Senior Category Manager
Licensed sponsor London Posted 1 week ago
Join Heathrow’s Engineering Procurement team and lead the sourcing and commercial management of critical engineering services that keep the airport safe, reliable and resilient. You’ll own complex, high-value activity from early market engagement through contract award and mobilisation, while shaping supplier partnerships that deliver long-term value, innovation and operational performance.
- Develop and deliver short and long-term category strategies, priorities and procurement pipelines aligned to engineering and operational needs.
- Lead end-to-end sourcing for complex, high-value spend, including market sounding, supply-chain assessment, RFI/RFP, evaluation, negotiation, contract award and mobilisation.
- Shape robust commercial agreements, including specifications, KPIs, service levels, pricing models.
- Provide clear commercial advice on route to market, contracting models, CAPEX versus OPEX options, affordability, interface risk and regulatory requirements.
- Lead strategic supplier relationships and governance, resolving material commercial or performance issues while driving continuous improvement, resilience, innovation and additional value.
- Build trusted relationships across Engineering, Operations, Legal, Insurance and Finance; challenge constructively, manage risk and ensure sourcing decisions meet Heathrow governance and competition-law requirements.
- Significant category management and strategic sourcing experience within engineering, infrastructure, FM or another operationally critical environment.
- A proven record of leading complex tenders from market engagement through to implementation, delivering measurable value while managing operational and supplier risk.
- Strong commercial judgement, including experience drafting and negotiating contracts and using different procurement and contracting models.
- Credible supplier relationship management, stakeholder influencing and problem-solving skills, with the ability to lead, coach and develop others.
- MCIPS qualification (desirable)
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