Category Manager

Job Summary by the careerbalance.co.uk Team:

111Job Description:As a Digital Category Manager, you should be a commercial expert for the category that you lead. You should be able to utilise this market expertise to develop and deliver strategies, ensuring that Thames is market-leading in their commercial arrangements.

Thames is planning for a future where our technology solutions  enable us to achieve our goal of protecting our greatest natural resource and allow our customers, communities and the environment to thrive.

What you’ll be doing as a Category Manager

• You will play an essential part in the Procurement and Supplier Management team. You will ensure that a strategic and innovative Category Management approach is consistently embedded within the way that Commercial and Thames Water delivers its service.  
• Responsible for managing a portfolio of suppliers to ensure contracted expectations continue to be improved throughout the contract life cycle and to support these suppliers in delivering additional value to Thames Water.
• Actively lead, develop, and manage end-to-end category strategies for the short, medium, and long term. Identify a pipeline of initiatives to maximise value and outcomes for Thames Water, balancing commercial risk and value opportunities.
• Providing extensive category knowledge and supplying market insight to internal stakeholders. Delivering category strategies and sourcing events, providing SME support and identifying/managing category-level risk.
• Becoming the commercial expert for the category to enable Thames to quickly adapt to market changes.  

Base Location: Reading – Hybrid
Working Pattern or hours: 36 Hours

What you should bring to the role 

• A clear and granular understanding of stakeholder and corporate needs in the short, medium, and long term
• Have detailed knowledge of the external supply market including suppliers, trends, innovation, market changes and dynamics that enable the identification of new suppliers of value to Thames
• Have strong engagement skills which allow you to support, influence and constructively challenge stakeholders to deliver the best commercial outcomes for Thames
• A clear understanding of Category Management principles with a track record of delivering results, and building fantastic supplier and stakeholder relationships
• Ability to lead and provide insight for the business on all aspects of supply market dynamics, regulatory and internal frameworks, suppliers, and technical innovations.  
• Be able to identify market insights, trends, opportunities, and risks
• Strong IT skills 

What’s in it for you? 

• Competitive salary up to £60,000 per annum depending on experience
• Annual Leave  – 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (Plus bank holidays)
• Contributory pension – Defined Contribution – Maximum of 12% -2x employee contribution
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year
• Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing

Who are we? 
At Thames Water, our purpose is crystal clear – to deliver life’s essential service so our customers, communities and planet can thrive. 
 
Water is life’s great leveller. Every living thing needs it, every single day. From people to plants, birds to bees, farms to factories, we all need it to thrive, and we’re committed to taking care of it for us all. 
 
But keeping water flowing is becoming harder. From scorching summers to wetter winters, extreme weather affects everything from our pipes to our local rivers. We need to keep millions more kettles boiling, public services operating, washing machines spinning, showers running and more, so every drop is more precious than ever. Are you ready to play your part? 

Working at Thames Water 
At Thames Water, we recognise that people are at the heart of our business. To help us succeed in providing life’s essential service, we need a range of skills and capabilities, representative of society throughout our business. 

We seek to attract and retain a cultural mix of people who can offer different but complementary attitudes, values, talents, and knowledge. We understand the importance of appreciating and harnessing the unique skills, experiences, backgrounds, and differences that each individual brings. 

Our over-arching diversity and inclusion aim is to ensure Thames Water is a diverse and inclusive great place to work. We encourage applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. 

Find out more about working at Thames Water. 

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business, meet colleagues and earn some extra money along the way. 

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Location: South East, Reading