Category Manager (Procurement) (429ne) vacancy in Berkshire ()

Our Client is seeking a Category Manager to lead and coordinate a team of cross-functional stakeholders to help the business consider and respond positively to a variety of economic, market and business drivers

Key accountabilities
• Identify, engage and lead a group of stakeholders to create and sign off category strategies
• Break down strategies into work streams and agree ownership with commercial leads. Once identified, manage the handover to the implementation team
• Project manage the elements of change management within the strategies to affect strategy success
• Work with stakeholder to identify business needs
• Engage with the team to gather market intelligence to understand external dynamics and inform long term decision making
• Work with stakeholders and suppliers to encourage innovation and seek continuous improvement – quality, cost and time
Comply with Company policy, processes and procedures

Responsibilities
• Stakeholder management and communication (up to and including board level)
• Benefits identification and reporting (ensuring appropriate stakeholder endorsement)
• Enhance stakeholder relationships to raise the profile of Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Ambassador for SCM and Category Management
• Bring together business areas with common requirements to develop the identify and develop the best solution for the whole business
• Create and improve category strategies through the provision of information, challenge, suggestion and feedback
• Be the technical reference point for the category management process, acting as a coach or mentor. In championing the category management process you will be responsible for the development of staff engaged in workshops to meet the demands of changing business requirements
• Project manage complex and high risk strategies
• Demonstrates ability to directly manage conflict and uncertainty while maintaining positive relationships

Qualifications
• MCIPS or the equivalent qualification
• Degree or equivalent and/or appropriate supply chain / Category Management experience

• Knowledge
• Microsoft Office products – Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook
• Oracle business system
• Excellent numeracy, literacy and communication skills
• Good communication skills
• Knowledge of category management tools and techniques
• Ability to analyse and manipulate data

Experience
• Experience of business to business relationships
• Project management experience (preferred but not essential)
• Experience of a customer facing role and/or stakeholder management experience
• Managing internal and external relationships to deliver positive outcomes
• Exposure to category management concepts
• Experience of project start up, implementation planning and handover
• Handing complex and high risk strategies and stakeholders

Skills
• Commercial awareness
• Ability to engage with personnel at all levels
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Project management
• Facilitation
• Coaching and mentoring

Behaviours
• Team player
• Excellent communicator
• Determined
• Open and Honest
• Assertive
• Flexible

Because of the nature of the work undertaken at my clients' site, this post is required to meet special nationality rules and therefore are only open to British Citizens. All selected candidates will be required to undergo security clearance. The MoD rules state that in order to have access to this level of information, candidates "must be British as defined in the British Nationality Act 1981"