Category Manager, Innovation

Job Description : About the Function Procurement shapes how we build and grow our brands through the partnerships, services and materials that support our business. Managing over £12bn of spend, this team works across our global supply chain to create value, drive efficiency and support sustainable growth. From supplier partnerships to innovation, their work has a direct impact on the quality and success of our brands.You’ll collaborate with teams and partners around the world, helping deliver solutions that meet today’s needs while shaping what comes next. Procurement Our Procurement team are innovators, always seeking new ways to help our business, people and much-loved brands thrive. We're dedicated to maximizing the £12 billion+ we spend every year, building brands of premium quality, while creating sustainable value and growth. Together, we're shaping the services, partnerships and innovations that meet our future needs. Our procurement team delivers outstanding end-to-end value across our supply chain and offers innovative supplier solutions. Together, we're driving our 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' plan across suppliers and agency partners to create a more sustainable world. Wherever you choose to carve your career, we'll support and encourage you in our inclusive culture. Job Level 5 Level 5 Job Title: Procurement Category Manager, Innovation

About this role

Diageo's Procurement structure combines above-market resources, who develop world-class category strategies, with in-market Procurement resources, who focus on excellence in execution and supplier performance management. The Procurement Category Manager, Innovation connects Diageo's brand and innovation ambition to supplier capability. This role embeds Procurement early in the innovation lifecycle, anticipates the packaging and liquid capabilities the pipeline will need, and turns business strategy into scalable supplier solutions across North America. The role shapes what Diageo sources and with whom for the next generation of launches, rather than administering purchasing transactions. Day-to-day execution is delivered through the Innovation Project Managers, Supply Category Procurement and in-market teams, working to the frameworks, governance and standards this role designs.

• Reports to the Supply Procurement Director, Raw Materials, Logstics and Supply Innovation.
• Supports all locations and innovation programs in North America.
• Owns the Supplier Performance Management (SPM) framework for innovation, setting the standards, KPIs and governance. Routine execution is carried out by in-market and category teams.
• Identifies and leads Way of Working (WOW) improvements that continuously drive value back to the business, evaluating the end-to-end innovation value chain for efficiency, speed and cost.

Market complexity

• Operates across North America, influencing outcomes in multiple markets and across several innovation programs at once.
• Creates the right environment for success against a backdrop of diverse and often conflicting business needs, making trade-offs on speed, cost, risk and capability, and aligning stakeholders behind them.
• Influences a broad set of cross-functional stakeholders, inside and outside the supply organization, including senior leaders in Brand, R&D, Innovation, Finance, Supply and Commercial.

Role responsibilities:

Strategy and leadership

• Own the creation and delivery of the Sourcing Innovation strategy for North America, linking the innovation pipeline to a clear sourcing plan, supplier capability roadmap and value agenda.
• Own the strategic graphics supplier relationship across the North America portfolio, supporting both innovation and renovation commercialization projects including, the joint business plan, business reviews, performance, cost and capacity.
• Partner with Brand, Innovation and R&D leadership early in the stage-gate process, so that Procurement shapes concepts and informs go/no-go decisions on cost, supply risk and supplier readiness.
• Translate business innovation priorities into category-level sourcing strategies across packaging and liquid, working with Procurement Category Managers and Directors to keep them aligned with global category strategy.
• Establish Procurement Innovation best practices and an operating model for how Procurement engages with innovation, including clear handoffs from launch to base business procurement.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, using data, scenarios and clear storytelling to influence decisions and educate the business on the key sourcing and financial drivers in packaging and liquid categories.

Supplier Innovation and Capability

• Build and manage an innovation pipeline from external partners. Proactively identify and mobilize suppliers to solve defined business challenges and convert supplier ideas into actionable projects.
• Conduct continuous supplier and market landscape assessments in packaging and liquid, tracking emerging technologies, materials, sustainability solutions and supplier capability trends relevant to Diageo's future needs.
• Lead capability gap assessments across the existing supplier base with Category Managers and Directors, and decide when to develop, onboard or exit suppliers.
• Source new-to-world suppliers and technologies for the innovation pipeline and lead strategic selection and negotiation of the most critical partnerships.
• Design and run supplier-enabled innovation events, such as innovation days and challenges, in partnership with R&D and Brand.

Value creation and financial stewardship

• Shape transparent financials by guiding COGS-setting for new-to-world components, setting cost-modeling principles and challenging assumptions early in the development process.
• Identify and deliver savings and value opportunities through innovation sourcing strategy, design-to-value collaboration with suppliers, and process-driven improvement.
• Anticipate supply risk and run scenario planning for the innovation portfolio, with practical mitigation paths for the most critical launches.

Performance, governance and continuous improvement

• Own the innovation KPI framework across packaging and liquid suppliers, including on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery and 100% compliance. Use insights from the data to drive supplier development and present cross-functional performance feedback to internal and external leadership teams.
• Set the standards for innovation Supplier Performance Management and the Supplier Lifecycle Development Process and provide guidance and coaching to Innovation Project Managers and Supply Category Procurement, who manage launch-level vendor execution.
• Define and champion Procure-to-Pay (PtP) compliance requirements for innovation, such as PO creation, budget management, vendor reinstatement and extensions. Embed them in the ways of working, monitor compliance through dashboards and exception reporting, and escalate patterns that need leadership attention. Transactional processing is handled by the appropriate in-market and shared-service teams.
• Lead process improvement and Way of Working opportunities that simplify complexity and create scalable best practices across the end-to-end innovation value chain.
• Facilitate cross-functional forums with Finance, Supply, Marketing, Legal, Quality and R&D to strengthen alignment, and escalate to senior leaders when priorities conflict.

Experience and skills required:

Experience

• University degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Engineering or equivalent.
• Purchasing, project management and/or business qualification desirable (CIPS/MBA).
• 6–8 years of experience in procurement, innovation, supply chain and/or R&D, in a forward-thinking, fast-paced and value-adding environment.
• Proven experience in packaging and/or liquid categories, with exposure to new product development or commercialization.
• Track record of building strong stakeholder alliances and influencing senior leaders across functions, as well as developing and managing strategic supplier or agency relationships.

Skills and capabilities

• Strategic thinking and strong business acumen, with the ability to connect sourcing decisions to brand, category and business strategy.
• Influence and negotiation skills to shape decisions, build alignment and navigate conflicting priorities across a matrixed organization.
• Analytical and data-driven, with the ability to build business cases, cost models and scenarios. Comfortable with business intelligence tools such as Power BI or Tableau.
• Advanced storytelling, written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to turn complex ideas into clear, compelling messages for different audiences.
• Strong critical thinking on complex problems, including risk sensing, trade-off analysis and sound decision-making under ambiguity.
• Change leadership and a continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to take work from concept to execution.
• Curiosity about emerging technologies and AI, and how they can improve insight generation and ways of working.
• Proficiency in SAP, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and a working understanding of source-to-pay processes.
• Enthusiastic, tenacious and a strong team player.

Working with Us Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one. We recognise and value performance, offering our people a highly competitive Rewards and Benefits package including: Our purpose is crafting iconic drinks chosen for life’s moments. And it’s our people, with their different experiences, perspectives and talents, who make that possible. We value diversity in its broadest sense and want everyone to feel they can belong, contribute and strive for their personal best. You’ll work alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives — challenging, supporting and learning from one another as one outstanding team. Together, we’re constantly learning and improving, combining the strength of our people, capabilities and iconic brands to raise the bar, grow and win. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute, make an impact and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more. Ready to bring your best? This could be your opportunity. If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application. Worker Type : Regular Primary Location: 3WTC Additional Locations : Plainfield Tech Centre, Stamford Job Posting Start Date : 2026-11-06 PLAINFIELD TECH CENTRE: SALARY RANGE IS FROM $102,375 TO $170,625 (ANNUAL) At Diageo certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including annual incentive payment and stock awards. US-based employees are eligible for healthcare benefits, retirement benefits , short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, wellness benefits and industry leading parental leave, among others. (Benefits/perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Diageo and the country where you work.) The salary range displayed is the salary range for the role’s primary location.