Category Manager - Hard Services

About The Company

OCS UK & Ireland is a leading facilities management company with 50,000+ colleagues and a turnover in excess of £2bn. We deliver innovative, award-winning services within facilities management, hard services, cleaning, security and catering.
Our mission is to make people and places the best they can be for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve.

Our commitment to doing business the right way is rooted in our TRUE values
- Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment.

3 office days fixed
2 WFH day options

Reporting to the HOP Hard Services, the Category Manager role has primary responsibility for multiple hard services categories, full ownership and support roles, strategic and operational requirements for supply chain and relationships.

In addition to category ownership, you will support regional directors and account directors on accounts to reduce the supply chain cost basis for those priority high value client accounts. They will attend periodic client facing calls, create and manage client report outputs, capture savings, cost variances & track cost avoidance, have full ownership of the supplier relationship for that project. They will work closely with the wider Category Management team and key operational stakeholders.

The Category Manager will be expected to support the teams with inputs on data and ideas to help create and execute a project plan that to maximise value.

• Create and execute a category management plan for hard services to reduce total cost, improve quality of supply and mitigate risk within the supply chain
• Regular supplier engagement and management; building strategic, value adding relationships and driving performance through data driven management and relationship building
• Managing and running end-to-end sourcing activities and supporting the Head of Procurement in high risk/value opportunities
• Identifying, evaluating, negotiating and contracting with new suppliers
• Regular benchmarking of current inputs, services and suppliers to ensure our supply chain is delivering maximum value and innovation
• Lead initiatives including rationalisation to increase spend compliance and concentration with preferred suppliers, delivering improved efficiencies and driving category maturity
• Support the development of a preferred supply chain and fixed cost agreements
• Build a plan to exit tail end suppliers and drive spend through strategic sources
• Own strategic supplier relationships holding regular business reviews whilst developing performance data to report back to the business
• Take ownership of suppliers and sub-contractors to support operations
• Support regional directors with customer relations to enhance our service offering
• Able to demonstrate technical procurement knowledge in managing a core category across facilities management service contracts e.g HVAC, BMS, Energy projects, In-sourcing strategies
• Avoid conflict of interests between personal interests and the interests of the UK & Ireland group.
• Exercise independent judgment, reasonable care, skill and diligence when carrying out their duties.
• Act in good faith and promote the long-term success of each company within the UK & Ireland group for the benefit of all members and wider stakeholders.
• Adhere to and promote the UK & Ireland group’s policies on equality & diversity, information security, health and safety and data protection in the performance of their duties and the management of the departmental functions reporting into them.
• Support and promote the UK & Ireland group’s sustainability plans and policies, including the Carbon Management Plan, and carry out duties in a resource effective way, recognizing the shared responsibility of minimizing negative environmental impacts wherever possible.

Necessary

• Previous Hard FM experience.
• Project procurement experience.
• Tendering experience.
• Used to working with and negotiating Rebate agreements.
• Category experience or worked with category manager teams & strategy prior.
• Results driven with a flair for negotiation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Data focused…