Procurement Category Manager - Professional Services & HR

Contract: Permanent

Recruitment Partner: Lizzy Parfitt

In 2022 the Walgreens Boots Alliance Procurement Team was voted Procurement Team of the Year and was shortlisted for the 2023 Procurement Leaders Team of the Year and we’ll continue to strive to deliver for our business.  This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the most respected, ambitious, and dynamic teams in the industry.

The team leads the thinking on procurement strategy and makes a real and valued difference to the organisation and our customers. 

As part of the Professional Services & HR category team you will report into Professional Services Category Directors, where you’ll be part of a small category team offering opportunities to work across a range of exciting and varied projects/subcategories. In joining the Procurement team you will be part of a team who collectively manage a substantial range of projects, stakeholders and suppliers. The whole team strive to develop future partnerships, challenge the status quo, while delivering against key financial targets that materially impact the organisations bottom line.

About the role

You will be an experienced procurement expert having worked within a similar corporate environment for Boots & the associated businesses (Opticians, The No7 Beauty Company, Boots ROI etc). Being based at our Nottingham Support Office enables you an environment that keeps us connected and supported, while being able to work agilely to the changing business demands of one of the UKs largest retailers. 

The overriding responsibility for this role is to deliver the best possible value to the business from their professional service and HR third parties by:

• Working with stakeholders, to develop strategic and tactical initiatives as needed;
• Providing thought leadership around internal process as well as category and procurement best practice;
• Identifying market disrupting suppliers or alternative suppliers/strategies
• Understanding key categories such as; Consultancy, Data, Travel and Expenses, Outsourcing/BPO, Audit, Labour, HR Services and R&D
• Identifying, creating and implementing initiatives to maximize value, while ensuring ongoing management of existing supplier contracts and relationships. 
• Leading the development, implementation and continual management of category strategies within HR and professional services.
• Providing commercial leadership to stakeholders including senior executives

We believe that our team should not be desk-bound and should be; out in the business, with stakeholders, with suppliers, or staying informed of industry developments via conference/networking events.

What you’ll need to have

• Ability to collaborate effectively in a Procurement role within a complex environment
•  An analytical approach to assessing requirements and approaching negotiations
• Ability to operate and successfully communicate within a corporate environment.
• Leading conversations with senior Boots executives
• Confidence to offer credible commercial guidance in often complex scenarios. 
• The personal drive to deliver at pace whilst working on a wide range of initiatives 
• Commercially astute with strong negotiation skills to deliver real value to the business

Note: While we will hire for attitude and aptitude, we would expect this role to be suitable for someone who can demonstrate relevant industry / market knowledge, category insights to provide knowledge-based challenge to stakeholders, or have transferable experience in similar categories; operating in similarly complex, people lead categories such as; IT, marketing, or other skilled labour lead services.

Our benefits

• Boots Retirement Savings Plan
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Generous employee discounts
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave pay and gift card for anyone expecting or adopting a child
• Flexible benefits scheme including holiday buying, discounted gym membership, life assurance, activity passes and more.
• Access to free, 24/7 counselling and support through TELUS Health, our Employee Assistance Programme.

We have a great range of benefits in addition to the above that offer flexibility to suit you - find out more at boots.jobs/rewards. Please note, any salary estimates given on third-party sites are not provided or endorsed by Boots and may not be accurate.

Why Boots

At Boots, we foster a working environment where consideration and inclusivity help everyone to be themselves and reach their full potential. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, passionate about embracing the diversity of our colleagues and providing a positive and inclusive working environment for all. As the heart of everything we do at Boots, it's with you, we change for the better.

What's next

If your application is successful, our recruitment team will be in touch to arrange an interview and to answer any initial questions you have. If you have not been successful on this occasion you will be notified by email.

If you require additional support as part of the application and interview process, we are happy to provide reasonable adjustments to help you to be at your best.

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