Interim Category Manager - Marine

Interim Category Manager - Marine

Contract:

Initial 6 months with significant potential to extend to 12 months Rate:
Up to £700 per day Inside IR35, dependent on experience

Location:

Bristol or London preferred Office requirement:
Bristol approximately once per week, with stakeholder travel as required

A major new MOD Category Management function is expanding its capability and is seeking an experienced strategic Category Manager with strong Marine sector and supplier base knowledge.

This role offers the opportunity to influence category strategy across complex marine supply chains supporting critical Defence capability.

The successful candidate will join an established and growing team and work within a centre-led category management approach designed to bring greater strategic insight, consistency and commercial excellence across Defence.

As Category Manager, you will:

• Lead strategic category management activity across marine-related supply markets.
• Develop category strategies informed by customer requirements, market intelligence and supplier capability.
• Build strong knowledge of the marine supplier landscape.
• Identify supply chain resilience and risk issues.
• Engage with senior stakeholders across programmes and portfolios.
• Develop recommendations to improve availability, value, innovation and whole-life outcomes.
• Lead market analysis and supplier intelligence activity.
• Challenge established thinking and identify alternative commercial and supply chain solutions.
• Work across complex stakeholder groups to build agreement around category priorities.
• Support delivery teams in transitioning agreed strategies into execution.

You will ideally bring:

• Strong Marine procurement, commercial or category management experience.
• Defence, shipbuilding, naval, marine engineering or other complex industry background
• Strategic category management expertise.
• Experience managing large programmes, projects or complex stakeholder environments.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to work effectively without perfect information.
• A pragmatic, consultative and tenacious approach.
• Strong market analysis and commercial judgement.
• We are interested in experienced professionals from both public and private sector backgrounds. Direct Civil Service experience is not a requirement.

This is a strategic category management assignment.

The successful candidate will focus on:

Strategy market insight supplier understanding stakeholder alignment strategic recommendations

Implementation responsibility will largely sit with the relevant delivery teams, with the Category Management team supporting the transition and delivery of agreed outcomes.

Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain SC Security Clearance and meet the relevant national security and nationality eligibility requirements. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE CURRENTLY S/C CLEARED

Ideally Bristol or London-based, with:

Approximately one day per week in Bristol.

Additional attendance where required for stakeholder engagement.

One-stage Teams interview.