Commercial Category Manager

Job summary

Ready to take your commercial expertise further and influence decisions that make a real difference?

At the Food Standards Agency (FSA), our work matters to everyone. We protect public health and consumers’ wider interests in food across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, working towards a healthier and more sustainable food system and delivering our vision of “food you can trust.”

We’re looking for a Commercial Category Manager to help us make smart commercial decisions that deliver value for money and support the essential services behind our work.

Joining a high-performing and supportive commercial team, you’ll have the opportunity to shape commercial strategies, influence key decisions and work with stakeholders and suppliers across a varied portfolio. It’s a role where your commercial expertise can have genuine impact, while giving you the opportunity to continue developing your skills and experience.

Job description

You’ll develop and deliver category strategies informed by organisational priorities and market insight, and lead sourcing projects from initial planning through to contract award. You’ll advise colleagues on the best routes to market, shape specifications, manage evaluations and ensure procurement activity is compliant, fair and delivers the right outcomes.

Building strong relationships will be central to your role. You’ll work closely with stakeholders to understand their needs, manage commercial risks and provide clear, practical advice. You’ll also work with suppliers to monitor performance, resolve issues and help ensure contracts deliver high-quality services and value for money.

Alongside this, you’ll analyse spend and category performance to identify opportunities for improvement, contribute to wider commercial initiatives and support the continued development of the team.

If you enjoy bringing people together, solving commercial challenges and using your expertise to make a real difference, this could be the role for you.

Join us and play your part in delivering food you can trust.

Working pattern guidance

If applying as a job share partnership you should both complete separate application forms on Civil Service Jobs but should make it clear that you are applying as job sharers. Further details on job sharing can be found here JSF – What is the recruitment process for job sharers? , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk)

Applicants who wish to work compressed hours are welcome to apply - however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Person specification

Please read the attached Candidate Pack to discover further details about the role, our organisation, who we are looking for and the criteria we will assess against during the selection process.

We look forward to receiving your application and wish you every success.

Qualifications

Please confirm the following
•MCIPS (or comparable qualification)
or
•willing to work towards MCIPS

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,087, Food Standards Agency contributes £12,772 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).Our candidate pack details the benefits that the FSA has to offer. Please also refer to the attached Terms and Conditions statement.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Strengths and Experience.

Full details of the selection process are detailed in the attached candidate pack.

Application and shortlisting

You will be asked to provide personal details (not seen by the Panel) and to confirm your eligibility to apply for the role.

Technical: You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical requirements of the role.

• MCIPS (or comparable qualification)

or

• willing to work towards MCIPS

If you cannot answer yes to this question – you will not be able to proceed further with your application.

You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential criteria.

Essential criteria

Experience

• Procurement & Category Management Experience (Lead criteria)

Experience of leading procurement activities from start to finish, using appropriate sourcing and category management approaches. Able to achieve value for money and category manage a pipeline of procurement activity.

• Commercial Judgement, Risk & Ethics

Demonstratable commercial judgement with clear understanding and experience of utilising the Procurement Act 2023 and Public Contract Regulations 2015. With the ability to identify and manage risks and act appropriately upon concerns about fraud, corruption or unethical behaviour relating to commercial activity.

• Stakeholder & Supplier Engagement

Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work with and influence a range of stakeholders and suppliers. Confident handling challenging conversations and explaining commercial recommendations clearly in accordance with relevant policy and legislation.

• Collaborative Working & Continuous Improvement

Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work with and influence a range of stakeholders and suppliers. Confident handling challenging conversations and explaining commercial recommendations clearly. With the ability and drive to enhance services, solve business issues and deliver better commercial outcomes.

Lead Criteria An initial sift will take place on the Lead Criteria.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the minimum pass mark for the Lead Criteria may be raised at shortlisting stage. Candidates who apply under the DCS, GPTW or RIS schemes and meet the minimum requirements will be unaffected by the pass mark raise.

Interview

If successful at shortlisting stage, you will be invited to a final interview in which we will assess you against the following Experience and Strengths requirements of the role.

Experience

• Procurement & Category Management Experience(Assessed via assessment exercise 0 see below)
• Commercial Judgement, Risk & Ethics
• Stakeholder & Supplier Engagement
• Collaborative Working & Continuous Improvement

Strengths

We will also assess you against a number of Civil Service Strengths – these are not disclosed prior to interview.

Details of assessment exercise

Details of the presentation topic to be covered will be included in the invitation to interview.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 9 November 2026 (23:55)

Sift: Expected to take place from 10 November 2026

Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 23 November 2026

Interviews will be held remotely via MS Teams. (If you do not have the Microsoft Teams application installed on your computer, you can join on the web without installing the application).

Please note that indicated dates may be subject to change.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to the Food Standards Agency from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare.

Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reserve List

A reserve list will be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that the FSA does not offer visa sponsorship and cannot provide advice on visa applications

Making a complaint

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated fairly in accordance with the principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should email the FSA’s Director of People at jo.bushnell@food.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Adam Smyth
• Email : Adam.Smyth@food.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk

Further information

If you wish to raise a complaint then please email hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk in the first instance.

Attachments

Candidate Pack - Commercial Category Manager (SEO) 487821 Opens in new window (pdf, 1088kB)Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB)