Closing Date 05/02/2025 Overall purpose of the role Southern Water’s Sourcing and Category Management discipline strategically and proactively manages category spending and supply sourcing in alignment with value management strategies and demand profiles to optimise total cost of ownership. The Category Specialist supports the Category Manager and Senior Category Manager in developing and implementing specific demand strategies across one or more categories/sub-categories. This includes gathering and analysing internal and external data, and providing valuable inputs into the strategy development and implementation. Scope of role Primary scope of this role would be: Work with the Category Manager to support on the delivery of category strategies and develop and implement sub-category strategies Gather and collate customer requirements, volume demands, and specifications, feeding back to Category Manager and Senior Category Manager to inform the development of category strategy Gather data on category/sub-category spend, including commodity pricing and spend data, and perform initial analysis to share with Category Manager Deliver sub-category opportunity assessments and value analysis Gather spend data and support on analysis to drive aggregation and product/specification standardisation Conduct analysis and identify opportunities to reduce volume of spot buys/tail spend within specific categories Develop working relationships across the organisation that allow early involvement of procurement in any external third party spend required Actively seek opportunities for continuous improvement, identifying improvements in ways of working and feeding these back to the Senior Category Manager Achieve annual savings targets as agreed with the Senior Category Manager, identifying and mitigating risks early on, and report on performance against operational KPIs Drive compliance with all Procurement governance processes, both in individual ways of working and with interactions with the business Major accountabilities of role 1. Gather and analyse appropriate internal and external data and conduct in depth analysis to support the delivery of category/sub-category strategies 40% 2. Seek cost reductions through driving aggregation and standardisation, and identifying opportunities to reduce spot buys/tail spend 25% 3. Engage with the business to support procurement processes within the business, including early involvement of procurement in third party spend, and providing guidance, advice, and troubleshooting on procurement processes 25% 4. Deliver against financial target and KPIs, and ensure compliance with Procurement governance processes 10% Knowledge/experience: Bachelor’s degree in a business administration, commerce, finance, engineering or other relevant discipline (and/or qualified by demonstrable experience) Undertaking procurement qualification desirable e.g. CIPS Reasonable experience of category management Microsoft Office suite including advanced MS Excel In depth category experience for at least one of the below categories preferred: E&C Asset purchase and hire (process & hire) Indirect (IT, telecoms, HR, professional services, facilities & business services) Operational service delivery Proven experience of successful implementation of category/sub-category strategies Strong experience analysing complex data, extracting useful insights and developing reports/presentations Proven experience of successful internal and external stakeholder management Knowledge of UCR requirements and ABC (Anti-Bribery & Corruption) legislation Capability: Strong communication skills – verbal and written Ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders Ability to demonstrate a proactive/can do style of work Continuous improvement mind-set Performance and delivery orientated – ability to work with others to obtain critical information and achieve common goals Strong analytical, planning, and problem-solving skills Ability to manipulate complex datasets Strong category strategy development skills – ability to develop compelling category and sourcing strategies