Job Description

Procurement Category Specialist – Group Science & Regulatory Affairs

Bristol, United Kingdom

About Us:

We're a truly international company, fourth largest in our industry and operating across 119 markets. An inclusive, innovative global FMCG business supported by 26,000 employees. As we embrace a new era of growth, we are transforming. Our ways of working and culture are driven by a challenger mindset, constantly questioning the status quo where people can bring their best selves to work. Our agility and collaboration are driving our ambitions, innovation and success all supported by our award-winning development programmes that creates exciting and rewarding career opportunities for all.

As we move forward, our consumers will be at the heart of what we do, evolving to needs and expectations and committing to a more meaningful contribution to harm reduction by building a successful NGP business. Integral to our long-term success is our sustainability strategy, behaving responsibly and supporting our ambitions, all underpinned by high governance.

Encouraging inclusion at local levels and supporting a developing and robust diversity agenda globally, we’re fully committed to creating and maintaining an environment that celebrates and respects difference.

The Role:

In this role you will execute global, enterprise-wide category strategies for Group Science and Regulatory Affairs (GSRA), whilst working in partnership with key stakeholders, suppliers, and external partners. You will provide commercial and market insight to internal stakeholders to support strategic planning and project delivery. Work with key stakeholders to define opportunities and deliver the benefit Drive efficiencies, mitigate risks, and maximise value generation across the category and act as local category point of contact and subject matter expert. 

Additional Information

• Responsible for strategic commercial agreements and category development optimising value for money in relation to GSRA
• Focus on compliance and agility to support strategic needs, whilst maintaining appropriate risk management and compliance standards.
• Triage, governance, and oversight of strategic procurement projects if procurement team augmentation is required for external delivery.

Key Accountabilities

• Category Specialists are responsible for managing and coordinating all strategic and tactical sourcing activities within their category.
• Responsible for the implementation, management, and performance of sourcing strategies within GSRA, to meet overall business strategies.
• Prepare bid specifications and scopes for science research projects covering Clinical, Behavioural and Analytical laboratory services (typically chemistry and in vitro toxicology).
• Execute category strategies through close collaboration with key business stakeholders, suppliers, and buyers.
• Develop and maintain a sustainable and reliable supplier base to mitigate supply risk for the category.
• Conduct negotiations with key suppliers.
• Manage the assessment, selection, and development of strategic suppliers to meet cost, performance goals while delivering an optimal quality.
• Perform supplier relationship management with key suppliers and support supplier management activities with the procurement excellence team.
• Participate in, and support, vendor governance activities related to preferred supplier vendors to added deliver value through effective management of the business relationship.
• Conduct research and benchmarks on current market trends, developing technologies, and supply/demand challenges relevant to GSRA’s needs to gain a competitive advantage and drive continuous improvement.
• Work with suppliers and stakeholders to reflect on changes in the regulatory environment.
• Forecast price and market trends to identify possible changes of the buyer-supplier power.
• Work with stakeholders to ensure that resourcing and costs for services are appropriate and valid and that external spend is optimised.
• If required drive the process for identification, assessment, and selection of new vendors. Lead MSA and rate card negotiations with the new vendors. Undertake regular reviews of the existing PSL.

Education, Key Skills & Experience

• Ambitious and driven to achieve results.
• Well organised, reliable and a commercial awareness.
• A highly credible individual with a proven track record to influence and manage internal and external stakeholders, and in managing strategic relationships.
• Strong ability to collaborate in a multi-cultural environment
• Outstanding communication skills
• Expert Negotiation skills
• Significant procurement experience
• Qualified to Degree level within Finance, Business, Science, or related subject – or equivalent experience.
• Further academic qualification, for example MBA, MCIPS
• Strong knowledge of science services (clinical studies, lab services etc.), purchasing practices and negotiation skills
• Experience supporting the procurement of science services.
• Learning agility to understand the R&D environment. Ideally have experience in vendor environments
• Hands-on experience negotiating high value and complex science services contracts.
• Analytical and Strategic
• Fluent oral and written English is essential.
• Cross cultural experience is important.

What We Offer

Competitive salary, bonus scheme, pension, and 25 days holiday + bank holidays (with an additional 4 days on top to cover the Christmas period), 50 / 50 hybrid working policy, corporate discounts, Health Cash Plan, and other wellbeing initiatives.

Imperial Brands is committed to inclusiveness and creating a work environment where differences are expected, accepted, and valued and people feel like they belong. We embrace diversity in our workforce, as part of this, there are four employee resource groups focused on Gender, Disability, LGBTQ+, and Ethnicity which any employee can join.

If you’re a person with a disability or have a condition that you believe may affect your performance during our selection process, we are more than happy to make reasonable adjustments for you during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self.

Next Steps

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply, highlighting their suitability to the post.