Job Description

About the Role:
We are seeking a strategic and experienced Senior Category Manager to lead and oversee the development and execution of category strategies across multiple spend areas. This role will directly manage a team of category managers and play a critical role in driving commercial performance, supplier innovation, and enterprise-wide value creation.
The ideal candidate will combine strong leadership skills with deep procurement and category management expertise, along with a proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and foster cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead, coach, and develop a team of category managers to ensure high performance and career growth.
Define and drive category strategies across assigned spend areas, ensuring alignment with business goals and procurement best practices.
Partner with senior business leaders to understand requirements, define sourcing strategies, and align procurement initiatives to enterprise objectives.
Oversee end-to-end sourcing processes, including market analysis, RFx, evaluation, negotiation, and contract management.
Promote supplier relationship management (SRM) practices to improve performance, foster innovation, and deliver sustainable value.
Conduct regular reviews and performance evaluations of strategic suppliers.
Drive cost optimization, risk mitigation, and supply assurance across categories.
Champion data-driven decision-making through spend analysis, market intelligence, and supplier benchmarking.
Ensure category strategies incorporate ESG, compliance, and risk considerations.
Contribute to the evolution of procurement policies, frameworks, and digital tools.
Act as a senior member of the procurement leadership team, supporting broader transformation, capability-building, and governance.

Qualifications

Requirements:

Bachelors degree in Business, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field (Masters or CIPS certification is a plus).
At least 5 years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, or procurement operations.
Proven track record of managing complex sourcing initiatives and delivering measurable value.
Commercially savvy with strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Proven track record of delivering cost savings, value creation, and risk mitigation.
Experience with procurement tools and systems.
High level of integrity, adaptability, and results orientation.
Results-oriented mindset with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

Senior Manager, Category Lead