Head of Category

Job Title: Head of Category

Function: Commercial

Location: Hybrid arrangement with presence required for 2 days office based.

Contract type: Perm

Salary: £93,504 with the potential to rise to £110,004 over 3 years

Closing Date: 29th July 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Head of Category to join the Med Tech team. This strategic leadership role will be responsible for defining and delivering category vision, driving commercial performance, and leading the development of innovative category strategies that support business growth. Working closely with senior stakeholders, the successful candidate will combine strong market insight, customer understanding, and commercial acumen to optimise category performance, identify new opportunities, and lead high-performing teams to deliver exceptional results.

The Head of Category is responsible for developing and executing category and product group strategies that enhance supply chain performance, reduce risk, deliver cost savings, and create sustainable competitive advantage. Working closely with key stakeholders across the business, this role leads the strategic management of product categories, ensuring that product ranges, commercial offers, and go-to-market approaches maximise value for both customers and the organisation. The Head of Category drives innovation, supplier partnerships, and commercial excellence to optimise category performance, improve customer outcomes, and support the achievement of organisational goals.

Every day you will …

• Develop and execute departmental and category strategies, anticipating business challenges and opportunities while delivering cost savings, risk reduction, and measurable value through mission-critical programmes.
• Provide expert leadership and strategic advice, interpreting complex policies, resolving contentious issues, and ensuring organisational decisions align with broader business objectives.
• Build and manage senior stakeholder relationships, developing engagement plans and collaborating with internal and external partners to drive effective communication, influence decisions, and create business value.
• Lead customer and market insights activities, analysing complex data, identifying emerging trends and external developments, and translating findings into actionable business strategies and customer solutions.
• Drive performance, accountability, and operational excellence, setting clear objectives, monitoring results, and implementing corrective actions to ensure delivery of departmental and organisational goals.
• Champion continuous improvement and organisational growth, developing team capabilities, maintaining industry and regulatory expertise, and motivating colleagues to achieve strategic outcomes in line with the organisation’s mission and values.

What can we offer you?

We want to reward you for your passion, enthusiasm, and hard work so we offer much more than a competitive salary:

• Hybrid working opportunities, giving you the flexibility to work collaboratively in the office and remotely.  
• We recognise our employees’ hard work and contributions with annual bonus schemes, long service, and colleagues’ recognition awards. 
• 27 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase an additional 5 days.
• We are dedicated to your development, through in-house training, support, and access to external qualifications to maximise your potential.
• A focus on your well-being offering 1 day of paid well-being leave and free access to the 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
• Generous pension scheme (with us contributing 12% when you contribute 6%)
• Access to our Flexible Benefits Scheme, where you can choose from a variety of benefits such as Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Health Cash Plan, Dental Insurance, and additional pension contributions that suit you.
• 2 days of paid volunteering leave allowing you to give back to your community. 
• Access to many discounts from the Blue Light Card to NHS Discounts.

NHS Supply Chain, who are we?

Our role is to support the NHS to save lives and improve health. We are a part of the NHS family, and our role is to source, deliver and supply healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales.

We serve every NHS Trust and operate a national network of distribution centres, managing relationships with more than a thousand suppliers and delivering more than 8,000,000 orders each year to more than 17,000 locations. Doing all of this on behalf of the NHS gives NHS staff more time to focus on their main priority of providing excellent patient care.

What skills will help you thrive in this role?

• Category Strategy & Commercial Leadership – Proven ability to develop and execute long-term category strategies that align with business objectives, drive value, and deliver sustainable cost savings.
• Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management – Expertise in leading complex sourcing initiatives, contract negotiations, and supplier relationship management to optimise performance, innovation, and risk mitigation.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence – Strong capability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, influence decision-making, and align procurement strategies with organisational priorities.
• Data Analysis & Market Insight – Ability to leverage spend analytics, market intelligence, and industry trends to identify opportunities, improve category performance, and support evidence-based decisions.
• Risk Management & Governance – Experience in managing supply chain risks, ensuring regulatory compliance, and implementing robust procurement governance frameworks to protect business continuity.

Our Inclusive Commitment

At NHS Supply Chain, we are committed to building an inclusive environment where difference is not only valued, but celebrated, giving everyone the opportunity to thrive in their career. Developing our people is key to our success, so if this role sounds like the right next step in your career but your experience doesn’t match perfectly with the job advert, we encourage you to still apply.

Struggling to complete our application form, and require additional support? Reach out to our Talent Acquisition team at careers@supplychain.nhs.uk who will be happy to help you with alternative ways to apply.

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