What's involved with this role: JOB TITLE: Senior Category Buyer REF: JM BL 372229 PAY RATE: £22.23 per hour PAYE CONTRACT LENGHT: 4 months HOURS PER WEEK: 37 (part-time hours will be considered) Working Arrangement: Hybrid working, Candidates can work from either Middlemoor or Winfrith Our client is seeking a Senior Category Buyer to lead regional procurement activity across key sub-categories, manage a small team, and deliver strategic sourcing that balances quality, service and cost. You’ll take ownership of category strategy, lead complex tenders, and drive supplier performance and savings across the region. The ideal candidate will be an experienced procurement professional who thrives on leading complex, high-value sourcing and building strong supplier and stakeholder relationships? Reporting into the Regional Procurement Department, you will: Lead and deliver successful regional procurement programmes for identified key sub-categories, with a focus on complex/high-value projects. Manage and coach one or more Category Buyers, developing capability and performance across the team. Build and sustain strong, productive relationships with operational and technical stakeholders, and with strategic suppliers. Own category strategy development: market analysis, spend analysis, future requirements forecasting and stakeholder engagement. Lead complex sourcing activities: choose procurement routes, develop and quality-assure tender packs and contract documentation, and run competitive procurements compliant with relevant regulations. Oversee contract mobilisation and region-wide implementation of new agreements, and use e-procurement tools effectively. Implement objective supplier performance frameworks (cost, risk, satisfaction, continuous improvement) and manage supplier relationships to maximise value. Identify and realise procurement savings and efficiency improvements. This role will involve occasional ad-hoc duties at an equivalent level and providing guidance and informal training to colleagues. Essential: Graduate-level CIPS qualification (MCIPS), a business qualification (e.g., MBA), or significant commercial experience with a proven track record in procurement/category management. Strong capability in business requirements and supply market analysis. Proven procurement experience, ideally in category management, with sound knowledge of procurement/regulatory frameworks. Excellent negotiating and influencing skills. Demonstrable stakeholder and supplier management experience. Experience working in multi-organisational partnerships. Financial and commercial awareness. Strong literacy and numeracy skills. Excellent planning and organising skills. Competent IT skills and experience with e-procurement systems. Ability to perform under pressure and manage a complex workload. Ability to work to strict timescales and deadlines. A proactive, results-driven approach with the ability to work with minimal supervision. We will also add your details to our mail out lists. Please note you may receive details of roles outside of your immediate vicinity, as many candidates are able to relocate temporarily for work. Please disregard any such emails that are not of interest and let us know if you would rather not receive such mailouts and/or if you wish us to delete your details and prefer to apply direct to our advertised roles. If you do not hear from us within three working days, unfortunately your application has not been shortlisted on this occasion. Thank you for your interest in working with us Please quote the Job Title & Vacancy Reference No. in your application, or we will be unable to match your CV to the role being applied for. JM Please note that clients invariably ask us to strip out contact details from CVs before we submit them for consideration. This is always quicker and easier to do if you send your CV to us in Word format, rather than as a PDF please.