Job Description
We have an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Category Specialist to join our Group Procurement & Partner Management team (GPPM).
Job Type: Permanent
Location: Hybrid, with base office options being Birmingham, Edinburgh or London.
Flexible working: All of our roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about Phoenix Flex here.
Closing Date: 26th February 2026
Salary and benefits: £50,000 - £55,000 plus 16% bonus up to 32%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more.
Who are we?
We want to be the best place that any of our 6,000 colleagues have ever worked.
We're Phoenix Group, we're a long term savings and retirement business. We offer a range of products across our market-leading brands, Standard Life, Sunlife, Phoenix Life and ReAssure. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a pension with us. We're a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050 and we're not done yet.
The role
The role holder will be responsible for identifying, evaluating and sourcing external third-party services across key areas of indirect spend. The primary focus of this role will be the Marketing & Brand and Market Data categories. However, the role forms part of a broader Asset Management & Product team within the GPPM function, and will also be expected to provide support across the Asset Management, Client Facing and Financial Services categories as business needs require.
You will play a key role in researching market trends, sourcing external services, negotiating contracts, and ensuring the selected suppliers and contracts align with our company standards, value ambitions and strategic objectives.
Key responsibilities
- Category strategy development: Develop and implement effective category plans and sourcing strategies for Marketing & Brand and Market Data, ensuring alignment with broader business goals.
- Supplier selection and management: Research the supply market to identify, assess and commercially manage end-to-end supplier relationships, ensuring high-quality services, competitive pricing and strong commercial value.
- Sourcing and negotiation: Lead, or support, sourcing events and negotiations. Deliver robust commercial outcomes, optimise contract structures to drive value whilst reducing commercial and operational risk.
- Deliver and embed cost savings: Implement cost optimisation strategies, including but not limited to demand management, rate optimisation and process efficiencies, to deliver sustainable savings and improve profitability.
- Risk Management: Proactively identify and mitigate risks associated with sourcing activities, including regulatory and contractual changes, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards, supplier resilience and continuity, and operational/commercial risk exposures.
- Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including Finance, Legal, Risk and Business Unit Executives to understand requirements and provide strategic guidance and support.
- Continuous Improvement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives with our Centre of Excellence team, ensuring that procurement and third-party management best practice is adopted to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our function.
What are we looking for?
- Indirect Procurement experience, ideally in the categories outlined above or similar categories, with an understanding of external supply markets and value levers.
- Good negotiating skills with the ability to influence and communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
- Analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
- Working knowledge of contracting models, commercial terms and conditions, and the confidence to negotiate them.
- Working knowledge of financial services regulation and how it impacts third-party risk, contract structures and procurement execution.
- Experience of working with procurement tools and systems.
We want to hire the whole version of you.
We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.
If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.
We’re reviewing applications as they come in, so apply early to avoid missing out.
Find out more about #LifeAtPhoenix #LI-GJ1
Guide for Candidates: thephoenixgroup.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.thephoenixgroup.com/careers/talk-to-us
