Category Manager - Procurement

Team: Procurement – Commercial and Procurement Service (Finance Directorate)

Job Family: Providing – CBG12

Hours: 37 hours per week

Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per week.

Contract Type: Hybrid – Permanent

Closing Date: 10th May 2026 - we reserve the right to close this advert early. Please keep this in mind when preparing your application.

Interview Date: 15th May 2026

About the Role

The Procurement Team provides a strategic and professional service that ensures the Council achieves value for money in sourcing third-party goods, works and services. The team also manages procurement risks, drives best practice, and ensures compliance with the Council’s Constitution and procurement regulations.

We are recruiting a Category Manager to lead and advise on a wide range of procurements for a variety of service areas in the Place and Corporate pillar, ensuring compliance with PCR2015/PA23 legislation and achieving value for money.

In this role, you will need to be confident in engaging with key stakeholders and have the knowledge and experience to lead and manage end to end procurement activity. You will act as a key advisor to service areas ensuring compliance with procurement legislation whilst understanding and delivering against service needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and Implement Category Strategies, delivering value for money processes adhering to council policies and relevant regulations.
• Provide market intelligence, advice and guidance on competition processes.
• Lead high-value, high-risk procurement initiatives to achieve and demonstrate value for money.
• Devise and apply detailed analysis and evaluation techniques to assist all stakeholders in decision making using a balance of cost and quality and appropriate weightings.
• Regular Communications with Senior Managers and attendance at DMTs.
• Assist contract managers to assess service delivery and work with service providers to develop efficiencies.
• Develop and embed social value opportunities.

About You

• Educated to degree level with a CIPS Level 4 qualification and seeking to progress to Level 5 (desirable).
• Experience of working within a procurement or commercial environment, preferably in local government.
• Able to demonstrate a successful track record and experience of delivering end-to-end complex procurements under PCR 2015 / Procurement Act 2023.
• Understanding of public sector procurement regulations and governance.
• Ability to manage multiple procurements to agreed timescales.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills and able to influence senior stakeholders and provide clear guidance.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data and market intelligence into actionable insight.
• Experience of leading projects, managing competing priorities, and delivering against statutory and corporate deadlines.

Our Offer

We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.

Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Sarah Deyes – Senior Procurement Business Partner at Sarah.Deyes@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 4878.

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.

More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council

Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship for our roles. Successful applicants that may require a visa will need to consider the options for obtaining and/or maintaining the legal right to live and work in the UK. Please confirm you have right to work in the UK.

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