Category Manager

Sourcing & Category Manager — Direct Materials | Europe

A global engineering and manufacturing group is building out its Global Procurement function and is looking for a Sourcing & Category Manager to take ownership of a portfolio of direct material categories across Europe.

This is a genuinely commercial role. You will run the end-to-end sourcing lifecycle for your categories — strategy, RFx, negotiation, contracting and supplier relationship management — with a clear mandate to deliver validated EBIT and working capital improvement. The business is part-way through a multi-year procurement transformation, so you will be shaping the way sourcing is done rather than inheriting a finished playbook.

The scale

• c.£115m third-party spend across c.3,600 suppliers spanning UK&I, Europe, the USA and Asia
• A live sourcing pipeline of £100m+
• Categories covering direct components, secondary operations (raw materials, tooling, plating) and selected indirect spend (packaging, IT, professional services, freight)
• End markets including automotive, smart infrastructure, medical and general industrial
• A multi-year transformation programme running through FY27–29

What you'll own

• Delivery of validated savings and working capital targets, reconciled with Finance and tracked on the balanced scorecard
• Category strategy execution, sourcing wave plans, specification standardisation and make/buy decisions
• RFx, supplier evaluation, negotiation and full contract lifecycle coverage, underpinned by should-cost modelling, TCO and benchmarking
• Supplier segmentation, SRM scorecards, QBRs and corrective action where performance slips
• Category risk registers, dual and multi-sourcing, geographic diversification, tariff and CBAM considerations
• ESG due diligence, compliance evidence and audit-ready governance
• eProcurement adoption, data accuracy and clear MI for senior stakeholders
• Mentoring or line management of senior sourcing specialists (potential for 3–4 reports)

What we're looking for

• 5–7+ years in procurement, including at least 3 years in category management and strategic sourcing at global or multi-region scale
• A demonstrable track record of cost savings and margin improvement delivered through sourcing strategy and negotiation
• Exposure to engineered raw materials, components or the automotive / smart infrastructure sectors, with the ability to balance commercial and technical drivers
• Strong end-to-end sourcing toolkit: RFx, bid evaluation, negotiation, contracting, TCO and should-cost
• Real SRM capability — segmentation, QBRs, scorecards, corrective actions
• Risk management, ERP and eProcurement experience, plus solid ESG and compliance knowledge
• Degree in business, engineering, supply chain or similar; MCIPS / ISCM strongly preferred
• The influencing skills to operate credibly in a global matrix

Practicalities Based at a European distribution or manufacturing site. Preferred locations are Budapest, Barcelona, Umbria, West Germany or Holland with occasional home working. Periodic travel across UK&I, Europe, the USA and Asia, including supplier visits. Reporting into the regional Head of Procurement, with visibility of the senior leadership team.