Senior category manager

Band 8b · Category manager · 595 job evaluation points

Manages several categories, or the organization's largest and riskiest category, and leads collaborative buying with other organizations.

Responsibilities

Lead category strategies for several categories, or for strategic technology and clinical systems.
Lead high-value, high-risk procurements and negotiations, including strategic platforms and enterprise agreements.
Lead collaborative procurements with other health and care organizations.
Advise digital and clinical leaders on the commercial risks and costs of technology choices.
Set social value and sustainability goals for the categories you lead.
Line manage and develop category managers and procurement officers.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Category managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the category management approach for the organization lead categories with the highest spend and risk, and align them with organizational strategy work with other organizations on collaborative buying
Technology and cloud procurementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organization's commercial strategy for technology and cloud lead negotiations on enterprise agreements and strategic platforms advise digital leaders on the commercial risks of technology choices
Market analysis and engagementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyze a supply market, its competition, risks, and trends lead early market engagement, such as supplier days, without distorting competition use market evidence to shape requirements and commercial models
Commercial negotiationThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead high-value, high-risk negotiations with strategic suppliers coach others in negotiation and set the organization's negotiation approach
Social value and sustainable procurementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: set social value and sustainability criteria that fit the contract manage supplier commitments, such as local jobs, skills, and carbon reduction check supply chains for risks such as forced labor and other human rights abuses
Public procurement rules and policyThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise on the lawful route for complex procurements and contract changes manage the risk of challenge and handle standstill and debrief correctly write procurement policy and guidance for the organization
Commercial managementUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: act as the escalation point and resolve large or high risk commercial management issues coach others in appropriate commercial management
Creating value for moneyUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: develop and own a business case and iterate it throughout the life cycle coach others on identifying benefits whilst balancing user and business needs communicate the delivery of incremental value build the case for an organisational approach to value through product strategy coach and empower teams to take a value for money approach
Stakeholder relationship managementUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: direct the stakeholder relationship strategy for your teams ensure stakeholder's objectives are set and support teams to meet them influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders to resolve issues and enable progress
People managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: line manage a team, setting objectives and running appraisals support wellbeing and manage attendance, performance, and conduct plan the team's development and succession

Typical qualifications and experience

A recognized procurement professional qualification at advanced level, or a master's degree in a related subject, or equivalent experience.
Extensive experience of category management and complex technology procurement.

Band 8b outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge across several disciplines or a large service.
Autonomy: Shapes policy and strategy for a large area.
Scope: Several services or teams, or a principal-level discipline.
Leadership: Manages managers, or is the principal authority in a discipline.
Accountability: Several services, their staff, and their budgets.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	7	Highly developed specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (master's level or equivalent).	196
Analytical and judgmental skills	5	Judgments on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organizational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organization.	60
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	4	Implements policy and develops policy or services for a service or several areas.	32
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	5	Holds or sets budgets, or manages assets, for several services.	45
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programs as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	3	Takes formal minutes, regularly writes reports or queries, or maintains information systems as a significant duty.	16
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	4	Frequent prolonged concentration, or occasional intense concentration.	18
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8b: 585 to 629)			595

Health-sector adverts place this role at Band 8b. Planning is level 5 for multi-year category strategies, financial resources is level 5 because the job sets how spending is bought across several categories and services, and people is level 4 because it line manages category managers.