Head of Procurement - IT

Salary: Competitive + £5,000 Car Allowance + Up to 20% Bonus

At United Utilities, we're delivering more than water. We're helping to create a stronger, greener and healthier North West.

As we continue to invest in technology, innovation and digital transformation, we're looking for an exceptional Head of Procurement - IT to lead one of our most strategically important spend categories. This is a rare opportunity to influence major business decisions, direct multi-million-pound procurement strategies, and play a pivotal role in enabling the future of our technology services.

If you're a commercially astute procurement leader who thrives on driving value, influencing senior stakeholders and building high-performing teams, we'd love to hear from you.

This is not a traditional procurement role.

You'll lead the strategic management of our IT procurement portfolio, owning market strategies, supplier relationships and sourcing initiatives that directly support critical business outcomes. Working closely with senior leaders across Technology Services and the wider business, you'll help shape procurement decisions that deliver innovation, efficiency and long-term value.

With responsibility for high-value, complex commercial activities, you'll be at the forefront of identifying opportunities, influencing investment decisions and ensuring we remain ahead of market trends and technological advancements.

• Lead a team of commercial professionals responsible for market management, sourcing delivery and supplier collaboration.
• Develop and implement category strategies across a significant IT and technology spend portfolio.
• Build trusted partnerships with senior stakeholders across Technology Services and the wider business.
• Deliver measurable commercial value, including multi-million-pound savings and business benefits.
• Oversee strategic sourcing activities, commercial negotiations and supplier performance.
• Drive innovation by bringing external market insights, emerging technologies and industry best practice into the organisation.
• Lead annual commercial planning and procurement strategy development.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies while promoting agile and efficient ways of working.
• Coach, mentor and develop team members, creating a high-performance culture and strong succession pipeline.

We're seeking an experienced procurement and commercial leader who can operate confidently at a strategic level and influence decision-making across complex organisations.

You'll bring:

• Extensive procurement, category management or commercial leadership experience.
• Significant experience managing complex, business-critical spend categories.
• Demonstrable success developing sourcing strategies and managing strategic supplier relationships.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and business partnering capabilities at senior leadership level.
• Proven people management experience, with a passion for developing high-performing teams.
• Advanced negotiation, influencing and dispute resolution skills.
• Experience working within large, complex organisations.
• A strong understanding of technology procurement and the broader IT landscape.

You'll stand out if you also have experience with:

• IT governance, enterprise architecture and technology strategy.
• Agile delivery methodologies and Dev Ops environments.
• IT service management and support models.
• Technology supplier evaluation and contract management.
• Utilities, energy or other highly regulated sectors.
• Operational Technology (OT), geospatial systems, network management systems or related technologies.

You'll ideally be degree educated and hold a relevant professional or…