We have a Public Sector client based in York looking for an Interim Senior Category Manager – EU Exit on a contract that will run until the 1st May 2019. This role is OUTSIDE IR35 on a maximum day rate of £375.
Overview:
Defra group Commercial Animal, Plant, Food and Farming is currently looking for an enthusiastic and high performing individual to join the team.
An effective and innovative commercial function is essential to the Department, ensuring the right services are bought and delivered for the right price and in time to achieve our strategic goals and meet Spending Review targets. The successful applicant will help lead the Technical Services Category by applying best practice commercial skills to help the Commercial Function to deliver value for money and propriety across an increasing range of expenditure through project work and a professional and imaginative approach to procurement, as well as category and contract management. Defra is one of the Department’s affected by EU Exit which has a direct impact on the Commercial Function, as such the post holder will support delivery of exit scenarios from a commercial perspective for projects which fall within the Technical Services Category.
Key Tasks & Deliverables:
A Senior Category Manager is required to support the Category Lead to, develop and deliver strategic procurements, guarantee procurement policies are adhered to in order to deliver value for money and innovative commercial solutions.
This role will be required to support the Department’s requirements in terms of EU Exit, including but not limited to engagement with the supply chain, provision of operational tendering support and development of commercial arrangements. To do this they will take a strategic approach when managing all stakeholders, both internal and external, and collaborate with other departments and/or agencies where appropriate. This role requires excellent prioritisation skills, attention to detail, the ability to multitask and deliver at pace.
Assessing current strategies, cost data and commodity profiles and business needs, in order to convert gathered intelligence into a proposed strategy to leverage best possible value for assigned categories. Taking ownership of assigned categories, engaging the customer in order to provide the major influence on strategy direction and delivering category benefits. Leading change in introducing and embedding assigned categories within a challenging environment across. Applying skills and endeavour to challenge existing boundaries where needed and overcome challenges in implementation. Drives cost reduction, measures and reviews performance and implements continuous performance improvement, reporting of benefits realization of assigned categories with over-arching business requirements. To facilitate the delivery of contractual arrangements and supporting structures required to deliver results on assigned categories. Using knowledge gained and commercial awareness to embed a category management approach. To support the Group Manager in acting as a change agent for assigned categories including driving relationships, preparing papers and chairing meetings, designing and delivering training solutions and presentations to both internal and external stakeholders. Captures future demand information and continually reviews changes in the marketplace and industry to reflect these changes within an adapting category strategy.
As a Senior Category Manager, specific duties will include:
- Support Category Lead Manager and Senior Management Team in commercial leadership across the Defra Network through key initiatives ensuring best practice and delivery of savings;
- Provide day to day commercial advice to customers on procurement issues and governance, helping to determine appropriate procurement strategies, which manage risk, exploit commercial opportunities and maximise value for money over the whole life of the contract;
- Engage with EU Exit project teams which have requirements related to the category and establish their needs and provide support to develop pipelines and conduct procurement act
- Provide specialist advice to customers on procurement issues and Governance, Intellectual Property Rights, single tenders, European Procurement and contract management;
- Support more senior members of the procurement team with any projects or specialisms, support the Senior Management Team to create a commercial culture that allows good procurement practices to be applied and ensures that the organisation considers both technical and commercial requirements when letting contracts
- Manage relationships with internal and external category stakeholders and wider government;
- Lead the commercial and contractual interaction with suppliers, including supply chain early market support, including engagement with key markets and suppliers, particularly in relation to EU Exit where there may be competition, issues with capacity and skills within the market.
- Support the development and implementation of the identified category strategies; development of savings opportunities and benchmarking of industry standards and practices to identify quick win opportunities;
- Prepare pre-tender and tender documents in conjunction with customers and ensure that procurement timescales are adhered to by EU Exit project teams;
- Prepare contract management documentation in conjunction with customers;
- Use leading practice procurement tools to develop and implement the sourcing strategies;
- Provide operational tendering support, including developing requirements, specifications, running tenders and letting contracts, including for EU Exit related projects related to the category;
- Deal with all Request for Information (RFI), Request For Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Experience Required:
- Applicants must hold a relevant commercial qualification, such as MCIPS or equivalent.
- Recent public sector procurement experience is essential
- Must be able to demonstrate subject matter knowledge, including public sector procurement principles and processes.
- Bravo eTendering, Award and Contract Management System knowledge is preferable
- Recent knowledge and experience of public sector procurement
- Travel Required - The post holder will be expected to travel between main offices in York, London, Peterborough and Reading, however, further travel may be required.