Corporate Category Manager

About the role

North Northamptonshire Council is seeking an experienced Procurement Professional to help strengthen and develop our procurement function across policy, systems, corporate services, and ICT categories. This strategic role will support strong governance, drive effective procurement activity, and ensure the Council achieves value for money while meeting public‑sector legislative and compliance requirements.

In this role, you will contribute to the ongoing growth of the procurement team, support improvements to our digital tools and processes, and collaborate closely with colleagues across the organisation to deliver efficient, transparent, and well‑managed procurement outcomes.

The successful candidate will play a key role in managing procurement policy and leading procurement activity on behalf of both the Council and The Children’s Trust.

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Proven procurement experience within the public sector and a solid understanding of procurement processes and systems.
• The ability to manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously.
• Experience in developing procurement policies and delivering training to support organisational capability.

The role reports to the Head of Procurement and offers the opportunity to work within a supportive, experienced, and knowledgeable team.

The post will initially be based at Cedar Drive, Thrapston, with a planned future move to Haylock House, Kettering.

We may close the vacancy earlier than the advertised deadline if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered for the role..

What will you be doing?

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and maintaining procurement policies, supporting improvements to procurement systems and processes, and managing a variety of procurement activities across corporate and ICT categories for both North Northamptonshire Council and The Children’s Trust.

They will work closely with service teams to provide guidance, ensure compliance with public‑sector procurement standards, deliver training, and support the wider development of the procurement function.

This role requires managing multiple projects, contributing to digital and operational improvements, and playing an integral part in ensuring that procurement activity is efficient, transparent, and aligned with organisational objectives.

About you

We are looking for a proactive and organised procurement professional who brings strong public‑sector experience and a solid understanding of procurement processes, policies, and systems.

This person will be confident managing multiple projects at once, able to prioritise effectively, and comfortable working with a wide range of stakeholders across the organisation. They should have the ability to develop policies, deliver training, and provide clear procurement advice, while also contributing to digital and process improvements within the team.

The ideal candidate will be analytical, detail‑focused, and committed to transparency, good governance, and achieving value for money. They will thrive in a collaborative team environment, demonstrate initiative, have good oral and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate with a range of stakeholders including those in a senior roles.

Computer literate to intermediate level in Word, Excel, MS Project (planner) and Power Point with knowledge of procurement electronic systems such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).

Evidence of being able to provide professional advice, support and guidance.

Our Benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information please click here The Employment and Disability Service (EADS) | North Northamptonshire Council

Armed Forces Community

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)