Senior Category Manager - Creative Agencies

Senior Category Manager – Creative Agencies
Up to £76,500 (pro-rata) plus great benefits aligned to your home role (Work Level 4)
Secondment (until October 2027)
Manchester city centre (you’ll split your time between home and the office, coming into the office at least one day per week)

We’re looking for a Senior Category Manager to join our Procurement team on a secondment until October 2027. In this role, you’ll lead the strategy for our Creative Agencies categories within Marketing, working with senior leaders across Co-op and some of the UK’s largest marketing agencies. We’ll look to you to lead the procurement  and supplier management of the creative agencies we partner with to deliver marketing activity across the business.

This is a high-profile role where you’ll act as the procurement subject matter expert for marketing, shaping category strategies, leading complex sourcing activities, and building strong supplier partnerships. You’ll also play an important leadership role within the team, supporting and developing colleagues while helping to drive Procurement’s wider ambitions across Co-op.

If you’re commercially-minded, experienced in managing complex procurement negotiations, and enjoy influencing at a senior level, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

Why this role matters

As a Senior Category Manager, you’ll help make sure we get the very best value from our marketing investments while building strong, collaborative relationships with our agency partners and suppliers. The decisions you make will help support major marketing initiatives and make sure we’re making the most of every pound we spend on promoting our brand.

What you’ll do

• Own a significant portfolio of marketing categories, managing the full category lifecycle from planning and strategic sourcing through to supplier management
• Build meaningful relationships with senior partners up to director level
• Develop and implement marketing category strategies that support our Co-op’s commercial priorities and long-term objectives
• Lead complex sourcing activities, negotiations, and procurement projects across the business
• Support the ongoing development of supplier relationships, making sure performance is strong and continuously improving
• Support the Head of Category in leading, developing, and shaping the wider Category team
• Contribute to other major procurement and sourcing projects across Co-op when required

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• Experience within procurement and supplier management
• Experience leading large-scale, complex negotiations and procurement projects
• A strong commercial mindset and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Good relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence and challenge senior leaders constructively
• Experience developing and implementing category strategies that deliver measurable business value
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities
• Flexibility to travel within the UK when required

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays 
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions 
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands 
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it 
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice 
• 24/7 colleague support service 
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone, and our support centre is an inclusive environment where all our colleagues can thrive.

If you have a disability, we’ll make reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process. We’re also proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme - if you’re disabled and you meet the minimum criteria for this job, we’ll guarantee you an interview.

Learn more about our recruitment process at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process

Explore our commitments to diversity, inclusion and wellbeing at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-wellbeing

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.