Closing Date
12/02/2025
It is an exciting time to join us!
There has never been a better time to join us than now. This is an opportunity to be part of Southern Water’s growing Category Management discipline.
Category management at Southern Water is a strategic role which has the opportunity to influence and shape Southern Water’s business model and supply chain strategies.
As a member of the Operational Services category team, you will lead in the development and implementation of the Operational category and sourcing strategies working closely with the Water and Waste directorates. The key objective being to inform and influence business strategies and align category strategies to maximise value creation and minimise total cost for Southern Water.
With oversight from the Senior Category Manager you will work closely with our Sourcing, Contract Management & Commercial teams to develop and implement category strategies. You will oversee full category lifecycle ensuring compliance to the Utilities Contract Regulations (UCR).
The ideal candidate will have Category and sourcing procurement experience at a strategic level, knowledge of the Operational Services arena (Direct services) supplier landscape, sourcing, category management and have relevant qualifications (CIPS / Bachelor’s degree in business or a related field) and have experience working with best practice tools, techniques and processes for the development of category strategies.
You will be a great planner with robust project management capabilities and the soft skills to influence at all levels. Ideally you will also have experience of working in a regulated procurement environment.
In this highly empowering role, you will have ownership for key categories of spend and the role offers a great exposure within Southern Water and opportunity for you to shape your deliverables, grow and learn as we offer CIPS qualifications for the suitable applicant. You need to be a self-starter with strong communication skills and resilient to operate in a challenging environment.
Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?