Heathrow
Senior Category Manager
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Introduction
Discover a one-of-a-kind career. Our vision at Heathrow is to be an extraordinary airport, fit for the future. In the Finance team we know that generating income is critical to driving our business forward, but it’s also vital that we create positive passenger and customer experiences that make every journey better. You’ll help us to get the balance right so we can continue investing in our world-class environment.
There’s something so special about working at the world’s most iconic airport. Heathrow’s size, scale, and reputation for innovation translates to exciting opportunities for everyone. Finance here is about more than numbers. It’s about being influential, developing trusted relationships, and showing the world that we’re a responsible investment with a bright future; a place that embraces digital innovation and has a sustainable mindset. You’ll become part of a team that drives excellence across everything from insurance to investment, treasury to business partnering, as you collaborate widely to deliver projects that directly impact millions of passengers each year.
Job Description
Heathrow’s Energy & Utilities Transformation team are seeking a Senior Category Manager to drive delivery across a fast-growing energy portfolio and help shape the airport’s long-term utilities strategy. You will lead end-to-end procurement for critical operational categories, shaping how the airport sources, contracts and manages the goods and services that keep our energy systems running. You will design and deliver smart procurement strategies that unlock value, reduce risk and strengthen operational performance from market intelligence and options analysis through to sourcing, negotiation and post-contract delivery.
Working closely with engineering, operations and commercial teams, you will turn complex technical and commercial detail into clear, actionable plans that support Heathrow’s short- and long-term energy ambitions. You will build category plans, pre-contract strategies, total cost of ownership assessments and commercial models, ensuring every decision is robust, defensible and aligned with governance and competition law.
Your role will involve
- Managing end-to-end procurement for Heathrow’s Energy & Utilities category, including strategy development, sourcing, negotiation, contract award and post-contract management.
- Developing category strategies, market intelligence, commercial models and options analysis to maximise value, minimise risk and support operational and long-term business objectives.
- Running competitive sourcing processes for complex, high-value spend areas, including market engagement, evaluation design, tendering and ensuring compliance with procurement governance and competition law.
- Working closely with operational, engineering and commercial stakeholders to align procurement strategy, challenge business plans and ensure robust, defensible decision-making.
- Managing supplier performance through contract management, KPIs, service levels and continuous improvement, while coaching and supporting colleagues within the procurement function.
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These Skills Are Essential
- Strong technical grounding in energy utilities and renewable procurement, with experience across electricity, water, gas, fuel or desalination.
- Proven experience delivering long-term renewable energy contracts such as Power Purchase Agreements, with understanding of commercial, regulatory and technical factors.
- Ability to translate complex engineering and market information into clear commercial insight for senior, non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong commercial and contractual capability, including experience using recognised contracting models such as NEC or similar industry-standard forms.
- Experience delivering procurement or commercial outcomes within large programme or matrix environments, influencing multiple stakeholder groups.
- Leadership experience, including managing and developing team members and contributing to high-performance delivery.
Desirable Skills
- Experience working within energy suppliers, brokers or TPIs (e.g., Amber Energy, Inspired Energy), or within utilities, renewables, oil & gas or National Grid-type organisations.
- Exposure to multi-year renewable procurement cycles, commercialisation models or regulated/unregulated energy delivery routes.
- Experience contributing to large programme environments or multi-workstream delivery.
- Familiarity with supplier-partnering environments and integrated delivery models.
- Experience coaching and developing early-career team members.
- Broader experience with industry-standard contracting models beyond NEC.
About Us
There’s something so special about working at the world’s most iconic airport. Its sights. Its sounds. Its constant air of excitement. Heathrow is an amazing backdrop to a career filled with unique opportunities.
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Every day, you’ll discover a world full of fresh possibilities and end the day buzzing with stories to tell, as you encounter people from all cultures, nationalities and experiences. A world full of pride for what we do and no end of exciting career prospects to explore.
It brings out the best in all of us. And inspires everyone to deliver on our ambitious plans. Together, we’re working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability.
Join us on that journey and we'll help you achieve your ambitions too. Supporting you to learn, encouraging you to be yourself, backing you to achieve more than you might ever have imagined. Because there’s no place like Heathrow.
Our rewards
We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits that will support you now and in the future. As well as performance-based annual bonuses and our longer-term Share in Success Bonus plans, we also offer generous annual leave allowances and market-leading pensions. With family friendly policies, access to private health insurance and a wide range of wellbeing tools, we’ll support you to be at your best inside and outside work. And of course, we’ll provide varied learning and development opportunities too. Here you’ll find everything you need for a fulfilling career journey that can take you in exciting directions.
Working Location
Our Hybrid working approach offers the opportunity for colleagues in some roles to work from home for an average of two days a week, providing the flexibility to work in an agile way whilst ensuring we deliver for the operational needs of Heathrow. Working arrangements vary from team to team and will be confirmed during the recruitment process. You’ll need to be based in the UK and within a commutable distance to Heathrow.
Sustainable Travel to work
Heathrow’s Sustainable Travel Guide sets out easy and sustainable travel options that everyone can access.
Equal Opportunities
As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all. We believe that diverse talent makes us stronger – not least because we welcome passengers from all corners of the globe, every single day. Heathrow is an accessible place to work. With five diversity networks, we champion inclusivity and celebrate individuality.
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