Indirect Category Manager / Indirect Category Manageress

Indirect Category Manager - Manufacturing

Location: Derbyshire | Salary: £Competitive + Excellent Benefits

A leading UK manufacturing business is seeking an Indirect Category Manager to take ownership of a diverse indirect spend portfolio across a complex, multi-site operation. This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially focused procurement professional looking to broaden their category management experience, influence senior stakeholders, and develop their career within a business that actively invests in its people.

Please note: We are also considering Supplier Relationship Managers. If your experience is more aligned with strategic supplier management than category management, we'd still like to hear from you.

The Role

Reporting to the Procurement Manager, you will be responsible for managing approximately £5 million of indirect spend across a broad range of categories including:

• MRO
• Engineering consumables
• Tooling
• Fleet
• Leasing
• Facilities management
• Soft services
• Oils
• IT
• Capital expenditure

Working closely with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance, and senior leadership teams, you will develop sourcing strategies, lead competitive tender processes, negotiate commercial agreements, and drive measurable cost savings while ensuring operational continuity.

You will also:

• Lead sourcing projects and category reviews through structured RFP processes.
• Manage supplier performance, contracts, and service level agreements.
• Identify opportunities for cost reduction, cost avoidance, and working capital improvements.
• Take ownership of key supplier relationships and contract negotiations.
• Support group-wide procurement initiatives and present progress to senior leadership.
• Manage one direct report and support their ongoing development.
• Analyze procurement data and produce meaningful reporting to support business decisions.

The Successful Applicant

You will be an experienced indirect procurement professional with a proven ability to influence stakeholders and deliver commercial value within a manufacturing or engineering environment. You will ideally have:

• Experience managing indirect procurement categories.
• Strong sourcing, tendering, and contract negotiation skills.
• Experience delivering cost savings and supplier performance improvements.
• Manufacturing, engineering, or industrial sector experience.
• MCIPS qualification or be actively working towards it.
• Experience using ERP systems and advanced Excel.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• A proactive, self-motivated approach with the ability to manage multiple priorities.

What's on Offer

This role offers genuine autonomy, allowing you to take ownership of your categories while working alongside experienced procurement professionals in a collaborative environment. Benefits include:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Investment in professional development, including support towards MCIPS.
• Exposure to strategic sourcing and capital investment projects.
• Clear opportunities for career progression within a growing manufacturing group.
• The chance to influence procurement strategy across a high-profile industrial business.

If you're an ambitious procurement professional looking to take the next step in your career, or if your background is stronger in Supplier Relationship Management, we would be delighted to discuss these opportunities with you. Apply online using the form below.

Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.