The Head of Category Procurement at AllPoints Fibre will play a pivotal role in setting the category strategies, driving strategic procurement initiatives, optimising supplier relationships, and ensuring cost-effective procurement practices to achieve the lowest cost to serve across all category area’s. We believe the role will suit someone who can bring their instinctive negotiation skills and proven track record in strategic procurement to this key leadership role in for our Category & Enablement Procurement team within a CIPS Framework. Due to the nature of our business we are looking for applicants who have insights and experience within the telecoms / civils industry. Our category procurement team is made up of category managers covering sourcing activities across passive & active networks, IT & software plus all business services and transformation. Our team is based out of our Reading office so we are looking for someone local who can spend 2-3 days face to face with the team. What You Will Be Doing People/Team Leadership: Manage a team of CIPS qualified procurement professionals, providing mentorship, guidance, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and development. Category Strategy Development: Develop and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy for the Fixed Line Telecoms category in alignment with overall business objectives, fostering innovation, cost savings, and supplier diversity. Supplier Relationship Management: Build and maintain robust relationships with key suppliers, negotiating favourable terms and conditions, managing performance, and ensuring a reliable supply chain. Cost Management: Monitor market trends, analyse spend data, and implement cost-saving initiatives while maintaining the highest quality standards and service levels. Strategic Sourcing: Lead the end-to-end sourcing process, including supplier selection, RFx creation, evaluation, negotiation, and contract management, to ensure best-value solutions, using systems such at NetSuite, DeepStream and GateKeeper. Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders, including Engineering, Finance, Legal, and Operations, to align procurement activities with business needs and provide expert guidance. Risk Management: Identify potential risks within the Fixed Line Telecoms procurement category and develop mitigation strategies to ensure business continuity. Innovation and Technology: Stay informed about emerging technologies, market trends, and best practices within the telecoms industry to drive innovation and competitiveness in procurement processes. The Benefits At APF At AllPoints Fibre, we're all about looking after you. We offer an extensive wellbeing package that goes beyond the EAP. Your benefits will include Bupa private medical insurance and dental cover, income protection insurance, group life insurance and a health plan to help with day to day expenses such as eye care we will even pay for you to get a massage Everyone needs a break now and then, right? That's why we start all our employees off with a generous 30 days' annual leave allowance (pro rata), plus bank holidays. And if you ever need some extra time off due to illness or parental leave, we've got enhanced leave plans in place to support you through that. Additionally we know how important it is to feel secure with your finances. That's why we have benefits dedicated to your financial wellbeing. You will be able to join our employer contributory pension and in addition to income protection insurance, group life insurance we offer cashback and voucher schemes to help cover living cost such as electricals and personal spending. About Us Established in 2021, AllPoints Fibre has grown from regional roots in Jurassic Fibre, Giganet and Swish Fibre, to establish a national wholesale network. APFN is now a leading wholesale provider of full-fibre broadband solutions, dedicated to transforming the digital landscape by delivering ultra-fast, dependable, and affordable internet services to businesses and homes across the UK. We are committed to providing exceptional customer service, creating innovative products and services and lead of sustainability. We have set ourselves the goal to become the best place to work, we recognise that our people are at the heart of what we do - join us on our journey to become the UK’s most recommended way to connect Next steps If the role sounds like the right fit for you, we look forward to seeing your application If shortlisted, our Talent Acquisition Team will be in touch to set up and initial conversation. Next stages will involve meeting with our hiring teams to discuss the role and your experience in more details. One last thing AllPoints Fibre value diversity and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all employees. Help us create a secure, inclusive digital world where diversity fuels innovation; your vision, your voice, and your skills have a place here If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made during your interview process, please tell us in your application.