Category Lead is a key role at National Grid, working closely with suppliers, stakeholders, and procurement colleagues to run higher level bids, negotiate agreements, and spearhead category strategy development, with a focus on driving savings benefits and driving efficiencies.
The individual will work closely with their Category Manager helping direct the team, being a “sounding board”, providing feedback during year end employee reviews, attending senior level meetings and meetings in lieu of the manager. They will take on the role of training, mentoring, driving change, having the pulse of the team, working hand in hand with buyers as needed to enhance their skill set, champion initiatives, etc. In essence the lead will be a Role Model to the team and the second to the manager.
As a key member of our procurement group, they deliver innovative thinking supported by detailed analytics, data science, market research, and subject matter expertise, to help our category teams and stakeholders make effective sourcing decisions. They develop and own key supplier and stakeholder relationships and are able to evaluate supplier risks and develop mitigation plans.
Through business partnering the procurement group enhances the relationship and through collaborative efforts bridges the gap of applying critical thinking, helping drive the goals of the company forward, providing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and risk mitigation efforts, while further evaluating our supplier base.
The following competencies are core to the Category Lead Buyer role:
Category Management:
- The Category Lead must have the ability to think independently and bring viable solutions to the forefront that are actionable
- Experience with Developing Category Strategies – Support the buyers, work with Stakeholders to evaluate and establish business needs, apply forward thinking skills to establish flexible long-term category strategies with value options & clear supplier performance criteria, challenge the “norm” while thinking “out of the box” longer term to minimize and mitigate risks
- Supplier Engagement - Regularly engage with category suppliers to seek feedback, discuss improvement opportunities, and resolve issues, ensuring continuous enhancement of supplier performance and alignment with National Grid's objectives
- Analytics - Utilize varied and complex data sets to identify gaps and new opportunities to drive benefits through the contracts End to End lifecycle, while implementing analytics as part of the Category Plan
- Market Research - Conduct industry analysis and evaluate supplier performance, incorporating the research into the Category Strategy and associated contract initiatives/bidding events
