Global Category Lead

Job Title:                     Global Category Lead

Location:                     UK, Hybrid

Compensation:           Competitive Salary + Benefits

Role Type:                   Full time / Permanent

Role ID:                       SF71661

Lead high‑impact procurement strategies that support national security

At Babcock, we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Global Category Lead at any of our main UK locations, near your nearest commutable town, county.

The role

As a Global Category Lead, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping how Babcock procures and manages Professional Services across a global organisation that delivers essential work within defence, aerospace, engineering and critical infrastructure. This is your opportunity to influence category strategy at enterprise scale, enabling our teams to maximise value from over £400m of annual Professional Services spend while supporting programmes vital to national security.

This role offers exceptional exposure, significant responsibility, and the chance to grow your influence as a trusted subject matter expert in a purpose‑driven organisation committed to long‑term development.

Day-to-day, you’ll work with partners across the business to create structured sourcing strategies, enhance supplier performance, and strengthen commercial outcomes.

• Shape Professional Services sourcing strategies that create structured, value‑driven approaches to category management.
• Support sector and group teams by advising on suppliers, sourcing processes, contractual terms and value strategies.
• Operate as a category subject matter expert, helping internal partners identify and secure commercial opportunities.
• Manage Professional Services frameworks and supplier panels, ensuring strong performance and productive relationships.
• Enable the business to maximise value across consultancy, engineering services, project delivery partners and more.

This role is full time, 37.5 hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements with days onsite and days working from home.  Will be some travel as role determines across the UK.

Essential experience of the Global Category Lead

• Strong experience with statement‑of‑work or output‑based contracting.
• Extensive experience across procurement, sourcing and modern category management practices.
• Proven ability to work effectively within a matrix environment with varied stakeholder needs.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex service‑based frameworks and supplier panels.
• Desirable: Background within the Professional Services category.

Qualifications for the Global Category Lead

Essential:

• Degree‑level education or equivalent professional experience.
• MCIPS or an equivalent procurement qualification.

Desirable:

• Additional procurement, commercial or category‑specific accreditations.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Standard (BPSS) / Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.  Must be British Nationals.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What we offer 

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10‑days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading – buy or sell up to one working week of annual leave
• ‘Be Kind Day’ – one paid volunteering day each year
• Flexible working options to support work–life balance
• A dynamic working environment with strong opportunities for development and progression

Babcock

We’re Babcock a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we’re building a future that lasts not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 26/02/2026