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We have an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Category Specialist to join our Asset Management & Product category team within the Group Procurement and Partner Management function (GPPM).

Job Type: Fixed Term Contract - 6 months

Location: This role is hybrid with working from home and time in either our Edinburgh or Birmingham office.

Flexible working:All of our roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.

Closing Date: 29th July 2025

Salary and benefits: £52,100-£55,000 plus 16% bonus up to 32%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more

The role

We’re looking for a proactive and commercially minded Category Specialist to support our GPP Managers. In this role, you’ll be responsible for identifying, evaluating and acquiring Marketing & Brand and Client-Facing/Financial Services solutions from external third-parties. You will be involved in researching market trends, negotiating contracts, and end-to-end sourcing activities to ensure the selected third-party solutions align with company standards and objectives.

Key Accountabilities

Categorystrategydevelopment:Support the development and implementation ofsourcing strategies and plansforMarketing & Brand and Client-Facing/Financial Services categories and sub-categories.

Supplier selection and management:Research the supply market toidentify, assess andcommerciallymanage end-to-end relationships with suppliers to ensure the delivery ofhigh-quality products and services at competitive pricing.

Sourcing andnegotiation: Lead, or support, the sourcing process forsolutionswithin category remit -negotiate contracts and manage supplier performance to achieve cost savings and mitigate risks.

Deliverand embed costsavings:Implement cost optimisation strategies including, but not limited to, demand management, volume consolidation, and process efficiencies to drive savings and improve profitability.

Risk Management: Proactivelyidentify and mitigate risks associated with sourcing activities, including managing regulatory contractual change, ESG standards (Environmental, Social and Governance), supplier risks, contract risks and ensure business continuity.

Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborate with internal stakeholders including Finance, Legal, Risk, and Business Unit executives to understand their needs and requirements and provide strategic guidance and support.

Continuous Improvement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives with the Centre of Excellence team ensuring that procurement andthird-party management best practices andtechnology is adopted to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of GPPM.

What are we looking for?

• Demonstrable experience of working in a Procurement role responsible for an indirect category of spend (ideally involving Marketing and/or Technology), leading end-to-end third-party sourcing activities including opportunity identification, drafting of technical and commercial requirements, market analysis, proposal / supplier evaluation, commercial and contracting negotiation planning and execution, and awareness of third-party risk management process.
• Good negotiating skills with the ability to influence and communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Some knowledge of the Marketing & Brand and/or Client-Facing/Financial Services third-party supply markets, with an inquisitive mind.
• Some working knowledge of contracting models, commercial terms and conditions and the confidence to negotiate them.
• Experience of working with procurement tools and systems & working knowledge of financial services regulation.

We want to hire the whole version of you.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.