Category Specialist – Oncology

The Category Specialist - Oncology plays a critical role in ensuring the strategic procurement of pharmaceuticals, specialised medical equipment, and services for cancer care, balancing cost-effectiveness with high-quality patient care standards. By proactive forecasting and leading sourcing events, you will support the business in the selection of the right suppliers by researching competitively priced patented and generic drugs. Acting as the operational link between pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers, internal clinical and operational teams, the role ensures that demand forecasting, ordering, and inventory management are aligned to patient activity, prescribing trends, and service level agreements. The Category Specialist - Oncology proactively identifies and mitigates supply risks, including shortages, allocation constraints, and discontinuations, ensuring appropriate contingency planning is in place. The role supports commercial and strategic procurement objectives through supplier engagement, price and contract management, and adherence to framework agreements, while ensuring full regulatory compliance. Through effective data analysis, supplier performance management, and collaboration with stakeholders, the Category Specialist - Oncology enables resilient, efficient, and compliant medicines supply within a regulated healthcare environment. This role acts as the operational and strategic bridge between suppliers, internal stakeholders, and the wider supply chain, ensuring that procurement activity directly supports business performance and patient outcomes. You are responsible for managing a defined group of suppliers with a focus on Oncology and Cancer care, maintaining strong relationships, and ensuring that any risks, constraints, or supply issues are identified early and acted upon quickly through accurate and timely forecasting to ensure correct products and volumes of products are always in stock and communicated to wider business. Regular supplier and business stakeholder meetings as part of an effective Supplier Relationship Management programme is a key part of this role’s activity, together with evaluating and collaborating with suppliers on sustainable practices. Oversee the performance and reliability of allocated suppliers, proactively identifying and resolving issues that could affect business operations. Support the development, maintenance, and execution of category strategies that reflect business priorities and compliance needs. Lead competitive sourcing activity, including RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs, ensuring robust evaluation and informed supplier selection. Conduct contract and commercial negotiations to secure optimal pricing, terms, and long‑term value. Ensure the inclusion of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria into supplier selection, contracts, and performance monitoring to incorporate sustainability, ethics and resilient within the Sciensus supply chain. Analyse homecare framework landscape, service-level requirements, and supplier capabilities from NHS and pharma-funded homecare contracts Maintain optimal inventory levels to support uninterrupted homecare operations, factoring in: Product and Supplier risk profile, Contractual requirements, Effective working capital management. Support the Procurement Supply Chain Coordinators in the management of suppliers, purchase orders and be a point of escalation where required. Champion continuous improvement with the end-to-end supply chain, ensuring alignment with best practice and regulatory expectations Ensuring departmental SOPs are up to date and accurate. Demonstrable experience in pharmaceutical or healthcare procurement, with a strong understanding of medicines supply chains and regulated environments. Sound working knowledge of Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and the implications for purchasing, storage, traceability, and supplier management of medicinal products. Proven ability to manage end‑to‑end purchasing activity, including demand forecasting, purchase order management, inventory control, and supplier issue resolution. Strong commercial awareness, with experience of working to framework agreements, managing pricing, and ensuring contract compliance. Ability to assess and manage supply risk, including shortages, allocations, product discontinuations, and contingency planning for critical medicines. Confident communicator, able to work collaboratively with internal stakeholders such as pharmacy, clinical, finance, and operations teams, as well as external suppliers and manufacturers. High attention to detail, with the ability to maintain accurate procurement records and ensure audit readiness in line with regulatory and internal governance requirements. Strong analytical capability, with experience using data to support stock management, demand planning, supplier performance monitoring, and decision‑making. Highly data‑driven, with the ability to extract, analyse, and present insights clearly. Proficient in Excel (formulas, pivot tables), with Power BI knowledge advantageous. Familiarity with ERP systems, ideally Microsoft Dynamics 365. Demonstrates commitment to continuous learning and staying current with procurement trends. Education: Educated to at least A-level in a business-related subject CIPS Level 4 Diploma (or working toward) is required.