Hard Services Category Manager; FTC

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
.

About The Role:

Working Pattern:
Mon‑Fri 9:00 – 5:30pm / 8:30 – 5:00. This is a 12 month Fixed Term contract.

Reporting to the Head of Hard FM Procurement, the Hard Services Category Manager will take strategic and commercial ownership of selected categories and projects within Hard Services, with particular responsibility for synergy identification and delivery following a recent acquisition. This includes rationalising and integrating two supply chains, consolidating spend, maximising savings delivery, strengthening PSL compliance and delivering measurable value for OCS UK & Ireland.

This is a highly strategic and commercially critical role, responsible for planning, executing and delivering synergy benefits, leading complex negotiations, and partnering closely with stakeholders across the business. The Category Manager will be expected to provide insight, challenge assumptions, influence senior stakeholders and help shape the long‑term direction of Hard Services Procurement.

• Lead the development and delivery of a synergy focused category plan, consolidating suppliers, reducing duplication and driving rapid in‑year value creation.
• Map, analyse and integrate two legacy supply chains, identifying areas of overlap, fragmentation and inefficiency and implementing a clear roadmap toward a single, optimised supply chain.
• Drive spend toward strategic suppliers, maximising benefits, reducing complexity and improving commercial outcomes across categories within scope.
• Lead end‑to‑end sourcing, negotiation and contracting activities, ensuring speed of execution and rigorous commercial governance while supporting accelerated synergy delivery.
• Engage and manage strategic suppliers, establish performance expectations, develop KPIs and drive improvements through structured and data‑led supplier management.
• Identify, evaluate and onboard new suppliers where necessary, ensuring full alignment to the integrated category strategy and steady‑state supply chain design.
• Benchmark products, services and suppliers to ensure the supply chain delivers maximum value, innovation, commercial competitiveness and ESG improvement.
• Lead supplier rationalisation, consolidating spend, reducing tail‑end suppliers and increasing PSL compliance across the newly integrated business.
• Support the development and optimisation of the preferred supply chain, including establishing fixed costs or framework agreements where appropriate.
• Act as a key point of contact for suppliers and sub‑contractors, supporting operational teams to ensure reliable service delivery and rapid resolution of issues.
• Apply strong technical procurement knowledge to manage hard FM categories within a complex facilities management service environment.

• Previous Hard FM experience.
• Category Management experience.
• E‑Sourcing experience.
• Used to working with and negotiating rebate agreements.
• Results driven with a flair for negotiation.
• Proven experience managing and developing category strategies.
• Strong commercial capability.
• Strong supplier management and stakeholder engagement.
• Proven track record for delivering year‑on‑year savings and driving significant, sustainable cost reductions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Operational discipline, including audit trails, version control and clear governance.
• Ability to challenge stakeholders constructively.
• A strong team player with the ability to work in a cross‑functional team.
• Proficient in Microsoft Tools (PowerPoint, Word and Intermediate Level Excel).
• Comfortable working with data and dashboards.
• Ability to prioritise and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• High…