Senior Category Manager - Products & Payments

Role OVO-View

Team: Procurement & Supply (Finance)

Salary banding: £60,000-£80,000 

Experience: Expert

Working pattern: Full-Time

Reporting to: Category Department Lead

Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

This role in 3 words: Relationships, Commercial, Solutions-orientated

Top 3 qualities for this role: Influence, Self-Solving, Tenacious

 

Where you’ll work:

Depending on the needs of your business area, we expect hub based people to be in the office at least once a week, and to go to OVO Connection events in-person. 

You’ll be assigned to the closest one of our three hub offices, Bristol, Glasgow, or London; unless your role requires field-based work. Each hub has accessible spaces to park your laptop, is designed to inspire people, help them connect and bring big ideas to life.

Everyone belongs at OVO

At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity's biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That's why we need diverse people from all abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you’ll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Here’s how:

As an enterprise business OVO’s supply chain presents large risk but great opportunity when it comes to sustainability and wider ESG initiatives. Procurement & Supply play a vital role when contributing to OVO’s wider Plan Zero aspirations ensuring we’re working with the right partners and managing risks appropriately.

This role in a nutshell:

We’re hiring for an exceptional Senior Category Manager to drive the strategic management of the procurement categories of Products (supporting OVO’s Electric Vehicle and Solar & Heating Franchise Business Units) and Payments (including Merchant services, Fintech & Consumer Financing). You’ll oversee the creation and execution of category strategies, foster supplier relationships, and ensure procurement processes deliver maximum value. You’ll also be responsible for mentoring and empowering your small team, setting high standards, and ensuring alignment with OVO’s Plan Zero ambitions, focusing on sustainable and ethical sourcing practices. You’ll be a key business partner with the Commercial Leadership Team (CCO organisation). 

You’ll report to the Category Department Lead and play a critical role in setting objectives, ensuring results delivery, managing change, and establishing a high-performing culture across the team. 

The Category Management Team’s objectives include:

• Driving significant commercial benefits to support OVO’s EBITDA targets.
• Reducing risks, driving compliance, and maintaining agility across procurement operations.
• Procuring goods and services sustainably, in alignment with OVO’s Plan Zero.
• Becoming a knowledge base of relevant supply markets, products, technologies, and trends.
• Leading supplier relationships through the contract lifetime, ensuring delivery expectations are met, maintaining governance & rectifying any issues.
• Continuously improving commercial value, process efficiency, and risk mitigation.
• Effectively partnering with internal stakeholders.
• Supporting the implementation of procurement systems to underpin opportunities while reducing risks and improving compliance.

Your key outcomes will be:

• Develop OVO’s supplier ecosystem to drive the growth of the business in these key assigned categories, sourcing and developing the right supplier partners to scale in line with the maturity and complexity of the propositions. 
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of two Category Managers, fostering professional growth and ensuring best-in-class procurement practices as we transform into a high-performing Category Management function. 
• Oversee the development and implementation of robust category strategies to maximise value and mitigate risks in the Products and Payments space - fully aligned to business stakeholder objectives.
• Collaborate with your team to ensure successful execution of end-to-end procurement processes for all assigned categories.
• Drive supplier negotiations, ensuring optimal terms to support long-term partnerships in collaboration with business counterparts.
• Establish and maintain a culture of continuous improvement within the team,