Senior Procurement Category Manager (Marketing)

Credible and sustainable procurement. Smooth operations. Impacting the future.

Senior Procurement Category Manager (Marketing)

£59,000 - £65,000 (+ Benefits )

Reports to: Head of Procurement

Department: Chief Operating Office

Contract: 12 month fixed-term contract

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

Closing date: 04 November 2024 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible.

Recruitment process: Two competency-based interviews

Interview date: From the week commencing 11 November 2024

How do I apply? We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That's why we're looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you.

Cancer Research UK's Procurement team's credibility and professionalism in helping the charity obtain the necessary resources to operate and achieve our objectives is essential to the smooth running of our organisation. Our Procurement team manages c.£200m of spend per annum helping to drive maximum funding towards our core purpose of beating cancer. This involves optimising value for money throughout our supplier infrastructure by delivering 'procurement excellence' across the whole organisation through a team of dedicated and determined professionals delivering procurement practices that reduce costs, improve quality, and increase efficiency.

As a Senior Category Manager, you will own procurement activities within our Marketing category (Cancer Research UK's largest category consisting of c. 140+ suppliers and c.£120m+ spend). This will be a varied and autonomous role encompassing a range of activities such as dealing with media contracts, commercial arrangements, sourcing to contract, and contract & supplier management. Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to develop and deliver the Procurement Strategy for the Marketing Category. This will involve building collaborative and influential relationships with senior managers and leaders to understand Marketing's strategic objectives and requirements and identify opportunities for increased value.

If you are a Procurement professional who has managed a category with a large spend and experience managing Marketing contracts and suppliers, we would love for you to join our mission.

What will I be doing?

Owning the Marketing procurement category (140+ suppliers and £120m+ spend) and how it operates. This includes Category Strategy & Planning, Sourcing to Contract, and Contract & Supplier Management.

Category Strategy & Planning:

• Developing and maintaining the Procurement strategy for the Marketing category.

  • Considering supply market analysis, category risks, and business requirements to identify opportunities for added value and efficiency, as well as risk mitigation to protect Cancer Research UK's interests.

• Collaborating with stakeholders at all levels across the organisation (including the Senior Leadership Team and Executive Board) to deliver the strategy and optimise requirements and demand.

• Implementing Marketing category strategies and monitoring performance against agreed initiatives.

• Defining Marketing's sourcing strategy for individual goods and services whilst establishing and maintaining preferred supplier lists.

Sourcing to Contract

• Leading sourcing events (e.g., Marketing supplier evaluation and selection) to ensure aggregation of demand and competitive benchmarking of quality and cost.

• Leading contract negotiations and drafting commercial schedules.

  • Ensuring robust commercial and contractual terms are in place to protect Cancer Research UK and ensure value for money.

Contract & Supplier Management

• Communicating preferred Marketing supplier arrangements and transitioning contracts to the relevant contract manager.

• Collaborating with internal stakeholders to manage Marketing's contract governance, compliance, spend, and lifecycle.

  • Day-to-day stakeholders will include contract managers and owners across Marketing, and subject matter experts across HR, Data, Finance & Legal.

• Supporting and leading in managing supplier performance and risks to ensure value for money and risk mitigation.

• Developing strategic Marketing supplier relationships to identify joint opportunities for added value and innovation.

What skills will I need?

• Procurement professional from a large organisation with experience managing a large category (c.£100m spend).

• Demonstrable experience and knowledge of managing complex Marketing contracts and suppliers.

• Has built collaborative internal and external stakeholder relationships with experience influencing at all levels (including senior leadership, e.g., Heads).

• Track record of delivering category-led cost savings.

• Strong planning and prioritisation with an ability to manage workload independently.

• Comfortable manipulating and presenting data with strong IT skills (i.e., Microsoft Packages including Excel and e-procurement/ e-sourcing systems).

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We're looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you're interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we'd still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

Additional Information

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact [email protected] or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.