Senior Category Manager - NHS

Help shape the future of healthcare construction. Your expertise could genuinely change lives!

If you’re a construction procurement professional looking for a role where your skills make a real difference, this could be the next step you’ve been waiting for!

At NHS SBS, we’re growing our Construction Category Team and are now looking for a Senior Category Manager to lead and deliver two of our major frameworks: Healthcare Planning, Construction Consultancy and Ancillary Services (HPCCAS) and our Modular Buildings Framework.

You’ll be joining an award-winning team that plays a vital part in improving NHS construction and infrastructure across the country. The work you do won’t just shape procurement strategies — it’ll support better environments for patients, staff, and communities. You’ll help our NHS clients navigate complex construction challenges, drive value, strengthen supply chains, and deliver smarter procurement solutions — all while helping shape the next generation of healthcare facilities.

We know that experienced procurement professionals value balanced working too. That’s why we fully support flexible working, with monthly collaboration meet-ups in our Salford office and occasional travel to client sites, exhibitions, and conferences.

What you will be doing

Lead, mentor and support a talented team of construction procurement specialists at different stages in their careers.

Develop short and long-term category strategies that improve resilience, unlock value, and align with wider business objectives.

Manage major construction contracts — including JCT and NEC — ensuring compliance with PCR 2015 and PA23. Act as a trusted advisor, providing structure, guidance, and practical solutions using your construction consultancy expertise.

Use data and insight to spot opportunities for cost savings, process improvements, and supply chain efficiencies.

Oversee a portfolio of high-value projects, influencing key procurement decisions and raising overall quality.

Present confidently to Senior Leadership, contributing to discussions at formal Board-level settings.

Work closely with Service Directorates, Heads of Procurement and senior NHS leaders to provide robust national procurement support.

Negotiate effectively with suppliers to ensure every aspect of the category — from product to service delivery — meets stakeholder needs.

What you will bring

A strong background in public sector procurement, with solid knowledge of PCR 2015, PA23, and associated policies.

Experience managing risk in construction supply chains — from insolvency issues to geopolitical disruptions — and crafting effective contingency plans.

In-depth understanding of construction contract models such as NEC and JCT, plus frameworks and design-and-build environments.

Experience managing and developing direct reports, helping them grow and strengthen their procurement capability.

A track record of leading complex, high-value construction or estates programmes, with the resilience to overcome obstacles and drive outcomes.

Strong market awareness and an eye on emerging industry trends.

Excellent stakeholder skills, grounded in commercial awareness and practical problem-solving.

It would be great if you also have

CIPS Level 5 (or working towards it), or a comparable qualification.

If you are interested in this role but not sure if your skills and experience are exactly what we’re looking for, please do apply, we’d love to hear from you!

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Location: Nationwide – with monthly onsite visits to the Salford Office

Security Clearance Level: DBS

Internal Recruiter: Rachel

Salary: up to £65,000 per annum depending upon experience and development needs

Benefits: £5,400 cash alternative car allowance, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy extra days, 4 x death in service life assurance, private medical insurance, pension, 3 days paid volunteering, 5 days paid carers leave and a generous flexible benefits fund which you can take in cash.

We support many ways of working and can offer a range of flexible working arrangements. So, if you’re interested and need to work flexibly, we encourage you to apply and talk to us about what might be possible.

Loved reading about this job and want to know more about us?

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) was created by the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver corporate services to the NHS. A unique joint venture with Sopra Steria, a European leader in digital services and software development, we make life easier for NHS employees, patients, and suppliers, and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. Proud members of the NHS family, we provide finance & accounting, digital, procurement and workforce services to more than half the NHS in England. Our solutions are underpinned by cutting-edge technologies and our teams’ expertise, in-depth understanding of the NHS, and commitment to service excellence.

We share common values and unity of purpose with the rest of the NHS family, are committed to being a force for good, and are dedicated and empowered to act responsibly and sustainably at organisational, team and individual level.

Would you like to join us on our journey?

We embrace difference as a source of creativity, innovation and competitive advantage and are striving to become a more diverse organisation. We welcome applications from people with a diverse variety of backgrounds and identities. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. We have partnered with Vercida, the UK's largest diversity and inclusion focused careers site, where all our vacancies are available in an accessible format.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, to enable you to perform to the best of your ability, please let us know when completing your application.