving category strategies and efficiencies to demonstrate value to the business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Demand Management: Work closely with internal departments and practices to understand their needs and provide procurement support accordingly.
  • Sourcing: Conduct market research to identify potential suppliers and assess market trends, run supplier RFIs/RFPs and manage price quotations.
  • New supplier onboarding and setup.
  • Spend Analytics: Gather, interpret and apply an understanding of spend data, market intelligence. Deep dive into spend data to drive insights and business decisions and support category plans.
  • Negotiating Contracts: Crafting, evaluating, negotiating, and executing a wide variety of contracts covering different transactions.
  • Cost Management: Focus on reducing costs and managing the total cost of ownership for purchases.
  • Process Improvement: Continuously thrive to generate ideas and optimize procurement processes and tools to enhance efficiency.
  • Relationship Management: Creating and maintaining relationships with suppliers, vendors, and customers, serving as the main point of contact for all contract-related matters.
  • Supplier Performance Management: Conduct regular supplier review meetings, hold suppliers accountable against their delivery obligations and SLAs, coordinate service reviews, act as point of escalation.
  • Compliance and Monitoring: Ensuring that all contracts comply with company policies and regulatory guidelines and monitoring the performance and implementation of contracts.
  • Documentation and Records: Maintaining accurate records for all contracts, including correspondence and documentation.
  • Advising and Training: Providing advice to business on contract terms, recommend approved suppliers and route new demand through approved channels.

Experience / Skills:

Experience:

  • Significant experience built in procurement within a large company, with demonstrable experience in indirect categories, and supplier related activities preferred.
  • Experience of entrepreneurial, acquisitive and/or private equity backed environments would be desirable but not essential. Experience in a related sector (e.g. Healthcare) would be advantageous.

Skills:

  • Good negotiation and communication skills.
  • Good commercial acumen.
  • Good understanding of supplier contracts, ordering process, pricing and invoicing.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the business to influence outcomes.
  • A team player, who understands how their work contributes to the overall success of the business.
  • Detail-oriented, proactive, and able to work independently, as well as part of a team.
  • Excellent analytical skills, ability to produce accurate work at pace and drive insights out of data.
  • Previous exposure to procurement, contract management, finance or business analytics tools (e.g. SAP Ariba/ Coupa/ Oracle/ PowerBI, etc.)
  • Educated to degree level or equivalent.
  • CIPS qualification is desirable but not essential.

Some of our fantastic benefits include:

  • Hybrid working with three days working in our central support office in York and two days from home.
  • 25 days holiday, plus Bank Holidays
  • Buy and sell holiday scheme
  • Health Shield
  • Health Shield PERKS - various discounts including gym memberships & retail
  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • Enhanced paternity, maternity, adoption, shared parental leave, and surrogacy pay
  • Company sick pay
  • Discounted veterinary fees
  • Focus on employee wellbeing

If this sounds like the role for you, please apply today!

**Please Apply Directly - Strictly No Agency Submissions**

Indirect Procurement - Category Manager

VetPartners
York, UK
Full-Time

Published on 12/09/2025

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