Category Specialist

About the role

This position focuses on carrying out procurement work across a defined portfolio of products or services. The role uses a range of sourcing approaches such as requests for proposal or qualifications, invitations to bid, competitive and non-competitive negotiations, and informal purchasing. The person in this role will manage procurement from shaping the sourcing approach through to contract execution, while handling complex issues linked to suppliers, contracts, spending trends, pricing benchmarks, and varied stakeholder requirements.

Key responsibilities

• Review and interpret contract spend information to identify patterns and opportunities.
• Carry out market research and compare pricing and service benchmarks for goods or services.
• Create solicitation documents and specifications using input from internal and external sources.
• Apply strong working knowledge of procurement policies, procedures, and sourcing methods across several solicitation formats.
• Maintain productive relationships with procurement teams, business units, and suppliers to support effective sourcing and contract outcomes.
• Oversee supplier and contract administration to help ensure compliance with contractual commitments.
• Resolve common procurement issues, including supplier-agency disputes, data interpretation, and negotiation matters.
• Lead sourcing and negotiation strategy for formal supplier discussions and support colleagues as needed.
• Develop tools to estimate, track, forecast, and report savings, and coordinate evaluation activities for award recommendations.
• Conduct regular business reviews with supplier leadership to discuss performance, contract activity, enhancements, and price reductions.
• Represent the central procurement function in discussions and public-facing settings with internal and external stakeholders.
• Assess pricing proposals against historical spending, comparable contracts, and recognised industry indices.
• Monitor supplier markets and industry trends to find opportunities to improve value, savings, and quality.
• Support protest-related work by researching and helping prepare recommendations for legal review when required.

What you bring

• Strong alignment with the organisation’s culture and guiding principles.
• High energy, customer focus, and a proactive problem-solving mindset.
• The ability to use business, customer, and consumer insight to contribute fresh ideas.
• A disciplined approach to execution with a strong sense of urgency.
• Clear and effective communication that helps drive action.
• Resilience and focus when dealing with change, setbacks, or obstacles.
• Ability to quickly understand new processes and technologies.

Minimum qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in Procurement, Supply Chain, Marketing, Engineering, or a related equivalent field.
• Between 2 and 5 years of general business experience, ideally in supply chain, procurement, marketing, engineering, or logistics.
• A solid performance history.

Additional information

This role is classified as Band VII.

Hiring will follow the company’s recruitment policy and talent requirements. Assessments and background checks are part of the selection process. Management may also consider other relevant information when shortlisting candidates.