Procurement Category Manager

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Job Description

Base salary: £38,550 - c.£45,350 pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer flexible benefits fund of 15% which is paid on top base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

HS2 Ltd has received a Platinum advanced award from The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) as part of its Procurement Excellence Programme - one of only 17 organisations globally to achieve the accreditation at this level.

The Procurement Category Manager will play a key role in improving the on-going performance of the corporate procurement team through a continuous improvement programme. They will provide HS2 with best practice procurement advice in relation to complex disciplines and deliver to completion all assigned projects using their specialist expertise.

The Procurement Category Manager will support the Senior Procurement Category Manager in managing the expectations of key stakeholders, (Internal Directors/Senior Managers, External Parties; DfT and Cabinet Office (ERG)) and determining strategic and long-term procurement plans are best in class by monitoring day to day business requirements and progress on critical issues. Finally, the Procurement Category Manager will be required to present to boards and committees, as required, in order to respond to challenge and scrutiny and assist with sourcing approvals of the on-going procurement actions. The annual spend on corporate goods and services is estimated at approx. £500m per annum. The Procurement Category Manager will be responsible for developing procurement strategies and category plans within a range of £1m - £500m.

About the role:

• The Procurement Category Manager will lead cross-functional teams covering a portfolio of specific spend categories and is accountable for the delivery of all procurement projects with the categories.
• Develop and lead a team (direct and indirect reports) to deliver savings opportunities for an assigned portfolio, ensuring that objectives and success criteria are identified and delivered in line with client expectations;
• Understand key commercial drivers and commercial success criteria for procurements
• Establish appropriate demand management processes across HS2 to ensure that the full benefits of the category strategy are delivered. Maintain the strategy in-line with demand side or supply side changes as they occur;
• Lead the identification and implement innovative sourcing approaches to the delivery of projects in order to enhance levels of service and minimize costs, ensuring compliance with the overall HS2 strategy and seek to safeguard contractual and commercial risk;
• Provide category and strategic sourcing insight to enable HS2 to make informed choices about the way in which its expenditure is deployed, and drive more value from more effective processes and or external providers;
• Lead the development of positive relationships with HS2 Senior Managers/ stakeholders to raise awareness of the benefits of a strategic approach to spend;
• Identify, develop and prepare business cases, reports, committee items and present to the appropriate internal and external stakeholders;
• Drive the delivery of HS2 themes and goals into all procurement strategies, tender documents and evaluation processes leading into demonstrable measurement of performance through the life of the contract(s);
• Promote importance of procurement across business units and best practice through continuous improvement so that procurement processes are effective in delivering HS2's objectives;
• Participate in team meetings for procurement to provide specialist guidance and enable the implementation of policy, projects and change initiatives;
• Advise on applicable procurement legislation and developments, applicable government policies and procurement routes; to ensure that all HS2 activities are comply with regulations;
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.To be responsible for supporting Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs) and contract performance reviews and other ad hoc reviews.

About You:

Skills

• Ability to manage multiple work streams in business-critical areas, at different stages of development
• Internal and external stakeholder engagement skills to build relationships with colleagues internal to HS2 Ltd, but also partners across wider industry and Government;
• Ability to support market testing activities to determine best fit service provision;
• Skilled in compiling category plans, tender and commercial documents;
• Ability to be a conduit for information, assessing and disseminating across various locations;
• Report writing skills, presenting, commercial analysis and negotiating skills;
• Communication skills along with the confidence to interface with senior colleagues and stakeholders internal and external to HS2 Ltd;
• Ability to view and convey the role of procurement as a facilitator and conduit to progress and results, rather than an obstacle;
• Ability to drive excellence in staff leadership and management skills;

Knowledge

• Understanding of supply market for corporate services including complex professional consultancy services and other indirect specialist activities relating to infrastructure projects;
• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply or equivalent
• Awareness of government initiatives and policies with ability to assess relevancy and defend applicability;
• Knowledge of the Public Procurement Regulations;
• Knowledge of working with or for publicly funded bodies including central government departments;
• Knowledge of different forms of contract and risk allocation

Experience

• Experience of undertaking procurements using different pricing/risk options dependent on desired outcome and market conditions;
• Experience in cultivating relationships with suppliers;
• Experience in motivating, and leading a team of procurement professionals alongside peers and other senior managers within HS2 Ltd;
• Experience of procuring large value complex and/or specialist contracts and savings to a public sector organisation through effective category management;
• Experience in leading teams, managing/coaching numerous staff in their career development

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert. Watch this video on how we remove bias in the recruitment process: Removing bias in the recruitment process - YouTube

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

About Us

High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK's new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain's major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.

HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others' health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our 'Safe at Heart' programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.