Senior Category Manager

City of London, UK Hays Procurement Jobs We are recruiting for a Senior Category Manager.This is a senior, influential role suited to a procurement professional with strong NHS or public sector experience, significant clinical category knowledge, and a passion for delivering value, compliance and service improvement. The OpportunityYou will play a key role in delivering strategic procurement outcomes across a portfolio of clinical categories, supporting clinicians, senior leaders and finance teams to achieve value for money, service efficiency and regulatory compliance.Working at a senior level, you will lead end-to-end procurement projects, manage supplier relationships, influence stakeholders, and contribute to the development of procurement strategy across partner organisations. Key Responsibilities Lead and deliver complex clinical procurement projects, including tendering and contract awards. Provide expert procurement advice to senior stakeholders, including clinical and operational teams Ensure compliance with UK procurement legislation and internal governance frameworks Manage relationships with key suppliers, NHS Supply Chain and external partners Support procurement strategy development and continuous improvement initiatives Mentor and support less experienced procurement colleagues Manage multiple projects simultaneously, delivering to agreed timescalesAbout YouYou will be a confident, credible procurement professional with the ability to operate at senior level in a complex healthcare environment. Essential experience and skills include: Degree‑level qualification or equivalent significant experience in procurement Membership of CIPS (or working towards) with evidence of ongoing CPD Strong knowledge of UK procurement legislation and best practice Strong NHS or public sector experience, significant clinical category knowledge Proven experience of leading complex tenders and contract negotiations Excellent stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills Strong analytical ability and attention to detail Experience of e‑tendering systems and complex clinical evaluationsDesirable: Extensive NHS or wider public sector procurement experienceHays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at (url removed)