Senior Category Manager

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Category Manager – Property to join a highly respected organisation based in the North-West, offering agile working arrangements and the chance to make a significant impact across Repairs & Facilities Management, Assets & Investments, and Construction & Goods.

This pivotal role is perfect for someone who thrives on shaping and delivering category strategies that drive value, compliance, sustainability, and service excellence. You will be at the forefront of leading end-to-end category management for high-value or strategically important areas, ensuring best value outcomes, measurable savings, and robust supplier performance. With a focus on building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and developing deep market expertise, you will also have the opportunity to lead and mentor a talented team of procurement professionals.

• Shape and deliver long-term category strategies across diverse property-related spend areas, driving measurable value and supporting organisational priorities such as ESG and social value.
• Lead a high-performing team of procurement professionals, providing strategic direction, coaching, and support to ensure consistent delivery of compliant and value-driven outcomes.
• Enjoy flexible working opportunities with a blend of office-based collaboration in Preston and agile remote working options to suit your lifestyle.

What you'll do:

As Senior Category Manager – Property you will play a central role in shaping the future of property-related procurement within the organisation. Your day-to-day responsibilities will involve collaborating closely with internal budget holders across Developments, Repairs, Assets, Operations as well as legal and finance teams to ensure that all category strategies are aligned with business goals. You will oversee major procurement programmes from inception through to contract award ensuring every step is compliant with public sector regulations and manage complex supplier relationships to secure optimal outcomes. By leveraging your deep market knowledge you will identify new opportunities for value creation while ensuring robust contract governance is maintained at all times. In addition to leading your own projects you will provide guidance to less experienced team members helping them grow their skills and act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders on all matters relating to commercial strategy.

• Develop comprehensive 3–5 year category strategies for Repairs & Facilities Management, Assets & Investments, and Construction & Goods by conducting robust pipeline planning, demand shaping, and identifying opportunities for savings, cost avoidance, productivity improvements, risk reduction, and enhanced ESG/social value.
• Lead compliant end-to-end sourcing activities by selecting the most appropriate routes to market and ensuring each exercise delivers clear commercial outcomes aligned with organisational objectives.
• Design effective commercial and contractual models including KPIs, SLAs, performance frameworks, payment mechanisms, risk allocation strategies, indexation clauses, social value requirements, and outcome-based specifications to enable strong post-contract management.
• Produce high-quality procurement and contract documentation that ensures clarity of scope, pricing structures, evaluation models, terms and conditions, schedules, and governance requirements while maintaining audit-ready records throughout the process.
• Provide strategic commercial advice to senior stakeholders by influencing requirements, challenging demand where necessary, supporting options appraisals (such as make/buy or insource/outsource decisions), standardising approaches where possible, and improving compliance with preferred routes and policies.
• Utilise advanced market insight and bench marking techniques to inform sourcing timing decisions, develop commercial models, shape negotiation strategies, select suppliers effectively, and maintain a strong understanding of cost drivers as well as emerging innovations and market trends.

What you bring:

To excel as Senior Category Manager – Property you will bring substantial experience gained from leading complex procurement initiatives within property-focused categories. Your background should include developing long-term strategies that deliver tangible results whether through cost savings or improved service quality while navigating the intricacies of public sector compliance. You are adept at building collaborative relationships both internally (with budget holders/service leads) and externally (with suppliers/partners), using your communication skills to influence positive change.

• Demonstrable track record in property-related procurement ideally covering Repairs & FM services; Asset Management; Construction projects; or Materials Supply Chains within regulated environments.
• Strong commercial acumen combined with financial literacy enabling you to shape innovative commercial models while providing compelling recommendations based on thorough analysis.
• Practical knowledge of public sector procurement regulations including hands-on experience applying regulated routes such as OJEU/Find a Tender Service procedures or similar frameworks.
• Experience designing category strategies alongside sourcing plans plus commercial/contract structures incorporating KPIs/SLAs/pricing mechanisms/risk allocation provisions tailored for complex projects.
• Ability to manage cross-functional projects involving multiple stakeholders balancing competing priorities whilst influencing decision-makers at all levels through excellent interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with e-tendering systems or other digital procurement platforms would be advantageous but not essential for success in this position.
• Background in housing associations/public sector organisations/regulatory environments is desirable though not mandatory if you can demonstrate transferable skills from related industries.

Robert Walters Operations Limited is an employment business and employment agency and welcomes applications from all candidates