Category Manager (Construction/ Property)
Ideally based in North London or South Yorkshire | National remit | 4 days on-site
A major UK contractor is looking for a hands‑on Category Manager to lead a small buying team and drive real commercial impact across housing and social housing contracts. This is a role for someone who enjoys being close to the detail, close to their people, and close to operations. Not someone who wants to sit behind a strategy deck.
What you’ll lead
You’ll manage a team of four Buyers (with a fifth joining), split across:
- London
- Yorkshire
- You’ll visit each region once per month and spend 4 days a week on-site/ visiting suppliers
They need someone who can bring structure, pace, and credibility + who can win hearts and minds in a team that needs direction, consistency, and accountability.
What you’ll deliver
- Lead and develop the buying team, improving performance, behaviours, and delivery discipline
- Drive value, cost certainty, and commercial improvement across housing/ construction contracts
- Build strong relationships with operational teams and become their trusted procurement partner
- Manage supplier performance, sourcing, tendering, and contract implementation
- Align local buying activity with wider category strategies
- Support sustainability commitments and process improvements
- Ensure compliance with procurement policy, governance, and reporting
- Bring a blend of procurement and construction buying understanding
- Help shape a function that has historically lacked strong recruitment and retention
What you’ll need
- Experience in construction, housing or social housing procurement (non‑negotiable)
- Proven people management experience — leading, coaching, and challenging teams
- A hands‑on approach: this is a doing role, not a purely strategic one
- Strong stakeholder skills and the ability to win trust quickly
- Confidence to reset expectations, raise standards, and bring consistency
- Comfortable working predominantly from the office
What you’ll get
- £6,000 car allowance or company car
- 5% bonus
- Life cover x2
- 25 days holiday
- The chance to make a visible, lasting impact in a function that genuinely needs strong leadership
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