Ideas | People | Trust

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams that lead them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

At BDO, the Procurement function forms part of the wider Finance Department. The mission of Procurement is to support the business in the procurement of goods and services through a streamlined process that delivers best value to BDO from the goods and services procured.  Procurement work to establish, maintain, monitor and evaluate vendor relationships in order to reduce risks, increase vendor performance, drive greater levels of innovation and help to deliver competitive advantages to BDO. ​

We’ll help you succeed

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships.

You’ll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO’s partners to help businesses effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with.

The Category Manager role will manage and play an integral role in driving the strategic direction aligned with the Head of Procurement’s transformation strategy, mission and vision. This role will work closely with the BDO departments for their strategic sourcing requirements, assist with SLAs and other contractual elements and focus on bringing new opportunities, innovation and new ideas to BDO.​

In this role you’ll:

• Be the Strategic Sourcing Lead for all requirements e.g. IT, HR, marketing, finance, professional services etc.​
• Work with the wider BDO procurement team in the cost-effectiveness of negotiations with market leading vendors and ensuring compliance of negotiated agreements to established vendor management policies and practices (such as articulation of service levels and deliverables, etc)​
• Optimise value delivery and business outcomes through consistent management, administration and guidance of the category vendors ​
• Create and manage the ongoing relevant Category plan ​
• Enforce policies, tools and templates for the management and governance of vendors aligned to the Procurement policies.​
• Work closely with BDO stakeholders to understand their current vendors, vendor management and review processes and strategy. ​
• Develop clear roles and responsibilities for BDO stakeholders in vendor management​
• Drive continuous improvement and keeping strategic vendors aligned with our business, procurement and Category strategy​
• Develop and drive the strategic vendor management program that analyses relationship performance in addition to cost, operations and risk metrics via periodic evaluation, reviews and action plans​
• Support/guide/train our vendor relationship owners in how to govern our vendors, ensuring effective delivery of committed products, services and solutions, providing an independent view​
• Work with the leadership team and other departments that use professional services and 3rd party supply chains, advising them on vendor spend, contract expiry dates and negotiations.​
• Serve as a point of escalation for vendor issues and disputes and driving those issues to resolution​
• Maintain the list of category vendors and the data held on them to determine their segmentation​
• Regularly review and evaluate opportunities to improve best practices in order to achieve higher maturity in management of the vendors​
• Build and maintain relationships with all key stakeholders, and act as a trusted advisor​

You’ll be someone with:

• Proven experience in Category management across a range of categories – with particular knowledge of the HR & Corporate Services industry and the products and services provided by IT & Technology vendors e.g. SaaS.​
• An understanding of procurement processes and contractual elements such as SLAs.​
• An understanding of contractual, commercial and operational working relationships with vendors to ensure effective delivery of committed products, services and solutions​
• Working knowledge of contract management and negotiation​
• An understanding of the vendor life cycle (sourcing, procurement, vendor management), and how internal roles interact and operate throughout the duration of vendor engagements​
• Exceptional leadership skills and presence with the ability to develop and present and/or communicate the Procurement vision and goals, acting as a source of knowledge and guidance​
• Demonstrable ability to drive improvements and take charge of initiatives
• Experience in using vendor management tooling​ (desirable)
• Professional qualifications in one or more of the following:​ Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)​, Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)​, Certified Technology, Procurement Executive (CTPE)​, Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) (desirable)

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to the business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer every colleague the opportunity to work in ways that suit you, your teams, and the task at hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value for the companies we work with and satisfying experiences for our colleagues, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy.

Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.

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