Senior Category Manager

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Overview

RM is a leading supplier of technology and resources to the education sector, supporting schools, teachers, and pupils across from pre-school to higher education.

Our mission is to grow through improving the life chances of people by delivering great education products and services that help teachers to teach and learners to learn.

The Technology division of RM provides a range of industry leading IT service solutions, from software that underpins learning strategy through to the connectivity and IT hardware and services necessary for teachers to deliver learning in school and remotely.

The supply chain within the scope of the team comprises a broad range of suppliers of varying scale. Strategic suppliers include IT hardware and software suppliers and technology partners.

As a Third Party Software Senior Category Manager, you would be accountable for the category strategy and operations whilst managing the relationship and the performance of the suppliers. You will also be expected to apply industry best practices and train/mentor junior staff.

Responsibilities

The Senior Category Manager is accountable for the creation and implementation of the business strategy and has commercial accountabilities for all activities. They are seen as an expert on the category within the organisation. The role spans the full product life cycle for all lines of business within the category.

• Supplier ownership across the Category, managing the contracts and regular performance reviews and contributing towards the strategic business reviews. Lead negotiation, and management of contractual SLAs between the supplier and RM.
• Agreeing, driving and proactive reporting on supplier performance metrics (KPIs) to ensure they are delivering their obligations.
• Provision of procurement services to support the commercial delivery of the business. Managing third party spend and delivering segmental benefit through identification and execution of strategic sourcing initiatives and vendor relationship management.
• Supporting the P&Ls to deliver required revenue and direct margin by leading price negotiation.
• Responsible for providing insight about the competitive landscape, underpinned by detailed analysis, ensuring that buy prices are set at the correct level to maximise profitability for RM.
• Displaying continuous improvement of suppliers.
• Owning, understanding, and managing risks and opportunities related to suppliers.
• Governing suppliers and facilitating audits where required.
• Leading and managing the procurement to secure large deals in relation to Bids etc.
• Training, supporting, and assisting Sales.
• Accountable for stock management, including forecasting and continuity of supply based on information supplied from the order book / sales / propositions etc.
• Establish and monitoring clear and robust communication plans for suppliers including escalation processes.
• Lead the process for onboarding a new supplier, ensure agreements are in place that allow the new supplier to be managed effectively.
• Line management where required, train/mentor junior staff
• Apply industry best practice and guide others where appropriate
• Regularly suggest and implement improvements that improve the team's efficiency and performance.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of managing a similar level of spend and workload whilst working in a fast-paced role
• Experience in negotiating with suppliers at a senior level
• Demonstrable experience of building and managing relationships externally with suppliers and internally with stakeholders
• Excellent planning and organisational skills and a flexible approach to workload demands
• High levels of self-motivation, drive and tenacity
• Pro-active and innovative approach in providing solutions to challenges
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with strong active listening and influencing skills
• Excellent PC skills to include Microsoft Office
• Excellent analytical skills
• Educated to degree or equivalent level
• Knowledge of industry best practices

What's in it for you?

At RM we have "My Work Blend @RM" which provides office-based colleagues with multi location and hybrid working options to suit them. As well as your office base, you can spend a proportion of your time working at other locations in the UK that suit your role and your life, including home, other offices, customer sites, distribution centres or on the move. We encourage you to discuss arrangements for this role with your potential line manager during the recruitment process. We expect how we make best use of hybrid working may continue to adapt as we adjust to our new ways of working.

As well as a competitive salary and our core benefits package which includes private medical healthcare, life assurance and a Group Personal Pension Plan with higher contribution levels available, some roles are also eligible for a performance-related bonus. There are lots of voluntary benefits too. You could buy additional annual leave, join our dental plan, sign for a health assessment, or take part in our cycle to work scheme. You could even earn yourself an extra bonus for successfully recommending a friend or family member for a position within RM.

To better reflect the society that we serve, we're committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. To achieve this, we create teams of talented people from different backgrounds and experiences and strive to be a business where our people can bring their whole selves to work. We also want to make the recruitment process as inclusive as possible for everyone. Should you require additional support with your application or through the interview process, please contact us at recruitment@rm.com.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.