Category Procurement Manager

Category Procurement Manager (Commodities) Food Manufacturing – Midlands £75K + Bonus + Benefits Ready to take ownership of commodity procurement, build strategic supplier partnerships and lead teams across two sites within a growing food business? We are recruiting for an established and highly respected food manufacturing group with a strong presence across the UK and Europe. The organisation supplies a diverse range of globally inspired products to major retail and foodservice customers and is recognised for responsible sourcing, authentic ingredients and long-term supplier partnerships. The Role The Category Procurement Manager will be responsible for the procurement of commodities within a defined portfolio, developing and executing category strategies that deliver value, mitigate risk and ensure continuity of supply. The role also carries people management responsibility across two sites, leading a small procurement team, ensuring alignment, capability development and consistent ways of working. Operating cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Finance, Technical and NPD, the role will manage a global supplier base and play a key part in shaping procurement strategy. Key responsibilities include: * Ownership of the procurement of commodities for the assigned categories * Leadership and development of a small teams across two sites, managing workload, priorities and performance * Developing and implementing category strategies to maximise commercial benefit and security of supply * Leading Commodity Risk Management (CRM), monitoring global markets and price trends * Ownership of Purchase Price Variance (PPV) and input to annual budgeting * Delivery of cost savings, cost avoidance and efficiency improvement programmes * Supplier relationship management, KPI monitoring and resolution of performance issues * Execution of tenders and negotiation of supplier contracts * Identification and onboarding of best-in-class suppliers and strategic partners About You The ideal candidate will be an experienced procurement professional from a food manufacturing environment, combining strong commercial capability with proven people leadership. Essential skills and experience: * 5+ years’ experience in commodity procurement, in food manufacturing * Proven supplier relationship management and negotiation expertise * Experience in Commodity Risk Management and market analysis * Working knowledge of supplier contracts and legal principles * Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems * Strong analytical capability with advanced Excel and PowerPoint * Experience managing and developing small teams, ideally across multiple sites * Understanding of global supply chains and strategic sourcing Additional Information This role will see you at one site 3 days a week and the smaller site 1 day, with one day working from home, both sites are in the Midlands area