There’s never been a more exciting time to join Southern Water. We’re on a mission to create a more sustainable and resilient future—tackling climate change, reducing our carbon footprint, and delivering long‑term value for our customers and communities. As part of this journey, we are strengthening our Procurement Division and investing in talent that can influence change at scale. We’re now looking for a Category & Sourcing Manager (Operations) to support our operational teams by delivering effective, compliant and value‑driven procurement solutions across goods and services critical to our asset base.
Responsibilities
- Developing and delivering category strategies aligned to operational and organisational objectives
- Managing end‑to‑end sourcing activities, including tendering, evaluation and contract award across operational goods and services
- Partnering with stakeholders across operations to understand demand, challenge requirements and shape effective sourcing solutions
- Driving value through cost optimisation, standardisation and demand aggregation, while ensuring compliance with procurement regulations
- Managing supplier relationships to support performance, resilience and continuous improvement
- Championing best practice, innovation and continuous improvement within the procurement function
Qualifications
- Proven experience in a Category or Sourcing role within an operational, engineering, manufacturing, construction or asset‑focused environment
- Knowledge of public sector procurement regulations, including PA23 (experience with UCR is also advantageous)
- Experience running multiple procurement exercises concurrently and managing competing priorities
- Confident stakeholder management and negotiation skills
- A proactive, solutions‑focused mindset with strong commercial and analytical capability
- Experience procuring operational goods, equipment, hardware or services within a regulated environment
Desirable
- CIPS qualification (or working towards)
Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, with £7.8 bn of planned investment for 2025–2030 to enhance resilience, sustainability and service excellence. This is a unique opportunity to join a business committed to making a generational difference in how water services are delivered.
You’ll be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside experienced leaders with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where talented professionals can influence important decisions, develop their careers and make a meaningful impact. At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a difference and feel you could add value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box.
Our Commitment to Diversity
As part of Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to undertake pre‑employment checks, including identity verification, right‑to‑work checks, DBS and employment/education history verification.
#J-18808-Ljbffr…