W Talent
Indirect Category Manager
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Indirect Category Manager - Manufacturing
Derbyshire | £Competitive + Excellent Benefits
A leading UK manufacturing business is seeking an Indirect Category Manager to take ownership of a diverse indirect spend portfolio across a complex, multi-site operation. This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially focused procurement professional looking to broaden their category management experience, influence senior stakeholders and develop their career within a business that actively invests in its people.
Please note: We are also considering Supplier Relationship Managers. If your experience is more aligned to strategic supplier management than category management, we'd still like to hear from you.
The Role
Reporting to the Procurement Manager, you will be responsible for managing approximately £5 million of indirect spend across a broad range of categories including MRO, engineering consumables, tooling, fleet, leasing, facilities management, soft services, oils, IT and capital expenditure.
Working closely with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance and senior leadership teams, you will develop sourcing strategies, lead competitive tender processes, negotiate commercial agreements and drive measurable cost savings while ensuring operational continuity.
You'll also:
- Lead sourcing projects and category reviews through structured RFP processes.
- Manage supplier performance, contracts and service level agreements.
- Identify opportunities for cost reduction, cost avoidance and working capital improvements.
- Take ownership of key supplier relationships and contract negotiations.
- Support group-wide procurement initiatives and present progress to senior leadership.
- Manage one direct report and support their ongoing development.
- Analyse procurement data and produce meaningful reporting to support business decisions.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
The Successful Applicant
You will be an experienced indirect procurement professional with a proven ability to influence stakeholders and deliver commercial value within a manufacturing or engineering environment.
You will ideally have:
- Experience managing indirect procurement categories.
- Strong sourcing, tendering and contract negotiation skills.
- Experience delivering cost savings and supplier performance improvements.
- Manufacturing, engineering or industrial sector experience.
- MCIPS qualification or be actively working towards it.
- Experience using ERP systems and advanced Excel.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- A proactive, self-motivated approach with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
What's on Offer
This role offers genuine autonomy, allowing you to take ownership of your categories while working alongside experienced procurement professionals in a collaborative environment.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Benefits include:
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
- Investment in professional development, including support towards MCIPS.
- Exposure to strategic sourcing and capital investment projects.
- Clear opportunities for career progression within a growing manufacturing group.
- The chance to influence procurement strategy across a high-profile industrial business.
If you're an ambitious procurement professional looking to take the next step in your career-or your background is stronger in Supplier Relationship Management-we would be delighted to discuss these opportunities with you.
Desired Skills and Experience
- Indirect Procurement
- Category Management
- Strategic Sourcing
- Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
- Contract Negotiation
- Tendering & RFP Management
- Supplier Performance & SLAs
- Cost Reduction & Cost Avoidance
- CAPEX Procurement
- MRO Procurement
- Engineering & Manufacturing Procurement
- Facilities Management Procurement
- IT Procurement
- Stakeholder Management
- Procurement Strategy
- Spend Analysis
- Supplier Contract Management
- Working Capital Improvement
- ERP Systems (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics or similar)
- Advanced Microsoft Excel
- Data Analysis & Reporting
- Project Management
- Team Leadership
- MCIPS Qualified or Working Towards
- Continuous Improvement
- Commercial Negotiation
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills