Category Delivery Advisor

Entity:

Technology

Job Family Group:

Procurement & Supply Chain Management Group

Job Description:

Please note that roles based out of SJS or Sunbury will move to Timber Square, Southwark, from Q4 2027.

Our purpose is to deliver energy to the world, today and tomorrow. For over 100 years, bp has focused on discovering, developing, and producing oil and gas in the nations where we operate. We are one of the few companies globally that can provide governments and customers with an integrated energy offering. Delivering our strategy sustainably is fundamental to achieving our ambition to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner!

The Category Advisor (Catalyst, Chemicals, HSSE) plays a key role in delivering the Fuel Additives subcategory globally, while also supporting the Catalyst & Chemicals category for European refining. The role is based in Sunbury, UK or Budapest, Hungary. They help ensure category activities across Midstream assets globally and multiple production assets in Europe are aligned to the category strategic objectives, as well as the Midstream and Refining business priorities.

They have an understanding of and partner with the business to gather demand and challenge the business, where necessary, in order to deliver step changes in 3rd party spend by applying innovative solutions and change management. They have commercial foresight to help in delivering secure optimal, compliant, and competitive, risk-managed category outcomes.

They liaise with the procurement delivery teams and other categories to deliver both functional and business priorities, as well as working with FB&T on sourcing for their region. They balance business needs with category plans ensuring they are in alignment.

The Category Advisor is the primary point of contact for Fuel Additives, catalyst and chemical suppliers across Midstream and European refining. They partner and collaborate with suppliers to develop and support effective relationship management, ensuring local business needs are understood and met. They also work closely with Contract Account Managers (CAMs) to share guideline and implement improvements through Supplier Performance Management.

Key Accountabilities

• Responsible and accountable for the strategy of the Fuel Additives subcategory.

• Helps deliver category performance to the business that meet or exceeds relevant metrics, including those for safety and compliance.

• Delivers business needs whilst also aligning to category plans – Assists in consolidating demand plans for the business, working with their wider category team to ensure category plans are aligned. Understands the commercial landscape and market factors, aiding in the development of cost-effective strategies.

• Assists the business with supplier performance management or interventions, raising to the relevant parties, as needed, to ensure timely resolution and prevent leakage.

• Supports opportunities to partner, collaborate, develop, and strengthen relationships with our contractors and suppliers

• Unlocks value in line with category management policy
   

Team integration: Helps to create and embraces a culture of collaboration, excellence, and continuous improvement in their team, the business and FB&T. Develops their technical skills and helps to represent the interests of the business in their category, across procurement and the broader organization.

• Collaborates across procurement (including FB&T procurement), with the business and, where appropriate, with suppliers to create a ‘one team’ mentality

• Builds business knowledge across their category team to ensure delivery of their objectives

• Embraces psychological safety, and bp values, as a foundation for collaborative learning, conceptualisation and innovation

• Follows bp's Code of Conduct (CoC), policies and procedures to ensure compliance, role models bp’s ‘Who We Are’ expectations
   

Supplier & Stakeholder Management:

• Influences through complexity and ambiguity, managing virtual relationships with interested parties in multi-discipline, multi-cultural environments

• Builds good stakeholder relationships, bringing market insights and championing supplier value whilst taking time to understand business needs. Becomes a trusted advisor and critical partner to interested parties

• Builds relationships with the procurement teams globally, understanding feedback and proactively working to build procurements reputation and ROI

• Maintains close connectivity with FB&T ensuring appropriate prioritization and resourcing
   

Transformation and Change Management: Assists in the delivery of modernization & transformation activities, leading optimization of regional category delivery, and creating incremental value, aligned to the broader category, procurement and business transformation agendas.

• Uses digital solutions to drive innovation, enhancing efficiency, effectiveness and value creation

• Helps deliver modernization & transformation activities, and optimization of regional category delivery aligned to the broader procurement and business transformation agendas

Essential Education:

• Degree educated – Supply Chain and/or Procurement preferred - or equivalent relevant professional experience
   

Essential Experience and Job Requirements:

Functional knowledge: Must be adept at developing and maintaining business context including an understanding of strategic direction, priorities and interested parties.

• Knowledge of category management principles

• Understanding of how strategies flow through to execution in regions / assets

• Ability to develop a quick understanding of business objectives and harmonise it with category strategies
   

Business expertise: Stakeholder management and influencing skills in order to develop a deep understanding of the supported businesses, including long term objectives.

• Critical thinking and commercial foresight

• An understanding of working in and navigating complex multi-national businesses

• Track record in delivering continuous improvement
   

Leadership: An SME, who assists with delivery of business and procurement priorities. Collaborates across their category the businesses, suppliers and beyond to achieve regional goals.

• An advocate for our code, they incorporate the Operating Management System (OMS) and our safety leadership principles into strategies and everyday work
   

Problem solving: The ability to assist in partnering with the business to develop innovative solutions, clearing blockers and enabling delivery. Helps translate business requirements into a demand plan.

• Embraces industry challenges and technological disruption, pioneers innovative solutions whilst managing risk

• Brings multiple parties (procurement, business, suppliers) together to collaboratively solve complex problems

• Handles issues to successful resolution while maintaining relationships with key partners

• The ability to assist in evaluating innovative solutions and manage risk

• Helps translate business requirements into a strategic delivery plan, aligned with the category strategy, to inform strategic decisions
   

Interpersonal skills: The role demands good people skills to engage with diverse stakeholders.

• Good stakeholder networking and influencing skills to ensure agreement and adoption, building a reputation as a partner to the business

• Effective change management is key, requiring influencing, engagement and storytelling abilities

• Persevering through organizational complexity and resistance to change, key to leading transformational change
   

Why join us?

At bp, we support our people to grow in a diverse and exciting environment. We believe that our team is strengthened by diversity.

There are many aspects of our employees’ lives that are meaningful, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits can include flexible working options, a generous paid parental leave policy, excellent retirement benefits, among others!

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Reinvent your career as you help our business meet the challenges of the future. Apply now!

Travel Requirement

Up to 10% travel should be expected with this role

Relocation Assistance:

This role is not eligible for relocation

Remote Type:

This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills:

Analytical Thinking, Building sustainability, Business Acumen, Business Requirements Analysis, Category spend profiling, Category Strategy, Commercial Acumen, Digital Fluency, Leading Self, Negotiating, Negotiation planning and preparation, Product and market intelligence, Supplier Relationship Management, Sustainability awareness and action

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics like race, religion, color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.