category manager Poole, England
Job description
About us
Our purpose is simple, to save lives at sea. Since the 19th century, our crews have been risking their lives to save those who are in danger of drowning.
We are seeking applications to fulfil the position of Senior Category Manager (Engineering) to join our Procurement & Logistics team which sits within our Engineering and Supply department.
The centralised Procurement team supports everyone in the RNLI through creating and developing long term procurement category, inventory management and logistics strategies that meet the needs of the organisation today and into the future. We manage over £120M of annual spend and develop valuable relationships across a supplier base of around 2,500 active suppliers.
Your Role
As a Senior Category Manager, you will report to the Head of Procurement and Logistics, working alongside other Senior Category Managers. Through this category, you will be responsible for around £25M of annual spend commitments with suppliers.
Your area of responsibility will cover the full range of direct Engineering and manufacturing-related procurement including raw materials to support boat building and refit, maintenance spares and other operational assets. You will work closely with the Procurement Operations and warehouse teams given the importance of ensuring sufficient inventory is on hand to support our operations.
You will have dotted-line management responsibility for two Category Managers, and the two team leaders that manage the Procurement Operations team. You will be working in a highly cross-functional environment where teamwork and sharing of responsibilities is important in order to effectively troubleshoot and problem-solve supply chain issues. People leadership experience is therefore paramount.
Your responsibilities in this role will include:
- Partnering with senior stakeholders across the RNLI to understand current and future needs for development
- Implementing appropriate RNLI-wide procurement strategies that make the best use of our service providers and supply solutions
- Influencing the total through life cost of service delivery and ensuring supplier performance meets expectations
- Applying the Procurement process in selecting and managing suppliers, and ensuring that everyone in the RNLI operates within governance during our sourcing activities
- Ensuring adequate availability of parts and materials to support boat production and maintenance
- Using your experience and skills to contribute to the overall development of the Procurement and Logistics function
About You
You will have previous procurement / category management experience in similar spend areas, spanning the full range of procurement activities from spend analysis through to SRM. You will be someone who welcomes responsibility and has good people skills and is keen to challenge yourself as the RNLI continues to build its Procurement and Logistics capability.
To be considered as the Senior Category Manager you will need:
- A degree or equivalent qualification or relevant experience and a CIPS professional qualification, or equivalent experience.
- Experience of strategic procurement within Engineering or manufacturing related categories.
- Experience in using an ERP system and procurement software for managing sourcing, contracts and P2P.
- The ability to analyse complex data and make recommendations based on evidence
- A thorough understanding of procurement strategy development and subject matter expertise across the full reach of your assigned category
- Strong people management and influencing skills and the ability to persuade at all organisation levels
- Effective negotiation and stakeholder management skills
If you have experience within procurement, are ready for a new challenge and like the look of this vacancy - please apply now using the button shown.
Safeguarding
The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; ensuring the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero tolerance approach to proven incidents of bullying, abuse, harassment or exploitation. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).
Diversity at the RNLI
Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for nearly 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.
