Category Manager
Pubblicato il 19-09-2026 - Teare Selection in Fontana
Sourcing & Category Manager — Direct Materials | Europe
Le informazioni riportate di seguito illustrano i requisiti del ruolo, l'esperienza richiesta ai candidati e le qualifiche associate.
A global engineering and manufacturing group is building out its Global Procurement function and is looking for a Sourcing & Category Manager to take ownership of a portfolio of direct material categories across Europe.
This is a genuinely commercial role. You will run the end-to-end sourcing lifecycle for your categories — strategy, RFx, negotiation, contracting and supplier relationship management — with a clear mandate to deliver validated EBIT and working capital improvement. The business is part-way through a multi-year procurement transformation, so you will be shaping the way sourcing is done rather than inheriting a finished playbook.
The scale
- c.£115m third-party spend across c.3,600 suppliers spanning UK&I, Europe, the USA and Asia
- A live sourcing pipeline of £100m+
- Categories covering direct components, secondary operations (raw materials, tooling, plating) and selected indirect spend (packaging, IT, professional services, freight)
- End markets including automotive, smart infrastructure, medical and general industrial
- A multi-year transformation programme running through FY27–29
What you'll own
- Delivery of validated savings and working capital targets, reconciled with Finance and tracked on the balanced scorecard
- Category strategy execution, sourcing wave plans, specification standardisation and make/buy decisions
- RFx, supplier evaluation, negotiation and full contract lifecycle coverage, underpinned by should-cost modelling, TCO and benchmarking
- Supplier segmentation, SRM scorecards, QBRs and corrective action where performance slips
- Category risk registers, dual and multi-sourcing, geographic diversification, tariff and CBAM considerations
- ESG due diligence, compliance evidence and audit-ready governance
- eProcurement adoption, data accuracy and clear MI for senior stakeholders
- Mentoring or line management of senior sourcing specialists (potential for 3–4 reports)
What we're looking for
- 5–7+ years in procurement, including at least 3 years in category management and strategic sourcing at global or multi-region scale
- A demonstrable track record of cost savings and margin improvement delivered through sourcing strategy and negotiation
- Exposure to engineered raw materials, components or the automotive / smart infrastructure sectors, with the ability to balance commercial and technical drivers
- Strong end-to-end sourcing toolkit: RFx, bid evaluation, negotiation, contracting, TCO and should-cost
- Real SRM capability — segmentation, QBRs, scorecards, corrective actions
- Risk management, ERP and eProcurement experience, plus solid ESG and compliance knowledge
- Degree in business, engineering, supply chain or similar; MCIPS / ISCM strongly preferred
- The influencing skills to operate credibly in a global matrix
Practicalities Based at a European distribution or manufacturing site. Preferred locations are Budapest, Barcelona, Umbria, West Germany or Holland with occasional home working. Periodic travel across UK&I, Europe, the USA and Asia, including supplier visits. xykwogc Reporting into the regional Head of Procurement, with visibility of the senior leadership team.