Category Lead – Corporate Services Category
Your Consultant
Background
We are a £2BN global defence and security company delivering mission-critical solutions that protect lives and enable operational advantage. Our vision is “to be the chosen partner around the world innovating for our customers’ advantage”. To do this, we combine deep technical expertise with a bold approach to innovation – helping our customers solve complex challenges across land, sea, air, space and cyber. We employ circa 8,000 people in 50 locations across the UK, Europe, US and Australia.
About Procurement and Supply Chain
Finance is a Global Group Function with Procurement and Supply Chain, a key department, reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer and influencing £1BN spend across directs and indirects. The Procurement and Supply Chain department has several key pillars including Business Partnering, Category Management, Supply Chain, Responsible Procurement and Operational Excellence.
To deliver QinetiQ’s five-year growth strategy, we need to foster and enable a progressive mindset. We aspire to be a key business enabler and a value creator. To do this we need to shape and influence stakeholder strategies, drive value, deliver excellence and manage supply chain opportunities and risk.
Corporate Services
The Corporate Services Category has a spend of £100m across key categories including HR, Recruitment and Training, Professional Services, Legal, Marketing and Communications, Freight, Fleet and Travel. This role will manage a team of three Senior Category Managers directly supporting People, which is a key Global Group Function.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and embed transformation initiatives aligned to QinetiQ’s five‑year growth strategy, delivering measurable improvements in operational effectiveness, efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction
- Shape, develop and lead the Corporate Services category team, setting high performance standards, building strategic capability and developing future leaders
- Develop and execute end‑to‑end category and supplier management strategies that deliver value creation, resilience, risk reduction and year‑on‑year cost optimization
- Act as a strategic business partner to senior stakeholders across Group Functions, securing early engagement and aligning commercial strategy with organisational priorities
- Lead complex and business‑critical negotiations; coach team members in advanced negotiation techniques and commercial leadership
- Own the Corporate Services supplier risk and governance framework, ensuring regulatory compliance, robust controls and continuity of supply
- Drive supplier‑enabled innovation and ensure alignment with QinetiQ’s sustainability, ESG and Responsible Procurement commitments.
- Champion the digital procurement roadmap, enabling adoption of new S2P capabilities, automation, improved compliance and enhanced user experience.
- Use data, analytics and market intelligence to inform commercial decision‑making, improve forecasting and shape long‑term sourcing plans.
Key Person Attributes
- Builds trust and drives change through expertise and relationship quality rather than organisational authority. Effective at all levels, from operational teams to C-Suite
- Operates with an enterprise‑wide mindset, connecting Group Function agendas to deliver coherent, aligned commercial outcomes
- Demonstrates strategic clarity and the ability to simplify complexity into clear priorities and direction for the team
- Shows confident and balanced decision‑making in dynamic environments, weighing commercial, operational and risk considerations
- Leads through ambiguity and transformation with resilience, diplomacy and adaptability
- Creates an inclusive, growth‑oriented and high‑performance team culture that promotes capability development, experimentation and continuous improvement
- Demonstrates strong emotional intelligence and adapts communication style to diverse stakeholders
- Embraces digital tools, data‑driven insights and technology adoption as key enablers of commercial impact
Competencies & Proficiency Levels
Experience and Qualifications
- Degree or equivalent professional experience
- MCIPS qualified or working towards completion
- Strong people-leadership experience with the ability to build capability and drive performance
- Minimum five years’ strategic category management experience in similar categories of spend
- Proven track record of building successful relationships with senior stakeholders
- Demonstrable experience negotiating high-value contracts
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Practical experience with Source to Pay (S2P) technology
Talent Drive are committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. We review all applicants on equal merit and we do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sex, relationship status, disability, race, religion/beliefs, or sexual orientation.