Global IT Category Manager

Entity: Technology

Job Family Group: Procurement & Supply Chain Management Group

Job Description: Let me tell you about the role

To provides strategic category leadership for key categories at Castrol and is accountable for end-to-end management of global categories.

They are responsible for fostering end-to-end category operational perfection through leading teams who handle supply chain risk and improve value, including sustainability, within their category. They do this through extensive collaboration across and beyond procurement, including with regional and business resources.

The individual will be a strategic problem solver who leads development of exceptional executable category strategies to meet business objectives and also ensures competitive procurement outcomes. They ensure that strong category guidance is established for efficient execution across sophisticated categories.

They cultivate partnerships with senior stakeholders and collaborate to deliver step changes in 3rd party spend management. They have high commercial acumen ensuring alignment with business goals and delivering secure optimal, compliant, and competitive, risk-managed procurement outcomes.

A transformational leader, adept at change management, who builds high performing teams through displaying emotional understanding and fostering resilience.

The category teams directly influence delivery of the business / entity financial plans and the overall value delivery of procurement, and are accountable for ensuring a safe, risk handled, sustainable and competitive supply chain.

This role will lead the global IT Services procurement category strategy for IT Consulting, shaping strategy, driving commercial value, and partnering with business stakeholders to deliver driven, innovative and compliant IT services sourcing and supplier‑management outcomes. The category manager will build the category strategies and sourcing roadmaps for IT service aligned with IT operating model, technology roadmap and business priorities.

The category manager will define sourcing approaches build vs buy insource vs outsource, single vs multi-vendor, regional vs global and tower model designs with clear commercial models for the strategy which include rate cards, blended rates, skill pyramids, outcome-based, fixed price etc.

Develop and deploy the global IT services category strategy, covering areas such as IT application services, support services, consulting services and managed services.

Use market intelligence and industry trends to shape long‑term IT services procurement strategy and drive competitive advantage.

Provide strategic steer in major negotiations with global and regional IT services suppliers.

Act as the senior commercial partner to global and regional IT leadership team.

What you will deliver

Category Strategy leadership: Leads the category team developing and delivering transformational procurement strategies, aligned with business needs, which ensures their category operates highly effectively end to end.

• Possesses commercial savvy and awareness of external market dynamics, providing strategic guidance and challenging the team to formulate innovative, value-driven strategies.

• Leverages methodologies, such as systems thinking, to extract incremental value

• Ensures their strategy is aligned to business and regional needs

Category excellence: Demonstrates data led ownership of the end-to-end performance of the category, working with collaborators to develop category management plans that allow efficient end to end category management reflecting business / region context such as laws, tax, market conditions and content.

Transformational Leadership and Change Management: Leads change initiatives, which deliver value to business through ensuring supplier performance in a environment.

Team leadership: Builds high performing teams by fostering a culture of collaboration, excellence, and continuous improvement.

Their team has strong technical skills and leads the category across procurement and the broader organization.

• Builds category knowledge across the wider procurement organization to ensure strategy execution

• Develops the team’s technical capabilities in order to deliver category operational excellence

• Nurtures accelerator skills; curiosity in external markets, innovation and technological disruption, digital fluency, data-driven insights, and strong collaboration with both suppliers and stakeholders

• Establishes an environment of psychological safety as a foundation for collaborative learning, ideation and innovation

Supplier & Stakeholder Management: Uses storytelling to communicate impactful with stakeholders and external partners, respectfully challenging to achieve the right outcomes, resolving conflict and focusing on priorities.

• Skilled at leading and influencing through complexity and ambiguity, managing virtual relationships with stakeholders in multi-discipline, multi-cultural environments

• Builds deep stakeholder relationships, bringing market insights and championing supplier value whilst taking time to understand business needs. Becomes a trusted advisor and critical partner to stakeholders

• Degree educated - something related to Business, IT, Procurement preferred - or equivalent relevant professional experience

• Post graduate qualification related to procurement desirable

What you will need to be successful

Degree educated - something related to Business, IT, Procurement preferred - or equivalent relevant professional experience - qualification related to procurement desirable.

Leadership: Leadership experience, ideally in a procurement organization in order to:

• Lead the category

• Lead their team in managing the category

• Leading end to end execution of the category strategy across the organization

They are role models shaping work delivery, decision making and partnering with stakeholders An advocate for our code, they incorporate the Operating Management System (OMS) and our safety leadership principles into strategies and everyday work, to build a purposeful, winning and caring culture which engenders collaboration, learning and constructive challenge

Business expertise: Exemplary stakeholder management and influencing skills in order to develop a deep understanding of the supported businesses / regions / assets and their priorities, including long term objectives to ensure strategies are effective

• Strategic thinking with excellent commercial acumen

• An understanding of working in and navigating complex multi-national businesses

Functional knowledge: Must possess an in-depth understanding of category management principles and theories, coupled with experience in developing and deploying category strategies.

• An understanding of how to ensure strategies flow through to execution in the businesses / assets

• Significant experience in IT procurement.

• Experience in guiding global teams in strategic thinking to uncover insights, create value, and drive innovation

Problem solving: The role requires conceptual thinking, for instance, to match market capability/disruption with business requirements and develop the strategic options for the category.

Interpersonal skills: The role demands strong interpersonal skills for leading the category team, leading the category organization-wide, and engaging with global, diverse senior stakeholders.

At bp, we provide the following environment and benefits to you:

• A company culture where we respect our diverse and unified teams, where we are proud of our achievements and where fun and the demeanor of giving back to our environment are highly valued

• Possibility to join our social communities and networks

• Learning opportunities and other development opportunities to craft your career path

• Life and health insurance, medical care package

• And many other benefits.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform crucial job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Travel Requirement No travel is expected with this role

Relocation Assistance: This role is not eligible for relocation

Remote Type: This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills: Agility core practices, Agility core practices, Agility tools, Analytical Thinking, Business Acumen, Business Requirements Analysis, Category spend profiling, Category Strategy, Commercial Acumen, Cost modelling, Digital Fluency, Digital Transformation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Procurement, Information Technology Procurement, IT Procurement, IT Purchasing, Market Analysis, Negotiating, Negotiation planning and preparation, Procurement Technology, Product and market intelligence, Sourcing strategy, Stakeholder Management, Strategy, Supplier Performance Management {+ 6 more}

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics like race, religion, color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.