Senior Category Buyer - 37149415 (1198)

Join a globally recognised automotive organisation with a strong reputation for innovation and excellence. As a Senior Category Buyer, you will lead strategic sourcing and supplier management across Professional Services, driving cost optimisation, supplier performance, and commercial value. This is a high-impact role offering the opportunity to influence senior stakeholders, lead complex negotiations, and shape procurement strategy within a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

The Opportunity
This role leads the strategic sourcing, development, and ongoing optimisation of a diverse portfolio of Professional Services categories, supporting BAU and Reimagine transformation.

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities
Category Strategy

• Lead the development and delivery of Strategic Category Plans (SCPs), ensuring creation, alignment, and compliance.
• Conduct detailed spend analytics, demand modelling, and market intelligence assessments.
• Translate business needs into actionable category strategies.
• Define long?term category roadmaps including supplier segmentation and maturity progression.
• Identify, assess, and rationalise the supplier base.
• Lead cross?functional category governance, including Consultancy Category Boards.
• Promote early stakeholder engagement and strategic procurement planning.
• Identify and drive continuous improvements in category management maturity.

Sourcing

• Lead end?to?end sourcing events for all Professional Services categories.
• Apply Total Cost of Ownership principles and value?based procurement.
• Lead complex negotiations including contractual, commercial, and delivery?based elements.
• Develop bespoke sourcing strategies for complex or urgent business demands.
• Partner with Legal (OGC) for commercial terms, IP, and risk considerations.
• Coach and support junior buyers on procurement excellence.
• Ensure high?quality sourcing documentation (eGSP, SBR, SCP alignment, SAP Ariba).
• Align with global and regional buying teams.

Contract Management & Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)

• Lead the end?to?end Contract Management lifecycle across Professional Services.
• Develop performance frameworks including KPIs, SLAs, and governance structures.
• Conduct regular SRM reviews with senior supplier executives.
• Identify in?contract value including rate optimisation and scope refinement.
• Own supplier?related risk management activities.
• Ensure clear contractual deliverables and milestone tracking.
• Drive supplier innovation, digitalisation, and productivity improvements.
• Ensure commercial governance and auditing compliance.

Stakeholder Leadership & Business Partnering

• Build strong, trusting, and influential relationships with stakeholders.
• Act as a commercial advisor to senior leadership.
• Support business case development with commercial insights.
• Challenge and manage demand to ensure cost efficiency.
• Partner with Transformation Leads, Finance, and more.

Key Performance Indicators

• Delivery of annualised savings
• Strategic Category Plan development
• Supplier rationalisation
• Sourcing timing adherence
• Contract Management quality
• SRM delivery

Key Interactions

• Indirect Procurement Senior Leadership Team
• Indirect Procurement Team
• Enterprise Stakeholders (ranging in role and seniority)
• Finance Business Partners

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential:

• Self-motivated, uses initiative and problem solver - focussed on delivering results, with a proven track record of demonstrating logic and analytical thinking.
• Able to deliver quality and consistency in a complex, highly demanding environment
• Professionally qualified with a proven track record in a purchasing environment
• Strong leadership and influencing skills (experience in managing senior stakeholders is vital)
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship management skills and experience
• An excellent negotiator with a proven track record of successful commercial negotiations
• Able to manage and execute complex projects on time and in budget.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to converse at all levels of the organisation and with external suppliers/customers
• Valid Driving license required

Desirable:

• Previous experience as a Buyer in an Indirect Procurement function.
• Shared Service/Business Process Outsourcing background desirable but not mandatory.
• Ability to be highly organised and continually focus on attention to detail
• A commercial understanding of terms and conditions and ability to negotiate them (with the support of OGC).

Personal Profile

• An individual with a creator's code mindset who is driven to make an impact and grow the business and themselves, by adopting a 'one' team approach with integrity and love for their customer.
• An individual, who works independently, is results driven, demonstrating tenacity, drive and perseverance with the ability to deliver operational plans in a complex, highly demanding environment.
• An individual with the capability to combine a short term, pragmatic focus with medium term planning.
• A resilient and enthusiastic individual who responds constructively to new ideas and inputs
• A good communicator with the ability to communicate complex ideas
• An individual with the ability to challenge existing thinking in a positive way whilst building credibility and trust through experience and personal style
• Proactive team player, who is happy to be hands on, contributing to the overall performance, working environment and culture of the team.