Here at Softcat, we don't prohibit the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in our application process, as we understand how far it can go to creating a truly equitable candidate experience. That being said, as a culture-driven organisation, we believe that the genuine essence of each person is what truly matters, so we highly encourage you to be as authentically you as possible when submitting your application to showcase your true and whole self.

We also acknowledge that the confidence gap and imposter syndrome are a real thing and can get in the way of us meeting fantastic talent, so please don't hesitate to apply – we would love to hear from you!

Would you like to kick start your career in a supportive, collaborative and innovative company? 

Do you enjoy working as part of an enthusiastic, passionate, and collaborative team? 

Please note this role is a 12 month Fixed Term Contract

Join our Category Management Team 

Category Management are the strategic procurement layer working alongside Order Fulfilment & Strategic Sourcing in the wider Procurement Department. The team support with processing and checking all exceptional deals, monitoring the exchange rate & negotiating with suppliers to support with additional GP generation, analysing the amount of risk associated with orders & mitigating that risk where possible, examining vendor terms & ensuring we flow these through to our customers and investigating new routes to market and how we can scale these for the business.

Success. The Softcat Way. 

There's a uniqueness to Softcat – what we do, how we do it and why we do it. That's because we help customers to use technology to succeed, by putting our employees first. We give everyone the chance to step up and show how much they can achieve. We succeed when all our people succee 

Be part of a team that enables business growth

You will be a leading member of the Category Management Team within the Procurement Department focussed on the ‘Solutions & Hardware' side of the business. You will be responsible for managing a team of individuals at various levels in their careers to ensure objectives and team deadlines are met. You will have specific responsibility for the category you manage ensuring vendor programme updates are incorporated into the procurement function successfully. You will be a senior contact internally for other teams and will be required to adhere to best practices and provide excellent customer service throughout

As a Hardware and Solutions Category Team Leader, you'll be responsible for: 

• Daily management of the team; regular one-to-one's; managing resource & dealing with escalations whilst providing updates to the Category Team Manager.
• Final layer of resource for the team to process all order types if required to meet customer demand
• Vendor focus on Cisco, HPE, NetApp & Dell
• Supporting the team with their training and development requirements whilst remaining accountable for vendor knowledge to be in place to support all procurement processes.
• Able to document and justify process changes within procurement ensuring resiliency & sustainability for growth.
• Able to easily articulate trends for vendor procurement and discuss market impacts to the wider Procurement function.

We'd love you to have 

• Good understanding of key vendor procurement models including Hardware-as-a-Service, Cisco Subscriptions & cloud consumption models
• Ability to manage performance of others and deliver feedback through consistent, honest and motivational conversations
• Recognising the need to adapt your management approach to work with different team personalities to best enhance their motivation and work output
• Ability to problem solve queries and issues brought to you by others in the team
• Project management of processes, people and resources to achieve company goals for team direction and the ability to utilise skills of others to support.

Work in a way that works for you  

We recognise that everyone is different and that the way in which people want to work and deliver at their best is different for everyone too. In this role, we can offer the following flexible working patterns:  

• Hybrid working –  3 days in the office and 2 days working from home  
• Working flexible hours - flexing the times you start and finish during the day  
• Flexibility around school pick up and drop offs 

Working with us  

Wherever you work, we want you to experience the freedom and autonomy to realise your potential. You will feel supported by a team that celebrates individuality, encourages different perspectives, and embraces every background.  

Join us  

To become part of the success story, please apply now.

If you have a disability or neurodiversity, we can provide support or adjustments that you may need throughout our recruitment process or any mitigating circumstance you wish for us to consider. Any information you share on your application will be treated in confidence.  

You can find out more about life at Softcat and our commitments to diversity and inclusion at jobs/our-culture/