Senior Buyer, Category Management

About us

Here at National Grid, we connect homes and businesses to power, making sure supply and demand match each other. We make sure the lights are on in schools, operating theatres, and sporting arenas; we’re thousands of people working on behalf of millions of people. And whatever your role, wherever you work with us, you’ll help us hit stretching targets and achieve our far-reaching goal: to secure, clean energy that supports our world far into the future. Here, you will be at the heart of energy. 
 
At National Grid, we work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value, and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organization, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office. 
 
Our function covers a diverse range of categories from Indirect, IT & Digital, Network Operations (Maintenance & Repair), Gas equipment and Services to large scale Construction and Network Equipment, with a clear mission: to enable a clean, fair, and affordable energy future through commercial, responsible and innovative supply chain leadership. 

The Opportunity

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a number of Senior Category Buyers to join our team on a Full Time, Permanent basis with a Hybrid work schedule!   These are global roles working with international suppliers.
 
The Senior Category Buyer is responsible for strategic procurement operations within the aligned business area. The role will partner the Category Manager in delivery of Category strategies, working with the NG business units to share supply chain insight and recommendations, award Contracts from leading strategic sourcing events, leading commercial negotiations, drafting contract through to engaging and managing suppliers. 
 
These Senior Category Buyer roles are accountable for high value, business critical goods and services, engaging at senior levels of the organization to ensure delivery of business priorities. We are recruiting for roles across the entire function across the following disciplines 

Direct Category Management 
 
Working to procure equipment and services such as transformers, steel structures, switchgear, cable, civils, or vegetation management (and many others) in support of National Grid Business Units. The variety of roles available include roles within our UK and US business units, as well as roles that procure on behalf of the NG Group. 

 
Indirect Category Management 
 
Working to procure goods and services that are required to support day-to-day operations of the entire National Grid Group. This includes areas such as facilities management, fleet management, IT goods & services, corporate services, other professional services (and many others). These roles have a NG Group wide focus and therefore may be working in a team that operates in both the UK and US. 
 
 
Please state your preference for whether you would be interested in a Direct or Indirect Category Management role as part of your application.  
 
National Grid is leading the charge towards a Net Zero future in the UK and NE of USA. We recognize that decarbonizing our electric and gas systems will require resolving many questions and seeking new partnerships, technologies and transformative investments.  Over the next 5 years, we will be investing over £60bn across our UK and US businesses – nearly double the investment over the past 5 years.  This is an exciting time for our industry that is creating significant opportunities for National Grid; this is not just a moment in time; it's a game-changing era that will shape National Grid's success for decades to come. 
 
Given this backdrop, our supply chains are facing an unprecedented set of challenges and are at the forefront of our plans, placing National Grid Procurement at the center of our Net Zero goals. We have set out an ambitious transformation plan, focused on becoming a client of choice for our supply partners whilst ensuring outstanding outcomes for our Business Units (BUs).  Our strategy revolves around significant changes in three core areas: 
 
•    Partnering: We are forging closer ties with our supply chain, aligning ourselves more closely with each NG Group Business Unit (BU). 
 
•    Scale: We are leveraging the immense scale of our group to unlock even greater potential. By harnessing our collective strength, we can achieve remarkable things. 
 
•    Operational Transformation: We are revolutionizing the way we work as a team. Embracing new approaches and technologies, we are streamlining processes and ma