Category Manager – Managed Services
Compass Group- Reporting to the General Manager – Procurement & Supply Chain
- Preferred base location is Sydney, NSW Office - Open either to Brisbane QLD or Melbourne, VIC offices
Compass Group Australia generates $2 billion in annual revenue, serving 350+ clients across 700+ sites with a team of 16,000. Through Foodbuy, our dedicated procurement and supply chain organization, we offer unmatched scale and expertise in sourcing, contracting, and supply management.
Join a global leader that champions innovation, empowers careers, and creates possibilities!
The Opportunity
The Category Manager – Managed Services drives strategic sourcing and category leadership across all non-FM service contractors, including travel, labour hire, medical, and IT providers. Managing over $100m in annual spend, the role champions value creation by shaping commercial strategy, elevating supplier performance, and partnering with stakeholders to deliver innovation, compliance, and measurable business impact.
Key Responsibilities
- Own the managed services category end‑to‑end, operating autonomously within a strong peer group
- Manage the full procurement lifecycle: stakeholder engagement, strategy, baseline validation, tendering, negotiation, contracting, and post‑award change management
- Deliver budget, fiscal, and safety outcomes with clear performance tracking
- Ensure subcontractor compliance and effective contractual governance to mitigate risk and drive performance
- Oversee contract accuracy, KPI delivery, and realised benefits, partnering with Legal as needed
- Strengthen supply chain resilience through proactive risk management and quarterly business reviews
- Drive vendor optimisation via commercial insight, consolidation, and business alignment
- Provide market, competitor, and customer insights to support innovation, planning, benchmarking, and contingency strategies
What You’ll Bring
- A mature, curious mindset with strong attention to detail and supplier management capability
- Proven services procurement experience in high‑volume, ambiguous environments
- Strong category and contract management expertise, including rapid sourcing
- Ability to balance value optimisation with sector‑specific operational needs
- Solid understanding of processes, systems, and corporate workflows to unlock value
- Strong commercial acumen, stakeholder collaboration, and adaptability
- Continuous improvement focus, effective prioritisation, and resilience in complex settings
- A positive attitude and willingness to challenge the status quo as part of a collaborative procurement team
Ready to make your mark? Apply now and be part of something bigger!
Why Compass Group
Be part of Australia’s largest food and support services company. You’ll work across iconic venues and leading workplaces, partnering with experts in culinary, technology and sustainability to deliver experiences people love. We offer scale, career pathways, and the autonomy to shape strategies that deliver meaningful, measurable growth.
The Benefits
Working with a large global company means you can be assured that we have an attractive benefits program! This includes comprehensive learning & development offerings, a variety of recognition programs and company discounts, an excellent salary benchmarking matrix and at this management level also includes an incentive bonus scheme! You can read all about these here: Why work at Compass
If you're ready to take the next step in your procurement career and contribute to something bigger, we want to hear from you! For any questions, doubts, or for a confidential chat, please reach out to us on either 1300TALENT or talisson@compass-group.com.au
We are committed to ensuring a recruitment process that is fair, inclusive, and accessible to all. If you require any adjustments or alternative methods of communication during the process, please let us know—our team will support you in the way that works best for you.