Job Title:  Procurement Category Manager – Commodities & Services

Function: Supply Chain - Procurement

Location: Head Office Glasgow, Grangemouth or Invergordon - Hybrid Working (2 days per week in office)

Job Level: (Internal Reference Only) 6

Contract: Full Time / Permanent - 35 Hours - Monday to Thursday – 08:30-17:00, Friday 08:30-13:30.

Role Reports to: Head of Procurement

Date vacancy will close: 5pm, Friday 27th February 2026. Where we receive high numbers of applications we may close vacancies early.  If you think this is the right opportunity for you please don't delay in applying!

Who we are:

Born in Glasgow, made in Scotland and enjoyed around the world. Whyte and Mackay is home to a collection of multi-award-winning global whisky brands led by The Dalmore, Fettercairn, Jura and Tamnavulin. Our mission is to be a driving force in whisky, renowned for building brands that stand-out.  Enabled by our brilliant community of 750 colleagues, reaching across 17 countries and counting.  We're led by our values, continuing to grow and invest and looking for great talent to join our brilliant community.  Ready to hear more?

What the opportunity looks like:

Lead the end-to-end procurement category strategy for commodities and services—including raw materials, casks/coopering, utilities, transport and distillery support requirements. Identify and assist in delivering commercial value, supply assurance, compliance, and sustainability improvements across the supply base. Ensure robust procurement governance, aligned purchasing behaviours, and risk manage supplier relationships that support operational continuity and organisational goals.

• Develop, implement, and continuously refine robust sourcing and hedging strategies for key raw materials and indirect commodities—such as malt, wheat, yeast, wood pellets, barrels, fuel and electricity—to optimise cost efficiency, protect budget exposure, and ensure security of supply. Lead cross‑functional engagement by influencing senior stakeholders across Distilling, Operations, Finance, and Executive teams, ensuring alignment on market risks, hedging positions, and commercial impacts. Prepare and deliver clear, insight‑driven presentations and forecasting updates for Finance and Treasury to support decision‑making, governance, and long‑term commodity risk management. Success will be measured through hedging effectiveness, cost‑avoidance versus benchmarks, quality of financial insight, and senior‑stakeholder confidence in procurement strategy.

• Drive cross‑functional collaboration to enhance processes, forecasting, and operational efficiency. Coordinate with Distilling, Master Blenders, Finance, and Logistics to align supply plans and forecasts, engage procurement early, and meet operational requirements. Use project charters to define scope, deliverables and governance for major improvement projects, and identify technology, supplier and process innovations. Success is measured by supply recommendation accuracy, financial forecasting quality, and stakeholder satisfaction.

• Oversee contracting, cost control and procurement compliance to maintain governance standards. Ensure all relevant contracts, tenders and purchase orders—including non‑centralised sites—are negotiated, raised, monitored and compliant with internal controls, pricing frameworks, and audit expectations. Success measured by contract coverage, PO accuracy, audit outcomes and reduction in non‑compliant spend.

• Provide support for transport procurement, focusing on the US barrel and logistics within supply chain to maintain both availability and cost control. Supervise the entire barrel supply process, which includes first-fill, seasoned casks, refills, and speciality barrels. Manage barrel logistics for container and EU shipments to reduce costs, delays, and quality risks. Performance will be evaluated based on timely availability, landed cost per cask, improvements in logistics efficiency, and the accuracy of barrel-related invoices.

• Lead and nurture long‑term strategic partnerships with sherry and seasoned‑cask suppliers, recognising their critical role in spirit quality and brand differentiation. Maintain deep, collaborative relationships with cooperages, bodegas, and seasoning partners to secure long‑term supply, ensure cask quality, and protect future availability. Drive joint planning, multi‑year volume commitments, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance resilience, sustainability, and commercial value across the seasoned‑cask supply chain. Success will be measured through supply assurance, cask quality performance, partnership stability, and delivery against long‑term commercial agreements.

• As a People Manager, you will be responsible for motivating, connecting, and leading your team. You will carry out key people management activities throughout the year, including performance reviews, development planning, and fostering a positive team environment.

Skills and experience that will help you be a success:

For this role we're looking for:

• Degree‑level education or equivalent professional experience.

• MCIPS (preferred) or actively working towards CIPS certification.

• Strong knowledge of best‑practice procurement and sourcing processes, including competitive tendering, sustainable sourcing and ethical supply principles.

• Deep understanding of supplier relationship management to maximise value, reduce risk and ensure full compliance across a diverse supplier base.

• Solid grasp of procurement governance, including contract terms, pricing mechanisms, warranty arrangements and internal control frameworks.

• In‑depth understanding of commodity markets relevant to Distilling (malt, wheat, yeast, pellets, fuel, electricity, water, barrels), including price volatility, market drivers and hedging fundamentals.

• Awareness of distilling operations, raw‑material requirements, and the operational impact of commodity availability and quality would be advantageous.

• Understanding of logistics and freight flows.

• Strong understanding of commodity cost structures, cost drivers and commercial modelling.

• Valid driving licence (regular supplier and distillery site travel required).

We believe that everyone has the potential for growth in our roles!  You may feel you don't tick every box for this role, but if you believe you have relevant experiences that could help you succeed we'd much rather you apply rather than rule yourself out based on any self-limiting beliefs!  

Why join us:

We offer a competitive salary, bonus package, life assurance, competitive pension, excellent product allowance, 35 days annual leave, plus enhanced family friendly policies. Our Rewards & Benefits page has further information.

Our application process:

If you like what you’ve read and want to explore this opportunity further, please apply before the closing date listed at the top of the advert.  

Our team read each and every application, therefore you'll hear back from us in due course.

Candidate guidance on the use of AI in the application and screening process can be found on our career site.

Should you require any adjustments to our recruitment process to help you be at your best then please contact us at HRTeam@whyteandmackay.com and we'll do what we can to support.