About us: We are one of the top three automotive retailers in the UK, proudly representing 32 manufacturer brands, selling a huge range of new and used vehicles from over 150 dealerships across the UK and Ireland.
We believe our people are our greatest asset, and we're committed to recognising the valuable contribution each person makes. That's why we continue to invest in a leading rewards and benefits package designed to support your career, wellbeing, and life outside of work.
Commercial Manager
Hybrid - with travel as required
Salary - Competitive (plus bonus and benefits - Including a company car)
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
About the role!
This is a newly created role at the heart of our commercial transformation. We are implementing a group-wide spend control and procure-to-pay platform across all 150+ sites, and this role is central to making it land well, ensuring the right suppliers, commercial terms, and category strategies are in place to realise significant savings and drive lasting procurement discipline across the network.
The role has two clear phases. In the near term, you will focus on preparing our supply base for go-live: rationalising suppliers, developing category strategies, and leading commercial negotiations with key partners. Once live, you will step into a permanent BAU remit as our group Category Manager, owning strategic sourcing and supplier performance across our key spend categories.
It is a broad and high-profile role, with direct exposure to the CFO and senior operational leadership across the group. If you are an experienced procurement professional looking for a role where you can make a tangible commercial difference at scale, this is it.
What You'll Do - Phase 1: Platform Deployment
During the deployment phase, your focus will be on getting the commercial foundations right ahead of go-live:
Supply Base Readiness
- Analyse group-wide spend data to identify trends, leakage, consolidation opportunities, and quick wins
- Categorise and tier suppliers to support supplier enablement across the platform
- Identify and prioritise suppliers for rationalisation and consolidation
- Work with operations to understand site-level demand and flag legacy or duplicate supplier relationships
Commercial Foundations
- Develop high-level category strategies across key spend areas ahead of go-live
- Identify and agree preferred suppliers; propose appropriate buying channels for each category
- Lead commercial negotiations with priority suppliers to secure improved terms, pricing, and rebate structures
- Agree heads of terms with suppliers and work closely with our Commercial Contracts Manager to progress formal contract execution
Stakeholder Engagement
- Communicate category proposals and buying channel recommendations to operational stakeholders
- Work with dealership general managers, service managers, and parts managers to validate requirements and build buy-in
- Support the change programme by helping operational leaders understand procurement policy and preferred supplier rationale
What You'll Do - Phase 2: BAU Category Management
Following go-live, you will take on full ownership of category management for the group across five areas:
Category Planning & Strategy
- Develop and implement category strategies across key spend areas, including aftersales (parts, tyres, lubricants), facilities management, marketing and digital services, and fleet and vehicle logistics
- Conduct market analysis, supplier benchmarking, and industry trend assessments
- Define category objectives, KPIs, and risk management plans
- Identify opportunities for cost savings, rebates, and value-added services
- Standardise products and services across dealership sites where appropriate
- Collaborate with operations to forecast demand and align procurement strategy
Category Performance & Review
- Lead regular category reviews (monthly/quarterly) across the dealership network
- Track and report KPIs including cost savings, rebate income, supplier service levels, and spend compliance
- Analyse spend data to identify ongoing leakage, consolidation opportunities, and performance gaps
- Present category insights and recommendations to the CFO and VP Corporate Services
- Continuously refine strategies based on operational feedback and market conditions
Strategic Sourcing
- Lead sourcing activity for dealership goods and services; run tenders (RFPs/RFQs) as required
- Negotiate commercial terms including pricing, discounts, and rebate structures
- Establish framework agreements and preferred supplier lists across the network
- Agree heads of terms and commercial outcomes with suppliers; work with the Commercial Contracts Manager for formal contract drafting and execution
- Drive spend compliance against preferred suppliers and minimise off-contract purchasing
Commercial Supplier Engagement
- Develop and maintain strong working relationships with key suppliers across priority categories
- Monitor supplier performance against commercial commitments — pricing, rebates, availability, service levels — and drive improvements where needed
- Manage supply continuity risk for critical categories; maintain visibility of alternatives
- Collaborate with suppliers to improve margins and enhance the Lookers customer offering
Stakeholder Engagement
- Work with general managers, service managers, and parts managers across 150+ sites to understand local requirements
- Influence buying behaviours and promote use of the procurement platform and preferred suppliers
- Provide guidance on cost control and commercial best practice
- Balance central procurement strategy with appropriate local flexibility
- Support demand management and specification optimisation across the network
Essential
- 5+ years in strategic procurement or category management
- Proven track record of delivering cost savings through sourcing and supplier negotiation
- Experience managing procurement across multiple sites or entities
- Strong commercial negotiation skills
- Ability to engage and influence operational stakeholders at all levels
- Comfortable working with spend data to identify and size opportunities
- Able to operate in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities
Desirable
- Experience in automotive retail, dealership networks, or aftersales procurement
- Familiarity with P2P or e-procurement platforms
- Understanding of buying channel design and supplier enablement
- CIPS qualified or working towards qualification
Who You'll Work With!
You will work across the business at all levels, from dealership managers on the ground to the CFO and executive team. Key working relationships include:
Chief Finance Officer
Your line manager, category strategy sign-off and savings delivery.
VP Corporate Services
Programme governance and commercial priorities
Commercial Contracts Manager
Handoff of agreed commercial terms for contract drafting and execution
Operations and Franchise directors
Requirements gathering, preferred supplier buy-in, adoption
Dealership General Managers / Service Managers / Parts Managers
Site-level demand, operational requirements, and compliance
Key Suppliers
Negotiations and ongoing commercial performance management
Core Benefits:
- Competitive salaries with structured pay scales and progression as you grow within the business
- Generous annual leave that increases with your length of service
- Enhanced family leave, including 6 months' full pay for maternity and adoption leave, and 2 weeks' full pay for paternity leave
- Access to Techscheme for discounted technology purchases with flexible payments
Health & Wellbeing:
- Eyecare vouchers to help cover vision care needs
- Smart Health – 24/7 access to GP services to support your mental and physical wellbeing
- Dental insurance for everyday dental care and unexpected treatments
- Optional critical illness cover for peace of mind during life's most challenging moments
Financial Wellbeing:
- MyView PayNow – access a portion of your pay as you earn, with features to stream, save, and track your money through a user-friendly app
- Free will writing services to help plan for the future
- Flexible life assurance options and partner life assurance for added protection
Leisure & Lifestyle:
- Discounted gym memberships to support an active lifestyle
- Travel insurance to help you explore with confidence
- Access to home and technology vouchers
- bYond card and a wide range of exclusive retail and lifestyle discounts
We strongly believe in nurturing and providing our people with specific manufacturer brand and management training to enhance career development opportunities. We have a great bunch of people, and we like to celebrate and encourage success at all levels.
Lookers and Charles Hurst are an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to a working environment that is free from discrimination, is inclusive, and empowers our people to bring their whole self to work and reach their full potential.
If your application is successful, we will conduct relevant employment checks prior to you commencing employment with us. These will include verifying your recent employment, address, credit history and a standard criminal record check. For roles that require you to drive, a driving licence check will also be carried out. Please note, all offers of employment are made subject to a 6 month probation period commencing from your start date.
We take our data protection responsibilities very seriously and are committed to upholding and respecting your privacy rights. Information about how we will process your data including the types of data we collect, the purposes for which we use it, who we may share it with and how long we keep it are set out in our privacy notice. It also includes information about your individual privacy rights. Please make sure you read our Privacy Notice so that you understand how we may collect and use your data.
