Location: Leeds
The Role
The Bank spends approximately £300m annually on third party goods and services via contracts procured through the central Procurement Division. This expenditure is committed over a wide variety of categories that include ground breaking technology and payments systems that service over £675bn of payments every single day, activities required to maintain a Grade 1 listed building, and the specialist contracts required to print and distribute bank notes.
To better lead and coordinate the Bank’s commercial activities, it has been decided that the Procurement Division will pivot to embrace a Strategic Category Management ("SCM") approach, and we are seeking an experience commercial professional to lead the development of this new initiative.
This Head of Strategic Category Management will take on the key role of establishing and managing a new capability that will be responsible for all aspects of commercial delivery. This will range from engaging with senior stakeholders to developing commercial category strategies for each element of the Bank’s strategic spend to support the delivery of the Bank’s Mission.
It will include undertaking benchmarking and analysis of market capability and future trends to assess the deliverability of what has been proposed as well as overseeing the delivery of a complex pipeline of strategic sourcing activities required to deliver the commercial landscape to support the category strategies. Responsibilities of the Head of Strategic Category Management and their team will also include the management of key strategic contracts, some of which are designated as critical national infrastructure to ensure that the outcomes and benefits envisaged during the planning and tendering phases are delivered through the contract terms.
Responsible for a team of 30+ commercial professionals, this individual will need to have significant experience in leading public sector commercial teams, developing category management best practices, operating complex sourcing exercises in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and managing key strategic contracts and supplier relationships
This role will report directly to the Bank’s Chief Procurement Officer, who they will deputise for as appropriate.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities for this role will initially focus on creating the new team consisting mainly of resources from the existing Procurement Division augmented by new, specialist roles, as required. In addition to managing the resource changes required to establish the new team, this activity will also encompass overseeing the creation of the new processes, policies, tools, and working practices needed to make Strategic Category Management a success in the Bank
The Head of Strategic Category Management responsibilities will include
- leading a team of 30+ public sector commercial professionals, including three direct reports, themselves responsible for leading the individual category teams for each of the Bank’s areas of strategic spend – technology, corporate and property & facilities management,
- developing a Strategic Category Management ethos and best practice for the Bank to deliver long term tangible commercial and strategic benefits,
- engaging with senior stakeholders across the Bank to understand, for each area of strategic spend, their current supplier and commercial landscape, future and strategic objectives that, when coupled with market data and trends, will be used to create medium- and long-term category strategies for each area,
- providing commercial insight and challenge to senior partners on alternative delivery methodologies and contract models available with supplier markets to craft the Bank’s category strategies,
- supporting the development of a coordinated pipeline of the Bank’s future procurements, both tactical and strategic that will collectively deliver the commercial landscape that will underpin the delivery of the commercial strategies,
- overseeing the management of the Bank’s strategic contracts to ensure both their individual performance and that they contribute to the objectives of the respective category strategy,
- supporting the development of appropriate relationships with Bank’s key, strategic suppliers and coordinating senior bank representative engagement,
- ensuring that the category strategy and all commercial activity undertaken to deliver it follows Bank policy and the relevant legislative regime, including the new Procurement Act 2023,
- collaborating with the supplier management team to embed third party risk management controls into the deliver and management of the category strategy,
- working with experts to support the implementation of the Bank’s sustainability and ESG policies into the Bank’s contracts and supply chain,
- align with the commercial function’s efficient and consistent use of eProcurement systems, in line with the defined workflows (aligned to internal policy), and
- acting as a role model in the Bank including modelling listening and asking for feedback in a positive and professional manner.
Minimum Criteria
- Established expert in the field of strategic category management with extensive and demonstrable experience across a complex organisation.
- Consistent and significant proven record of delivering sophisticated category strategies across multiple domains within a public sector environment.
- Experience of supplier relationship management technique and using these to build long-term, strategic partnerships with key suppliers, within the public sector procurement environment
- Experience in crafting sophisticated delivery pipelines of sourcing activities, including the use of innovative commercial and procurement models, in compliance with public sector procurement legislation and regulation.
- Proven track record to lead and manage a team in a sophisticated and changing environment.
- Strong partner leadership skills and assertiveness, with ability to challenge.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience of working within a Public Contract Regulations 2015/Procurement Act 2023 controlled environment
- Having extensive knowledge of new and emerging trends within key supplier market and supply chain, with a record of using this knowledge to deliver value and new benefits to an organisation
- MCIPS qualification (or equivalent Commercial experience)
- Effective interpersonal skills, ability to build rapport and constructive relationships.
- Demonstrable influencing skills
- Excellent leadership and management skills and experience
- Excellent written and oral communications skills, with the ability to present and communicate clearly and succinctly at all levels.
- Self-motivation, with the ability to work both on your own initiative and as part of a team.
Bank Behaviours
In addition to the role requirements outlined above, the holder of this role is expected to act and behave in line with the following behaviours:
- Customer focus
- Business acumen
- Evidence based decision-making
as well as the Bank of England behaviours:
- Acting inclusively
- Earn trust
- Embrace differences
- Inspire purpose
- Drive Growth
- Courage
- Demonstrate self-awareness
- Develop talent
- Deliver Outcomes
- Developing vision Achieve results
___
Our Approach to Inclusion
The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.
At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.
We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.
For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.
Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme . If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.
Salary and Benefits Information
We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.
This role offers a salary of, Leeds, £76,240 - £85,770. In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:
- Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
- A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
- An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
- 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits. Private medical insurance and income protection.
National Security Vetting Process
Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice .
The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.
The Application Process
Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.
The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages. (Amend and add brief details if relevant, such as interview/assessment dates or process for your specific role).
This role closes on 3rd September 2025
Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.
