Procurement Category Manager

Role overview

This position is for an accomplished Procurement Category Manager to support a demanding engineering and construction setting. The role has a strong commercial focus and sits close to project delivery, working alongside engineering, estimating, and operations teams to help deliver value across large capital investment programmes. The successful candidate will be responsible for shaping category direction for capital equipment and related services, while balancing cost efficiency, supply assurance, and risk in a fast-moving, multi-site environment.

Key responsibilities

• Create and implement category plans for both capital expenditure and operational expenditure spend.
• Drive down total cost of ownership while strengthening supplier performance.
• Manage important supplier partnerships and evolve them beyond purely transactional arrangements.
• Take the lead on sourcing activity, competitive tendering, and negotiation of significant-value contracts.
• Work with delivery teams from the earliest stages of a project through to execution.
• Provide market analysis, pricing benchmarks, and wider supply intelligence to inform decisions.
• Set up supplier performance measures and actively push continuous improvement.
• Spot potential supply-chain risks and put mitigation plans in place.
• Contribute to procurement change initiatives and process enhancements.
• Present clear, evidence-based recommendations to senior stakeholders.

Candidate profile

The ideal applicant will have experience managing procurement categories within construction, engineering, or capital project environments. A history of negotiating complex, high-value agreements is essential, along with strong commercial awareness and a clear focus on cost control. You should be comfortable influencing senior stakeholders, supporting project delivery, and working methodically through sourcing, supplier management, and risk issues. The role also requires the confidence to handle multiple projects and competing priorities at pace. Exposure to capital equipment is important, while an engineering background would be an advantage but is not mandatory. The right person will be delivery-led, willing to challenge assumptions where appropriate, and able to build effective working relationships across different functions.

Location and working arrangements

This is an on-site position based in Dublin, with travel across European project locations as needed. Candidates must already have the legal right to work in Ireland without sponsorship and be available to travel into and out of other European countries at short notice.

Application note

Interested candidates should submit a CV for consideration.