Senior Category Manager- Marketing

Job description

As a Senior Category Manager- Marketing and Media Procurement, you will lead category activity within the healthcare FMCG manufacturing industry

Client Details

A highly respected global organisation that invests significantly in brand building, digital transformation, media effectiveness, and consumer engagement. The business operates in a fast-paced environment where marketing and procurement work closely together to drive commercial value and innovation.

Description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Procurement Category Manager - Marketing & Media to lead strategic procurement activity across a broad portfolio of marketing, media, digital, creative, and agency spend.

This is a high-profile role where you will influence significant spend, drive innovation, and deliver measurable value across a complex global business.

You will be responsible for developing and implementing category strategies, leading strategic sourcing initiatives, managing key supplier relationships, and providing commercial insight that supports business growth and transformation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute global category strategies across Marketing, Media, Digital, Creative and Agency spend.
• Translate business objectives into sourcing strategies that deliver value, innovation, risk mitigation, and supplier performance improvements.
• Identify market opportunities, emerging trends, and new supplier capabilities to drive competitive advantage.
• Lead category planning, pipeline development, and procurement governance activities.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing programmes, including RFI, RFP, RFQ, supplier selection and contract negotiations.
• Deliver measurable savings, cost avoidance, and value creation opportunities across the portfolio.
• Build robust commercial models and negotiate complex contractual agreements.
• Drive transparency across agency and media spend.
• Partner closely with senior stakeholders across Marketing, Digital, Procurement, Finance, Legal and Operations.
• Build strong relationships across global, regional and local teams within a matrix environment.
• Manage strategic supplier and agency relationships.
• Develop performance frameworks, KPIs and governance models.
• Conduct supplier reviews and implement continuous improvement programmes.
• Analyse spend, supplier, and market data to identify opportunities and risks.
• Develop benchmarking, dashboards, and insight reports to support decision-making.
• Use procurement analytics to drive fact-based discussions and strategic recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to drive innovation across marketing technologies, media platforms, digital solutions and agency models.

Profile

A successful Senior Category Manager- Marketing should have:

• Experience in senior category management and marketing planning. Work as a lead delivering end to end procurement and driving strategy.
• Ability to use category insight to guide practical decisions.
• Experience creating and reviewing category plans.
• Confidence interpreting category performance information.
• Ability to present clear findings to a range of stakeholders.
• Experience working across marketing and related business teams.
• Significant procurement experience within Marketing, Media, Digital, Agency or Professional Services categories.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing category strategies.
• Strong sourcing, tendering, negotiation and contract management experience.
• Experience managing complex supplier relationships and driving performance improvements.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and work effectively within a global matrix organisation.
• Strong analytical capability with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• Ideally have experience working with media agencies, marketing services providers, digital platforms or ad-tech suppliers.
• Knowledge of media buying, media planning, digital marketing, content production or creative agency services.
• International or global procurement experience and you must have worked within manufacturing, FMCG or a pharmaceutical organisation.
• Professional procurement qualification (CIPS or equivalent).

Job Offer

• Permanent Senior Category Manager- Marketing & Media Procurement
• Competitive Salary + Car + Bonus
• Great career prospects to help shape and drive a the marketing category forward.

Please only apply if you can travel to London, have worked at a senior level as a senior category manager - marketing for an FMCG, Manufacturing or similar fast paced organisation.

Reference 225747343