Category Manager
About The Position
There’s never been a more exciting time to join Southern Water. We’re on a mission to create a more sustainable and resilient future – tackling climate change, reducing our carbon footprint, and delivering long‑term value for our customers and communities. As part of this journey, we are strengthening our Procurement Division and investing in talent that can influence change at scale. We’re now looking for a Category & Sourcing Manager (Operations) to support our operational teams by delivering effective, compliant, and value‑driven procurement solutions across goods and services critical to our asset base. In this role, you’ll take ownership of operational procurement categories, running multiple sourcing activities in parallel and working closely with internal stakeholders to ensure Southern Water achieves the best possible commercial and sustainability outcomes.
Requirements
- Proven experience in a Category or Sourcing role within an operational, engineering, manufacturing, construction, or asset‑focused environment
- Knowledge of public sector procurement regulations, including PA23 (experience with UCR is also advantageous)
- Experience running multiple procurement exercises concurrently and managing competing priorities
- Confident stakeholder management and negotiation skills
- A proactive, solutions‑focused mindset with strong commercial and analytical capability
Nice To Haves
- CIPS qualification (or working towards)
- Experience procuring operational goods, equipment, hardware, or services within a regulated environment
Responsibilities
- Developing and delivering category strategies aligned to operational and organisational objectives
- Managing end‑to‑end sourcing activities, including tendering, evaluation, and contract award across operational goods and services
- Partnering with stakeholders across operations to understand demand, challenge requirements, and shape effective sourcing solutions
- Driving value through cost optimisation, standardisation, and demand aggregation, while ensuring compliance with procurement regulations
- Managing supplier relationships to support performance, resilience, and continuous improvement
- Championing best practice, innovation, and continuous improvement within the procurement function
Benefits
- excellent benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
