About us

The Department of Government Services (DGS) was established on 1 January 2023 to improve everyone's experience of doing business and interacting with the Victorian government. We bring important day-to-day services together in one department to make things easy and seamless for Victorians and businesses. We are doing this by connecting and digitising our systems and platforms across state and local government as well as streamlining our corporate and procurement services.

About the role

The Category Manager is responsible for managing and/or sourcing goods and services State Purchase Contracts (SPC). SPCs are head contracts used by a broad range of Victorian government stakeholders and the role requires strong stakeholder engagement and collaboration skills as well as technical procurement and contract management capability.

Key accountabilities include:

• Lead the end-to-end category management activities across a broad range of goods and services categories to ensure that optimum procurement outcomes are achieved.
• Lead whole of Victorian government sourcing projects including requirements gathering, business case development, tender preparation, evaluation, supplier negotiation and implementation whilst collaboratively engaging with key stakeholders to deliver effective procurement outcomes.
• Effectively apply government procurement policies and legislative requirements to develop and implement category management strategies that deliver value for money outcomes including probity and transparency.
• Develop effective and collaborative relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders including senior management, departmental colleagues, Chief Procurement Officers and other key staff from government departments, suppliers and industry bodies.

About you

To be considered for the role, you must be able to demonstrate:

• Recognised procurement professional with expert knowledge in undertaking sourcing events for strategic engagements including leading complex negotiations to drive effective procurement outcomes.
• Expert category manager with strong experience in developing and implementing sound category strategies, managing the end-to-end contract management process and applying effective supplier relationship management.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with proven ability engage with a diverse range of stakeholders and build collaborative and effective relationships to deliver outstanding procurement outcomes.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the application of procurement systems, tools and data analytics to support decision making, manage risk and maximise value for money outcomes.
• High level analytical and conceptual skills with the ability to deliver innovative solutions to resolve complex problems.

For specific responsibilities please review the attached position description.

This position is only open to applicants with relevant rights to work in Australia.

How to apply

Apply before the advertised closing date 11:59pm on Sunday, 09 March 2025. All applications should include:

• a resume; and
• a cover letter which addresses the key selection criteria (within three pages)

In accordance with the Jobs and Skills Exchange Policy, Victorian Public Service employees are required to apply via the JSE for primary consideration access.

Other relevant information

The department is committed to providing and maintaining a working environment which is safe and without risk to the health of its employees and clients and consistent with the department's obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OH&S Act), to support this DGS has a COVID-19 Vaccination policy which strongly recommends all DGS employees be fully vaccinated.

Preferred candidates will be required to complete a Pre-employment Declaration and Consent Form. Employment of successful candidates will be subject to a National Police Check.

DGS actively promotes diversity, inclusion and an equal opportunity workplace. We welcome applicants from all diverse backgrounds, including people with disabilities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. All roles at DGS can be worked flexibly, however it may differ from role to role.