Procurement Category Manager - Professional Services & Labour

An exciting opportunity for an experienced procurement professional to lead category strategy across consultancy, professional services, and labour spend on a global scale. This role is responsible for delivering commercial value, cost optimisation, supplier performance, and strategic sourcing initiatives while partnering closely with senior stakeholders across a complex and highly demanding business environment.

Working within a global procurement function, you will be accountable for significant spend areas and play a key role in shaping sourcing strategies across multiple business functions. This position would suit a commercially minded, resilient individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys building long-term stakeholder relationships, and is looking for a role where they can make a lasting impact.

• Lead the development and execution of category strategies, delivering cost savings, value creation, demand management, and innovation.
• Manage end-to-end sourcing activities, including complex global tenders and procurement projects.
• Lead commercial negotiations and contract discussions with strategic consultancy and labour suppliers.
• Identify and evaluate new sourcing, outsourcing, and market opportunities to drive business value.
• Build and maintain influential relationships with senior stakeholders across business and functional areas.
• Support the development of outcome-based commercial models, Statements of Work (SOWs), and consultancy engagements.
• Educate and challenge stakeholders through discovery and sourcing phases to ensure optimum commercial outcomes.
• Monitor supplier markets, emerging trends, and new service offerings to identify opportunities and mitigate risks.
• Drive procurement compliance, governance, and best practice across the organisation.
• Support post-contract supplier management and ongoing value delivery initiatives.

• Proven experience in category management across consultancy, professional services, contingent labour, or non-permanent workforce categories.
• Strong track record of leading complex sourcing initiatives and high-value commercial negotiations.
• Experience operating within large, complex, enterprise-scale organisations, ideally within financial services, consulting, or similarly regulated environments.
• Comfortable managing significant spend portfolios and engaging with senior stakeholders across multiple business functions.
• Experience working with major consultancy providers and negotiating consultancy-based commercial arrangements would be highly advantageous.
• Strong understanding of outcome-based contracts, deliverable-led Statements of Work, and consultancy procurement models.
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing, and relationship-building skills.
• Resilient, proactive, and collaborative, with a genuine team-player mentality and a hands‑on, can‑do approach.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability, and experience applying procurement and sourcing methodologies.

UK-based with a flexible hybrid working model.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced category manager with the confidence, credibility, and commercial expertise to operate in a highly visible global role, delivering measurable value across consultancy, professional services, and labour spend categories.