Procurement Category Manager – Marketing  

Marks & Spencer is a £10bn leading British retailer with an incredible heritage, bringing quality, great value food, clothing and homeware to millions of customers around the world.

M&S is currently undergoing a significant transformation to ensure the business thrives in an increasingly competitive retail environment. We are making significant strides towards delivering our business strategy and there’s never been a more exciting time to join this great organisation and contribute towards this revolutionary transformation.

M&S spends c.£1.8bn a year on ‘goods not for resale’ across Marketing, Technology, Logistics, Property and Corporate Services. As a Procurement team, we align our vision, purpose and activities with the Business Strategy, with the aim of transforming and delivering sustainable value. We do this by developing strong business partnerships with the business to deliver their objectives and negotiate best commercial outcomes, bringing market insight to drive commercial value & innovation in the supply base and understanding risk to facilitate business decisions.

As a member of the Marketing Procurement team, you will contribute towards defining and delivering value to the Clothing, Home & Food Marketing teams. With a spend of c.£180m across more than 650 suppliers, you will develop close business partnerships with Marketing to advise on all things commercial.

M&S Procurement is a fast-paced, agile and social team, with a strong focus on learning & development. We strive to bring commercial challenge to the business and live and breathe M&S’s behaviours: Do the Right Thing; Talk Straight; Every Penny Counts; All in the Customer and Own it and Get it Done.

As a Procurement Category Manager – Marketing, we are looking for you to have the following attributes –

• Previous procurement experience, preferably within Marketing
• Strong commercial mindset, confident & capable of challenging the status quo
• Strong communication, influencing and networking skills
• Experience of managing sourcing projects end-to-end
• Ability to juggle multiple projects and prioritise effectively
• Ability to manage ambiguity & uncertainty
• Strong negotiation skills
• Experience of contract drafting including development of schedules, commercials, and appropriate terms and conditions
• Experience of managing supplier relationships and contracts to maximise value
• Proven track record of delivering results & driving change
• Proficient user of Excel and Powerpoint
• Experience using Procurement systems