Category Lead – Technology

Management Level

Business Function

Group Procurement is an important and integral function within the wider Finance Team, ensuring the efficient and cost-effective purchasing of goods and services required for EQ to operate.EQ spend c.£200m per annum within excess of 1500 suppliers. The procurement team consists of c.25 FTE located in the UK, USA and India. Business insight, analysing opportunities and risk and formulating strategies to drive performance, are vital components of the function. As too is having appropriate, relevant and succinct process to meet stakeholders demands and expectations, whilst appropriately managing supply chain risk (and regulatory requirements) is a key role of procurement.

Role Summary

Reporting to  the  Procurement Manager. The role will include the development of effective long, medium, and short-term sourcing strategies, the management of tenders, negotiating agreements and awarding contracts. The role holder will be an expert in their category areas, understanding market developments and changes and how these could impact EQ, evolving strategies accordingly to ensure the best outcome for the business. Developing strong working relationships with all members of the Procurement Team and being flexible in approach and tasks required for the betterment of the team and its desired outcomes is a key aspect of this role. Proactiveness, self-drive, determination, and a positive attitude and behaviours are requirement of this role, as is a target orientated individual.

Additionally, the  successful  candidate  will  have  a  central  role  in  transforming  EQ’s  procurement function through the design and implementation of improved procurement processes, systems and performance  management. This will  result  in  generating  cost  savings,  improved  governance  and control and improved supplier performance.

Core Duties/Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for the following:

•   Analyzing data or insights to determine industry and trends regarding the product, services and category areas

•   Contributing to a strategic long-term plan for the development of the category

•   The development and execution of supplier strategies (short, medium, and long-term), aligned with business and functional objectives and targets.

•   Generating and issuing tenders, Negotiating agreements and awarding contracts typically worth £50k p.a. or above (or any high-risk contracts).

•   Developing and maintaining a pipeline (including contract renewals and new initiatives) to forecast commercial changes (savings and increases) for  your  category  over  a  0-24month period.

•   Ensure appropriate steps are taken in onboarding suppliers in line with EQ’s polices

•   Work collaboratively and as one Team with Supplier Relationship & Risk Management as part of the Supplier cycle (i.e., comprehensive hand offs for key suppliers to the Team to ensure appropriate and effective ongoing contract and relationship management)

•   Act as Procurement Business Partner to an allocated area of the business representing all of Procurement’s services.  Understand the allocated business’ strategic direction, priorities and resulting procurement needs by being integrated into their business. Ensure these needs are understood by the wider Procurement Team and are addressed by the appropriate individual.

•   Establish and maintain strong business relationships across the EQ organization, to ensure effective relationships to allow the role holder to effective.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following experience, skills and behaviours:

•   Proactiveness, self-drive, determination, and a positivity

•   Team player, with the capability to lead and motivate peers across the organisation

•   A track record of achieving targets and results

•   Over 9 years’ experience in procurement

•   Strong grounding in strategic sourcing processes and practices

•   Excellent interpersonal skills, with the capability to “sell” procurement and understand and win over sceptical stakeholders

•   Extensive    cross-sector    industry    experience, potentially    including    financial   services background.

•   Deep and wide understanding of  procurement  processes  and  systems,  with  a  record  of successful    operational    implementation    of    strategic    sourcing    practices    in    complex organisations

•   Strong analytic skills, comfortable using  fact-based  analysis  to  support  business  decision making

•   Capacity to  engage  with  strategic  issues  and  work  alongside  stakeholders  to  develop pragmatic plans of action which are aligned with their business needs

•   Ideally degree educated & with professional procurement qualification (e.g. MCIPS)

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. Please note any offer of employment is subject to satisfactory pre-employment screening checks.