Category Manager Mechanical Services

Location – Swindon

Contract Type – Permanent

Working Hours – Full time

Closing Date – 16 April 2024

Main Purpose of the Role

Lead, manage and govern assigned external spend category (and all relevant sub-categories) of Gas and Steam Turbine Services in addition to Non-Destructive Testing and Quality Testing by ensuring short and long term value through formulation and implementation of category sourcing strategies to achieve the business objectives and/or the lowest Total Cost of Ownership. Foster strong relationships with stakeholders, strategic suppliers and the wider procurement team to support delivery of best value to the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement sourcing, negotiating and contracting strategies for relevant category
• Formulate and implement category sourcing and supplier negotiation strategies, based on magnitude of spend, strategic importance, complexity and opportunity for value delivery across RWE Generation UK and the wider group
• Carry out sub category opportunity assessments, value analysis/assessment etc.
• Develop a contract strategy for the category, including implementation, improvement, monitoring and closure tasks, with support and involvement of a stakeholder team.
• Generate transparency and overview on spend and savings potential within category supplier landscape, supplier performance and current trends
• Monitor the delivery of quantifiable financial benefits and value creation proportionate to the category spend
• Identify regional, national, and international supply and demand trends and determine response strategies
• Provide supply market input to help achieve the business objectives development across the assigned category
• Develop spend and supplier profiles of the categories
• Develop category pricing profiles and establishment of baseline prices across the category
• Manage each sub-category of spend across the assigned categories
• Identify and drive category savings initiatives
• Monitor risks and opportunities in the supply market for the category and identify likely factors which may affect sourcing options
• Identify and escalate where changes in demand or market trends could lead to the restructuring of categories
• Provide pricing, market and technology trend inputs into sourcing initiatives
• Collect, collate, analyse and distribute marketplace research data in order to gain and sustain a competitive edge in the industry
• Manage stakeholder relationships to drive effective customer relations within RWE
• Generation UK and the wider group
• Identify and manage key stakeholder relationships within RWE Generation and the wider Group and ensure regular communication and feedback concerning category and sub-categories
• Liaise with the business to develop and confirm category demand plans
• Provide challenge and input into understanding demand requirements and supply constraints within the category
• Align the category sourcing strategy with technical, commercial, demand and supply requirements
• Provide the commercial bridge between future plans for satisfying internal customer demand and the  external support required to deliver
• Prepare and lead complex supplier negotiations
• Lead the strategic sourcing and oversee tactical sourcing, negotiating and contracting activities for the category or contract
• Direct the contracting activities to ensure commercially optimal agreements
• Lead, manage and provide input to the tender process for the category. Responsible for the integrity of the conduct of the procurement process in accordance with RWE procurement and RWE
• Generation policies and processes and RWE AG Code of Conduct
• Manage and govern execution of sourcing processes within the category
• Provide strategic leadership and direction for the categories
• Ensure adherence to the sourcing process, removing existing process constraints (if any) and utilise procurement tools and systems driving business efficiencies for the category
• Implement best procurement and continuous improvement practices for the category
• Be accountable for policy compliance across Procurement
• Work with key internal stakeholders to ensure UK demand is included in the category
• strategies and that spend and strategy are appropriately leveraged where possible.
• Troubleshoot and help resolve supplier issues related to commercial and general terms and performance
• Ensure alignment in approach and strategy between sourcing and supplier relationship management for the categories
• Identify, establish, develop and maintain relationships with all suppliers for the assigned category
• Foster relationships with the supply base to understand future market complexity and commercial risk associated with supply decisions
• Support the Business through periods of “Outage”
• Promote close working relationships with key stakeholders to ensure that Outage activities are in plan.
• Work closely with Procurement colleagues to communicate any potential issues to the Outage.
• Be flexible for last minute plan changes that are forced on to the business and respond accordingly.
• Conduct contract reviews with the business to ensure contract continuity and workload
• planning for Procurement and the Technical Officers.
• Lead meetings to ensure that the business have the correct contracts in place.
• Escalate any contract review matters to the relevant stakeholders.
• Prepare and submit contract review meeting notes to ensure effective communication.

Knowledge & Skills

• Relevant qualification to Chartered (MCIPS) status is preferred. Additional post-graduate or professional qualification(s) will be an advantage, especially relevant degree and formal management qualification
• Extensive experience of high value strategic sourcing involving complex services and processes.
• A proven ability to develop contractual agreements with contracts in a high risk and complex environment.
• Possess the skills and ability to apply leading-edge techniques in areas such as outsourcing and the use of global service and supply chains, value engineering techniques, and the combination of demand, supply and process “levers” to optimise external spend.
• Proven capability / skills in complex negotiations and deal closing.
• Ability to influence and manage across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Will be highly motivated and possess strong interpersonal skills; candidates should be capable of operating to tight timescales with the minimum of guidance and be able to communicate effectively at all levels of the business.
• Proven ability to lead tender processes and negotiation of robust contracts using NEC, RWE bespoke and MF templates.
• Ability to multi-task, manage multiple projects and stakeholders.
• Experience working at a professional / expert level within a large company structure and dealing successfully with major suppliers.
• Expert understanding of goods / service supply markets including cost and value drivers in the supply chain within the Category.
• The candidate must be fully committed and flexible to meet the business requirements.

This role will require the successful candidate to undergo a National Security Vetting Check from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Further information can be found on the gov.uk advice page here. For SC level clearance, BEIS require a minimum of 5 years residency in the UK.

What we will offer you

• An expected starting salary from £45,305 to £53,300 depending on experience and up to 15% annual bonus
• A personal retirement savings plan – if you put in 5% we will top up by a further 10% and you will get life assurance worth 4 x annual salary
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, pro-rata
• Company Paid Private Medical Insurance for you and your family
• Free access to our on-site gym facilities and classes
• Free parking (including electric vehicle charging points)
• Subsidised canteen facilities
• One free professional membership subscription
• Access to flexible benefits such as Critical Illness, Dental Plan, Health Cash Plan, Share Incentive Plan, Cycle2Work, Electric Car Lease Scheme, Buy Additional Annual Leave and retail savings scheme
• Occupational Health support services for your wellbeing
• Access to our employee assistance programme in times of need
• Up to 2 days volunteering a year

To view a preview of our benefits site ‘YourHub’ and see some of the other benefits we have on offer please visit https://www.edenred.co.uk/campaigns/rwe-yourhub/index.html

Working at RWE

To find out more about what it’s like to work at one of Europe’s largest energy companies and what we are all about we have a wealth of information on our Careers pages. https://www.rwe.com/en/rwe-careers-portal

Here you can meet some of the team, find out more about Diversity at RWE, what your onboarding will look like and some FAQs.

Equal Opportunities

We value diversity and therefore welcome all applications, irrespective of gender, disability, nationality, ethnic and social background, religion and beliefs, age or sexual orientation and identity.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Our energy for a sustainable life

RWE represents change, innovation and sustainability. As one of the world’s leading generators of electricity from renewable energy sources, we aim to be carbon-neutral by 2040 and to enable a sustainable life for people around the world. To achieve this, we are looking for dynamic and motivated people to join us in creating a sustainable and secure energy future.

RWE in the UK

We operate a large and diverse portfolio of power generation assets in the UK. We are the UK’s second largest generator of thermal flexible capacity, supplying around 10% of the UK’s electricity last year with 8.6GW of installed capacity. The portfolio includes the UK’s largest fleet of gas-fired power stations, along with a small amount of Biomass and Hydro plants.

Any questions? Contact in Recruiting: Lucille Mugodi, M: +44 7741 191 330 | E: lucille.mugodi@rwe.com. Please note we do not accept speculative CVs from any recruitment agencies