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Category Manager – Business Services & Category Manager – Operations & Asset Management

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Durrington, West Sussex | Hybrid (2 days per week in office) | Circa £55–£60K

 

Two senior procurement appointments. One well-established Category & Sourcing team. A significant pipeline of activity ahead.

 

Our client is a major regulated water business investing in the depth and capability of their Procurement & Commercial function. They are now seeking two experienced Category Managers — one to lead their Business Services portfolio, the other to take ownership of Operations & Asset Management.

 

Both roles are based in Durrington on a hybrid basis (2 days per week in the office) and carry salaries of circa £55–£60K.

Both require someone who can operate with a high degree of autonomy from day one.

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Role 1 — Category Manager, Business Services

 

This appointment leads procurement activity across a broad Business Services portfolio, with particular focus on Customer Services and Facilities Management. Both areas represent significant spend over the coming years, involving complex outsourced service arrangements and high-profile stakeholder engagement at a senior level.

 

What the role involves:

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  • Developing and delivering category strategies across the Business Services portfolio

  • Leading complex end-to-end sourcing and tender activities

  • Building and maintaining category pipelines and procurement roadmaps

  • Managing senior stakeholder relationships across the organisation

  • Leading supplier engagement, tender evaluations and commercial negotiations

  • Supporting the implementation of new procurement systems and processes where required

Key categories: Customer Services | Facilities Management | Business Services | Service Agreements | Corporate Subscriptions

 

Role 2 — Category Manager, Operations & Asset Management

 

This appointment sits within the same team and covers procurement across operational and asset-based spend areas — including physical assets, maintenance contracts, operational services and associated commercial arrangements. The pipeline is significant in both volume and complexity, and the successful candidate must be ready to contribute immediately.

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What the role involves:

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  • Leading strategic sourcing and procurement projects

  • Developing and implementing category strategies

  • Managing large-scale procurement programmes and regulated tender exercises

  • Developing commercial models and evaluation methodologies

  • Leading supplier negotiations and contract awards

  • Building relationships across operational and engineering teams

  • Supporting long-term category planning and procurement delivery

 

Key spend areas: Operational Assets | Maintenance Contracts | Equipment Supply | Hire Agreements | Hire Purchase Arrangements | Operational Service Contracts

 

What both roles require

 

Both appointments are suited to experienced Category Managers — not candidates taking their first step into the function. If your background is primarily in purchasing, operational buying or transactional procurement, these roles are unlikely to be the right fit.

 

The ideal candidate for either position will be commercially strong, confident managing senior stakeholders and comfortable operating with limited supervision within a changing business environment.

 

Relevant experience for both roles includes:

  • End-to-end procurement and sourcing leadership

  • Category strategy development and delivery

  • Complex sourcing programmes within regulated or public sector environments

  • Procurement Act knowledge

  • Commercial modelling expertise

 

Additional experience valued for Business Services: Outsourced service procurement | Facilities Management | Customer Services | Coupa or Source-to-Pay platform experience

Additional experience valued for Operations & Asset Management: Utilities, infrastructure, engineering or maintenance environments | Asset management procurement | Maintenance procurement

 

Why consider this?

 

These are substantive roles within a well-resourced procurement function, with real commercial scope and meaningful stakeholder visibility. If you are an experienced Category Manager looking to apply your expertise within a regulated environment — across categories that genuinely matter to the business — we would like to hear from you.

 

To express your interest or arrange a confidential discussion, please apply the role below:

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