Diageo - Category Manager - IT & Professional Services

Category Manager- IT & Professional Services

This role is responsible for managing and optimizing the compressible cost base pertaining IT and professional services. The objective of this role is to ensure cost-efficient business solutions on IT and professional services across the customer functions. The procurement manager must work with the spend owner to translate the business requirement to include a clear scope of work, map business expectations to the available vendor landscape, and carry out sourcing process with a suitable set of vendors. The manager will also be responsible for driving/ supporting the contracting process and managing the relationship with the supplier, including Supplier Performance Management.

Knowledge & skills:

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

- Integrity and personal congruence

- Strong communication, interpersonal & negotiation Skills

- Knowledge of procurement best practices and regulations

- Ability to work independently and as part of a team

- Flexible, proactive approach ready to take on new challenges

- Excellent MS Excel, data management skills

- Ability to build good relationships with people

- Strong understanding of the IT industry and drivers for the category

- Stays updated with new innovations in IT and related industry

- Basic knowledge of e-sourcing tools e.g. Ariba preferred

Best suited for someone who:

- Likes to work with data and is extremely analytical

- Has a strong commercial focus

- Brings an external focus to work, by being constantly updated on developments and innovations in the external world

- Is able to build good working relationships with internal stakeholders

- Hard nosed when it comes to commercial negotiations with parties

- Constantly seeks to improve things and create new standards at work

Diversity statement:

- Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo's purpose of "celebrating life every day everywhere". This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.

- We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realize its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills, and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution each person brings.