Indirects Category Specialist

DS Smith; London; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

About the Role

We are seeking a category leader to join our team as a Generalist/Fleet Category Specialist. To operate as a collaborative member of the Indirects Category Team in partnership with other team members.

Reporting to the Head of Indirect Procurement, you will assist in managing our car fleet procurement activities, along with other designated categories to ensure efficient delivery of services across our business divisions. You’ll also be responsible for driving holistic value and value creation across an assigned portfolio of spend.

This spend comprises all General Categories with a particular focus on Fleet across the entire business, including Company Car lease payments, taxes, fuel, repairs & other associated costs. Holistic value includes the identification of priority ESG strategies across the category. Key stakeholders are across the group and all divisions.

The Indirects Category Team is accountable for (but not limited to):

• Shaping and aligning the Indirects Procurement strategy to support the achievement of business goals including growth, innovation, ESG (inc. Scope 3) and manufacturing excellence
• Partnering with stakeholders to ensure the function competitively sources quality products and supplier services whilst maintaining and building strong relationships with strategic suppliers in line with group Innovation, Environment Social Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals
• Partnering differently across the value chain to create innovative business offerings that delight our customers and support business growth
• Educating, sharing best practices, devising global leverage opportunities across all regions where the spend or category is relevant

About you

• A strong knowledge and demonstrated experience of procurement roles in Fleet services (ideally vehicles)
• Experience of supporting transformational change in procurement and in a matrix environment
• Experience in a manufacturing industry preferred but not essential
• CIPS or EU equivalent desirable
• Ideally 3-5 years relevant experience at the same or similar level
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
• Experience in developing and implementing 1-3 year category strategies
• Experience in implementing a range of procurement sourcing and contracting negotiations
• Demonstrable track record in influencing in a matrix environment
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills
• A style and approach that puts diversity and inclusion at the heart of all interactions
• Negotiator capable of delivering great outcomes when leading high value and complex deals

Benefits

Additional benefits include:

• 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
• Discretionary bonus
• Pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Income protection
• Employee assistance program
• Cycle to work scheme
• Shopping discounts

Location: Remote role with occasional travel

About us

We’re DS Smith, the company who is redefining packaging for a changing world. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. Today, we operate in more than 30 different countries, supporting customers across sectors like FMCG, industrial, and e-commerce. We deliver on quality, service, innovation, and added value to deliver market-leading sustainable packaging solutions our customers need. Our industry needs to transform, and we’re building the team to drive change across Europe and North America.

To fulfill our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas, and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.