Category Manager

Job Title – Category Manager

Job Location – Bristol

Job ID – 46531

About this opportunity and L3Harris UK

Operating at 11 sites in the United Kingdom, L3Harris supports Britain's mission to secure and strengthen the country by delivering sovereign innovation across the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains.

L3Harris’ Bristol location is the Headquarters for our Maritime UK business – a leading global supplier of integrated marine control systems and simulation products for warships, submarines and high-end commercial marine vessels worldwide. Since its inception, L3Harris has continuously iterated upon our Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) technology and successfully exported and delivered the system to over 300 vessels across 27 navies worldwide. We have additional Maritime UK sites in Burgess Hill, Barrow-In-Furness and Portchester. Together, we are powering the Royal Navy’s adoption of autonomous surface vehicle technology as well as delivering autonomous capability to UK ports, harbours and offshore energy service providers.

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Specialist, Category Management to join our Global Systems Category Management team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for leading category strategy development and execution across a diverse range of products and services. Your expertise in market analysis, supplier management, and cost optimization will drive value creation and deliver competitive advantages for our organisation. As a senior member of the team, you will leverage your deep understanding of category-specific trends and your ability to forge strong relationships with stakeholders to ensure alignment with business objectives. If you are a results-driven professional with a proven track record in transforming procurement processes and delivering substantial cost savings, we invite you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

A few of our employee benefits are:

• Half day finish on a Friday
• 25 days holiday per year (plus bank holidays), increasing with long service and with the opportunity to buy/sell up to 5 days
• Private medical insurance with optional family cover
• Pension scheme of up to 8% employer contribution
• Life Assurance 4x salary (flexible up to 10x)
• Group income protection
• Flexible opt-in extras such as a health care cash plan, dental insurance, gym membership, critical illness cover, cycle to work scheme, travel insurance and electric car scheme
• Employee Family Assistance Program providing mental health and wellbeing support
• Professional membership reimbursement (discretionary)

What the role will involve

The responsibilities of your role will include the following:

• Lead collaborative multi-region/division/local, cross-functional teams to analyze spend, develop actionable spend management strategies, implement spend management strategies and proactively manage the supply base within a given commodity
• Research and benchmark current commodity market conditions/trends, developing technologies, supply chain capacity/capability, product knowledge, customer requirements and supply/demand challenges
• Guide the selection, development, and management of Strategic Suppliers to meet commodity cost and performance goals
• Develop and implement spend management strategies including supplier assessments and rationalization, negotiation for best total cost of ownership, make vs. buy analyses, vendor managed inventories, inventory reduction programs, cycle time improvements, security of supply, supplier diversity, continuous improvement, commodity roadmaps, and procurement/stakeholder collaboration
• Lead negotiations and completion of contracts with strategic and preferred suppliers to maximize benefits across L3Harris and its affiliates
• Establish a strong network and foster collaboration with customers, suppliers, key stakeholders, and category team members. Manage supplier relationships of those commodities assigned, and assist in the development and implementation of supplier base strategies
• Implement a rigorous and disciplined process for managing the supply base including leading periodic business reviews, monitoring and managing supplier performance (quality, cost, delivery, technology, service, and leadership), managing supplier relationships, performing root cause analysis and resolution, developing and monitoring supplier improvement plans
• Propose and implement Division, Corporate & Sector initiatives to meet desired business goals/objectives. Establish, implement, report and socialize on specific, actionable, measurable, achievable, time specific goals and objectives and related performance
• Identify and implement cost reduction opportunities, as well as overall material cost control
• Resolving supplier base problems, including negotiations, terms and conditions, and service levels adherence and improvement. 
• Maintain documentation control in compliance with local, international requirements / regulations and company procedures and policies
• Travel less than 20%

What you’ll bring

The role requires the following experience and skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Materials Management, Supply Chain, Finance or Engineering with a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience, including a minimum of 4 years in a strategic sourcing/commodity management role
• Demonstrated management expertise in multiple indirect commodities
• Understanding of Contractual Terms and Conditions and how to mitigate risk
• Project management experience
• Must have experience with MS Excel and PowerPoint for purposes of data analysis and creation of presentations
• Procurement experience in an MRP (ERP) driven manufacturing environment
• Proven negotiation experience
• Understanding and working knowledge of engineering documentation, product configuration
• Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work effectively in a digital/remote environment

Important to know

Due to the nature of our work many our roles require a UK nationality and the ability to obtain a security clearance. Applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment must meet the requirement of right to work in the UK and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information and will be subject to government security checks.