Category Lead

Job Description:

Salary: £59,000 - £70,000

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

We have an excellent opportunity for a Category Lead to join the optics Strategic Category Management Organisation within the Procurement & Commercial Function of the Electronics Division. You will report to the UK Category Procurement Manager for Optics and Mechanical.

What you will do:

• Develop and implement category strategies aligned to business objectives, taking ownership of category performance and proactively identifying opportunities for cost, value, and risk improvement.

• Help build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across projects, sites, and functions, acting as a trusted adviser and ensuring procurement priorities support operational needs.

• Serve as the lead commercial contact for strategic suppliers, managing supplier relationships and collaboration initiatives to drive continuous improvement and value creation.

• Facilitate and chair regular stakeholder meetings, coordinating cross-functional engagement and ensuring alignment on category plans, priorities, and outcomes.

• Analyse, manage, and present procurement and category data to identify trends, generate insights, and support evidence-based decision making, translating complex information to inform business decisions

• Be responsible for developing the optics category strategy which will have an impact on a number of different sites across the UK

• Be accountable for the timely execution of contracts within your category (or sub-categories) across the UK

• Represent your category team across a number of projects to ensure that both production and new product development requirements are satisfied

• Act as the lead for relationships with strategic suppliers who may serve multiple sites including responsibility for strategic business reviews

• Work with the procurement capability and Supply Chain Development teams to ensure that we have a supply base which can meet the evolving needs of the business

• Identify cost savings opportunities using various methods which you can confidently present to senior business leaders

• Continual evaluation of the category strategy throughout the various product life-cycles, ensuring they are relevant and tangible across the relevant projects

• Oversee complex price analysis by members of the team and benchmarking activities prior to leading negotiations

• Ensure compliance with internal governance and customer flowdown requirements, supporting internal and external audits as required

• Ensure that SAP is aligned to reflect the agreements that your team will implement

What you'll bring:

• Extensive strategic Procurement experience, preferably including category management

• Product knowledge of optics

• Strong presentation skills

• Demonstrable working knowledge and understanding of Contract Terms & Conditions

• Experience in managing diverse stakeholders in a corporate environment

• A relevant business/ engineering degree and/or working experience in a similar role

• Significant experience in managing complex tenders

• Experience working in a highly regulated business environment

• Proficient level of MS Office based IT skills

• CIPS qualification preferred

• SAP user experience

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit:

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

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