Description
Join Heathrow's Engineering Procurement team as a Senior Category Manager and lead the sourcing and commercial management of critical engineering services that keep the airport safe, reliable, and resilient.
You'll own complex, high-value activity from early market engagement through contract award and mobilisation, while shaping supplier partnerships that deliver long-term value, innovation, and operational performance.
Principal Accountabilities:
- Develop and deliver short and long-term category strategies, priorities, and procurement pipelines aligned to engineering and operational needs.
- Lead end-to-end sourcing for complex, high-value spend, including market sounding, supply-chain assessment, RFI/RFP, evaluation, negotiation, contract award, and mobilisation.
- Shape robust commercial agreements, including specifications, KPIs, service levels, and pricing models.
- Provide clear commercial advice on route to market, contracting models, CAPEX versus OPEX options, affordability, interface risk, and regulatory requirements.
- Lead strategic supplier relationships and governance, resolving material commercial or performance issues while driving continuous improvement, resilience, innovation, and additional value.
- Build trusted relationships across Engineering, Operations, Legal, Insurance, and Finance; challenge constructively, manage risk, and ensure sourcing decisions meet Heathrow governance and competition-law requirements.
Qualifications, Skills, and Experience:
- Significant category management and strategic sourcing experience within engineering, infrastructure, FM, or another operationally critical environment.
- A proven record of leading complex tenders from market engagement through to implementation, delivering measurable value while managing operational and supplier risk.
- Strong commercial judgement, including experience drafting and negotiating contracts and using different procurement and contracting models.
- Credible supplier relationship management, stakeholder influencing, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to lead, coach, and develop others.
- MCIPS qualification (desirable)