Category Manager

Category Manager
Specialising in Healthcare Services and Pharmacy Services categories
North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC) is a collaborative procurement organisation based in Sheffield and hosted by Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT). Our aim is to deliver best value procurement outcomes for the NHS through collaborative working. A wholly NHS owned organisation NOE CPC brings together a wealth of experience, understanding and knowledge, providing collaborative procurement and commercial solutions to the wider NHS and is one of the leading players in collaborative procurement within the NHS in England.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Category Manager to join the Category Procurement Team at NOE CPC. Reporting to the Associate Director of Procurement you will be responsible for developing our category management approach to assigned healthcare and pharmacy service related categories, and leading the associated public procurement and category management projects in this high profile growing category area to deliver best value outcomes for our NHS and wider public sector customers and patients.

As part of the NOE CPC Category Procurement Team you will need to be able to:
• Lead the delivery of complex procurement projects, in line with relevant legislation such as Public Contracts Regulations, Procurement Act and Provider Selection Regime.
• Develop a category management approach in order to deliver cash releasing savings and sustainable total cost reductions for the wider public sector stakeholders in this category area.
• Support and lead category specific reviews within NHS and wider public sector customers to identify process efficiencies and cost reduction opportunities
• Have considerable knowledge and expertise within this specialist category area or an equivalent area.
• Have a strong customer focus, commercial acumen and a pro-active approach
• Have a sound approach to contract and supplier management in this category area
• Build excellent working relationships with peers, colleagues, customers and other external stakeholders at both operational and senior levels.
• Have a hands-on approach and a results focused mentality.

The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.

There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.

We also have a bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.

Applicants should be aware that individuals requiring a visa to work in the UK, the Trust only provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles (this does not include Healthcare Support Workers). This is an essential requirement, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you do not meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.

As a Category Manager you will be responsible for building on an existing portfolio of framework agreements in the healthcare services & pharmacy category area and will work to ensure timely delivery of procurement and category projects against NOE CPC’s workplan in line with our NHS and wider public sector customer requirements and our growth strategy.. A pro-active focus on delivery of best value outcomes for NHS is essential. Working with the Associate Director of Procurement you will develop and grow NOE CPC’s impact in this category area through development of a category management approach including category strategy development and work-planning. Activity will include working in close collaboration with other procurement hubs, such as London Procurement Partnership (LPP), extensive engagement with NHS and other key stakeholders, based locally, regionally and nationally to support them in achieving cost reduction and efficiency targets.

We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic individual wanting to make a positive difference in the NHS. The successful candidates will be able to demonstrate strong personal skills, a sound understanding of public procurement, together with both experience and enthusiasm for the particular category area for which they are applying. They will also be an excellent communicator, have a strong customer focused ethos, and broad commercial acumen with the drive to self motivate to develop and deliver commercial opportunities.

We recruit people based on their values and qualifications (where required) and believe that their lived experience is an advantage, this means that together we are as diverse as the communities we care for. Simply put, when we employ caring people who act with integrity and have the right skills, we can give those with mental health challenges, learning disabilities and neurodiversity high-quality care and support to live fulfilling lives, and make our staff feel purposeful, happy and valued.
All our information is available in accessible formats. Please contact the Recruitment team [email protected]
Attached to this advert is our candidates guide to values-based recruitment and supporting guidance on how to make a successful application.
If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Recruitment Team or see the attached candidate guide to reasonable adjustments.
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading.
So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the Candidate Guide to Values Based Recruitment. This document provides you with information to help you apply.

This role will work closely with and support the Associate Procurement Director and will be required to build strong individual and collaborative relationships with senior level expert stakeholders in this category area, to develop and manage a portfolio of agreements and to support new procurement activity in this field. The role will include extensive engagement with NHS and wider public sector organisations both individually and collaboratively, and supplier organisations in order to ensure procurement solutions are established and appropriate strategies are developed, which genuinely meet and continue to deliver against the needs of the NHS and wider public sector.
This role will include provision of expert category specific support and guidance to NHS and wider public sector organisations. Skills, experience and a passion for both procurement and this particular category area are highly desirable although not a necessity.
For a further discussion regarding this role, please contact Joanne Barton, [email protected] to arrange a call.
The role requires extensive travel to NHS and wider public sector / supplier organisations nationally.

Location: Work base as stated above, however NOECPC adopts an agile working policy.

**Please note any correspondence following application will be sent via trac.jobs & the Trust's Resourcing Team**

Applications are welcomed from candidates who wish to apply for a position based on a smarter (Hybrid) or flexible working arrangement. Where candidates are successful at interview, flexible working arrangement requests will be taken into consideration and may be accommodated where the needs of the service allow.

Fixed Term Contracts for existing NHS Employees – temporary contracts for employees of LYPFT, or colleagues joining from another NHS Trust, will be offered on a secondment basis wherever possible. In the event this is not possible, an FTC would be issued and this would require a break in service of two weeks.

The purpose of a temporary is role could be for maternity cover, temporary funding or some other reason. At the end of which the need for the temporary work will cease. Temporary roles can stop, be extended and/or made permanent at any point during the period of work. Should the role become permanent then the post-holder will be informed of the process to be followed to convert the position to a permanent one.

All new employees are required to subscribe to the DBS Update Service.

Patient Safety is a priority at LYPFT with a focus on system-based improvement and creating opportunities for learning. We will ensure compassionate engagement with all those involved in an incident and all incidents are met with a proportionate response. LYPFT is committed to upholding its’ statutory responsibilities in relation to safeguarding adults and children. Please refer to job description for further information.

LYPFT is a member of the Disability Confident scheme and is committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process.

As part of the Trust's commitment to its Gold Standard Armed Forces Covenant status, members of the Armed Forces Community are entitled to a guaranteed interview subject to meeting the role criteria.

We welcome applicants with lived experience of providing unpaid care and/or support to a family member or friend with a disability, health condition, frailty, mental health problem, addiction or other health needs.

Please note that the Trust reserves the right to close the vacancy before the closing date if enough applications are received. It is in the candidate’s best interest to apply as soon as possible. In submitting an application form, you authorize Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed to the post.

In applying for a role please ensure that you only declare qualifications that are relevant to the role itself. We reserve the right to check all declared qualifications on an application form, whether they are directly relevant to the role or not.

Please note: The Trust does not offer reimbursement of interview expenses.