Ops, FM & EHS Category Manager
The Ops, FM & EHS Category Manager leads the activities across categories of spend with the accountability for developing and executing effective procurement strategies for the categories and actively contributing to the development of the procurement function’s service to Primark.
What You’ll Get
People are at the heart of what we do here, so it’s essential we provide you with the right environment to perform at your very best.
Let’s talk lifestyle: Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus. 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more. Because Primark is all about tailoring to you, we offer Tax Saver Tickets, fitness centre, and a subsidised cafeteria.
What You’ll Do as a Ops, FM & EHS Category Manager
In your role, you’ll collaborate with different people across a range of skillsets. Here’s a flavour of your day-to-day:
- You will be responsible for developing and executing strategic category management to drive spend under management and value for Primark, to support both business-as-usual and the delivery of strategic investments and programmes for your assigned categories.
- You will be accountable for developing and executing a comprehensive, multi-year category plan, aligned with business goals, market dynamics, and internal demand, to ensure optimal performance, cost savings, and risk.
- You will lead the creation and implementation of go-to market and sourcing strategies, associated plans and negotiation strategies, to be included in the category plan.
- You will also identify, assess and manage supplier risk, and the risk associated with the supply of goods and services in your category area, as part of the category plan. This should ensure resiliency, efficiency, regulatory compliance and adherence to governance standards.
- You will monitor market trends, supply dynamics, and emerging risks to adjust category strategies accordingly.
- You will be responsible for leading a multi-year cost efficiency programme for your category, which must be agreed with budget owners and aligned to Primark’s Cost Efficiency programme and targets.
- Beyond price, you will be responsible for identifying and delivering continuous operational improvement, innovation, and sustainability.
- You will lead the negotiation of high-value, complex contracts, whilst ensuring alignment and contribution of suppliers towards Primark 2030 strategy.
- You are accountable for ensuring that your Category Specialist and the GBS have executed the agreed go-to market and sourcing plans as agreed in the Category plans, in a timely and to the standards expected
- Strong leadership and influencing working with the functional leaders will be required in this role to gain buy-in to deliver opportunities. You will be required to build trusted partnering relationships with senior internal stakeholders to understand business needs and risks and align procurement strategies to business goals.
What You’ll Bring
Here at Primark, we want everyone to feel valued – so please bring your authentic self to work, of course with some other key experience and abilities for this role in particular:
- 7+ years related experience in a Category Manager role. Related procurement category expertise is preferred but not essential.
- Be able to manage complex sourcing activities (e.g. multi-market, various maturity levels, large scale) to supplier recommendation/award and can demonstrate the use of different sourcing approaches. Provide relevant stakeholder material to show progress.
- Demonstrated success in developing and delivering multi-year strategies ensuring competitive commercial advantage
- Expert knowledge of financial and legal contract negotiations; carry strong awareness of ethical sourcing and corporate social responsibility issues
- Lead cross-functional negotiation teams; sign off on negotiation strategies, lead negotiation, and manage the commercial components of contract drafting.
- Demonstrated ability to forge close business relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all management levels
- Proven track record of developing strategic partnerships with key suppliers.
- Ability to travel as required (>20%)
Does this sound like you? Great, because we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. You’ll be supported within a team of equally capable people, celebrating who you are and aiding you reach your potential. At Primark, we’re excited about our future - and we’re excited to develop yours.
About Primark
At Primark, people matter. They’re the beating heart of our business and the reason we’ve grown from our first store in Dublin in 1969 to a £9bn+ turnover business and over 80,000 colleagues and over 440 stores in 17 countries today. Our values run through everything we do. In essence, we're Caring and always strive to put people first. We're also Dynamic, bravely pushing the boundaries to stay ahead. And finally, we succeed Together.
If you need any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request, during your recruitment journey, such as extended time or breaks between online assessments, a sign language interpreter, mobility access, or assistive technology please contact your talent acquisition specialist.
All offers of employment are subject to background checks, including right to work, reference education and for some roles criminal, and financial checks. If you have any concerns, please reach out to our talent acquisition team to discuss.
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Our fashion isn’t one-size-fits-all and neither is our culture. Primark promotes equal employment opportunity, we strive to create an inclusive workplace where people can be themselves, access opportunities and thrive together.
If you require extra support at any stage of the selection process, please get in touch with our team at [email protected].
Skills Required
- 7+ years related experience in a Category Manager role
- Ability to manage complex multi-market sourcing and supplier selection
- Demonstrated success developing and delivering multi-year category strategies
- Expert knowledge of financial and legal contract negotiations
- Awareness of ethical sourcing and corporate social responsibility issues
- Lead cross-functional negotiation teams and manage commercial contract drafting
- Proven track record developing strategic supplier partnerships
- Related procurement category expertise
- Ability to travel as required (>20%)
Primark Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Primark and has not been reviewed or approved by Primark.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is often characterized as fair or good compared to similar retail roles, and overtime availability can improve take-home earnings. Recent UK minimum-rate increases and the removal of age-related pay tiers reinforce a sense of improving pay fairness.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off stands out as comparatively strong for retail, with full-time roles described as having notably generous PTO alongside sick time and paid holidays. This breadth can increase the overall value of the compensation package beyond hourly wages.
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Parental & Family Support — Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, and surrogacy payments are positioned as meaningful additions to the rewards package. Ongoing colleague discounts and family-oriented support contribute to a more rounded benefits offering.
Primark Insights
What We Do
Primark is an international fashion retailer employing more than 80,000 colleagues across 17 countries in Europe and the US. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the Penneys brand, Primark aims to provide affordable choices for everyone, from great quality everyday essentials to stand-out style across women’s, men’s and kids, as well as beauty, homeware and accessories. With a focus on creating great retail experiences, Primark has over 440 stores globally and continues to expand with the aim of reaching 530 stores by the end of 2026. Primark is working to make more sustainable fashion affordable for everyone through its Primark Cares strategy, a multi-year programme that focuses on giving clothing a longer life, protecting life on the planet and supporting the livelihoods of the people who make Primark clothes. As part of this, Primark unveiled nine commitments it is working to achieve by 2030. These commitments include making all of its clothes from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030, halving carbon emissions across its value chain and pursuing a living wage for workers in its supply chain.






