Associate Buyer, Category Management

Are you ready to advance your career in procurement? We have three exciting full-time Associate Category Buyer opportunities. This hybrid role can sit in either our Waltham MA, Syracuse NY, or Hicksville NY location.

In this role, you will play a vital part in strategic procurement operations within your designated business area.

Reporting to a Category Manager, you will collaborate closely with Senior Buyers and Category Managers to deliver impactful category strategies. In this dynamic position, you will support multiple strategic sourcing events within your portfolio, working alongside experienced professionals to understand and challenge demand, set sourcing strategies, and manage events from market engagement through to award.

As the Associate Buyer, you will take ownership of several sourcing events, guiding them from start to finish and ensuring successful outcomes. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills, gain valuable experience, and contribute to the success of National Grid's procurement initiatives. If you are passionate about procurement and eager to make a difference, we want to hear from you!

National Grid is leading the charge towards a Net Zero future in the UK and NE of USA. We recognize that decarbonizing our electric and gas systems will require resolving many questions and seeking new partnerships, technologies, and transformative investments. Over the next 5 years, we will be investing over 60bn across our UK and US businesses - nearly double the investment over the past 5 years. This is an exciting time for our industry that is creating significant opportunities for National Grid; this is not just a moment in time; it's a game-changing era that will shape National Grid's success for decades to come.

Given this backdrop, our supply chains are facing an unprecedented set of challenges and are at the forefront of our plans, placing National Grid Procurement at the centre of our Net Zero goals. We have set out an ambitious transformation plan, focused on becoming a client of choice for our supply partners whilst ensuring outstanding outcomes for our Business Units (BUs). Our strategy revolves around significant changes in three core areas:

• Partnering: We are forging closer ties with our supply chain, aligning ourselves more closely with each NG Group Business Unit (BU).
• Scale: We are leveraging the immense scale of our group to unlock even greater potential. By harnessing our collective strength, we can achieve remarkable things.
• Operational Transformation: We are revolutionizing the way we work as a team. Embracing new approaches and technologies, we are streamlining processes and making the day-to-day job simpler and more efficient.

• Drive Strategic Sourcing: Support multiple strategic sourcing events within your portfolio, collaborating with Senior Category Buyers, Category Managers, and stakeholders to understand and challenge demand, ensuring the best solutions for National Grid.
• Market Insights: Assist in developing category characteristics by researching supply markets and assessing trends, opportunities, and risks. Your insights will be vital in driving continuous improvement in category strategy and procurement performance.
• Best-in-Class Procurement: Execute standardised strategic sourcing processes from market engagement to award, ensuring that goods and services are procured in a manner that maximises value and efficiency.
• Collaborative Delivery: Work alongside Contract Managers and Procurement Programme Managers to ensure the successful delivery of contracted activities, identifying opportunities for improvement through supplier and stakeholder engagement.
• Tender Management: Deliver exceptional value by effectively managing tender events for key products essential to the business.
• Forward Planning: Contribute to effective forward planning by identifying future requirements and implementing robust forecasting to maximise the value of procured goods and services.
• Contract Development: Scope and develop regional contractual agreements that meet the needs and expectations of customer stakeholders.

To be successful in this exciting opportunity, you will bring experience of the following:

• Strategic Sourcing and Category Management Expertise: Bring your experience in strategic sourcing and category management to the forefront, where you will play a vital role in shaping our procurement strategies and driving value for National Grid.
• Project Management Acumen: Showcase your understanding of project management principles, with a proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and deliver outstanding results consistently. Your organisational skills will be key in navigating our dynamic environment.
• Essential Skills for Success: To excel in this role, you will harness your critical and creative thinking abilities, adopt a collaborative approach, and maintain a process-focused mindset. Confidence, resilience, and excellent communication skills will empower you to thrive.
• Customer Service and Relationship Building: Your strong customer service and relationship-building skills will be essential as you interact credibly and genuinely with stakeholders, enhancing their experience and fostering collaboration.
• Multitasking and Deadline Management: You will adeptly manage various activities concurrently, ensuring that deadlines are met without compromising quality.
• Data Analysis and Insight Development: Your experience in collating and organising data, analysing commercial issues, and providing valuable insights-including the development of KPIs-will be crucial in driving informed decision-making.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, data visualisation, and database tools will enable you to effectively present and manage information, contributing to the overall success of our procurement initiatives.