Digital Senior Category Manager

As a Digital Senior Category Manager, you should be a commercial expert for the category that you lead. You should be able to utilise this market expertise to develop and deliver strategies, ensuring that Thames is market-leading in their commercial arrangements. This role will support all commercial activity for Cybersecurity and Networks, supporting the delivery of major projects for Digital Turnaround initiatives.

Thames is planning for a future where our technology solutions enable us to achieve our goal of protecting our greatest natural resource and allow our customers, communities and the environment to thrive.

What you’ll be doing as a Digital Senior Category Manager

Supporting Information Security, Networks and Telecoms Suppliers with all commercial requirements, including project delivery contracts, software renewals and new software sourcing activities.
Working with stakeholders to provide commercial advice and ensure commercial compliance is embedded across the category.
Produce category plans for the categories in this space to support pipeline planning and ongoing commercial strategy.
Responsible for managing a portfolio of suppliers to ensure contracted expectations continue to be improved throughout the contract life cycle and to support these suppliers in delivering additional value to Thames Water.
Actively lead, develop, and manage end-to-end category strategies for the short, medium, and long term. Identify a pipeline of initiatives to maximise value and outcomes for Thames Water, balancing commercial risk and value opportunities.
Providing extensive category knowledge and supply market insight to internal stakeholders. Delivering category strategies and sourcing events, providing SME support and identifying/managing category-level risks.
Becoming the commercial expert for the category enables Thames to quickly adapt to market changes.

Base

Location:

Reading - Hybrid.
Working Pattern or hours: 36 Hours.

What you should bring to the role

Experience in Influencing Senior Stakeholders to support embedding best practice commercial governance.
Ability to manage multiple projects within the category, ensuring effective prioritisation of tasks.
Experience in a digital commercial role, understanding key Digital Commercial Models, including for Software and Project Delivery.  
Have detailed knowledge of the external supply market, including suppliers, trends, innovation, market changes and dynamics that enable the identification of new suppliers of value to Thames Water.
Have strong engagement skills which allow you to support, influence and constructively challenge stakeholders to deliver the best commercial outcomes for Thames.
A clear understanding of Category Management principles with a track record of delivering results across several different category areas, building fantastic supplier and stakeholder relationships.
Ability to lead and provide insight for the business on all aspects of supply market dynamics, regulatory and internal frameworks, suppliers, and technical innovations.
Be able to identify market insights, trends, opportunities, and risks.
Manage Categories up to £100m in value with significant strategic risk to the organisation.
Experience in negotiating with suppliers on all commercial and contractual matters and applying judgment as to what constitutes an acceptable level of contractual risk and supply resilience.

What’s in it for you?
This is an exciting time to join Thames Water as we continue to deliver on our turnaround plan, offering the opportunity to become part of our strategic journey
Competitive salary up to £78,000 per annum
Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays) 
Car Allowance - £5,800.
Annual Bonus.
Private Medical Health Care.
Contributory pension – Defined Contribution - Maximum of 12%
-2x employee contribution.
Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who…