Introduction
The Category Manager at TAFE NSW leads complex sourcing and procurement, supplier relationships and commercial solutions across a large education organisation. The role involves high-value and high-risk market engagements as well as the judgement needed to balance service, governance and risk. It suits an experienced procurement professional who can turn organisational requirements and market analysis into a practical category strategy.
The main written task in how to apply for Category Manager is a targeted response about a Facilities Management or comparable services category. You need to explain the strategy you developed and implemented, including the evidence behind it and the outcomes achieved. A current resume and qualification copies, where applicable, support that response.
The remuneration distinction is useful when comparing this vacancy: the base salary is $190,867 and the total package is $216,638, including superannuation and annual leave loading. The role is permanent full-time, and the campus location is negotiable across NSW subject to availability. Choose examples that show both commercial discipline and an understanding of the services your procurement decisions support.
View the official Category Manager job ad.
Role snapshot
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Role | Category Manager |
| Agency | TAFE NSW |
| Location | Negotiable across NSW campuses, subject to availability |
| Salary and classification | $190,867 base salary; $216,638 package including superannuation and annual leave loading |
| Employment | Permanent full-time |
| Closing date | 22 October 2026, 11:55pm AEDT |
| Official job ad | View the official Category Manager job ad |
| Role description | Read the role description |
Application requirements
Prepare the requested documents in the specified formats. The targeted response must be a Word document attached through the Supporting documents upload section.
- Current resume
- Copies of qualifications where applicable, uploaded as one PDF file
- Written response to 1 targeted question, in a Word document
Targeted questions
| Exact question | Response limit or format |
|---|---|
| Describe a category strategy that you have developed and implemented for Facilities Management or a comparable services category. In your response, explain: How you assessed the organisation’s requirements, spend profile, risks and supply market. The key opportunities and challenges you identified. How those insights informed your category strategy. The approach you took to engage stakeholders and gain support for the strategy. The outcomes achieved, including commercial, service, sustainability, risk or operational benefits. | Word document; no word or page limit specified in the public instructions |
Certified qualification copies are preferred and will be required if you are successful. Check the application form for any additional length or upload instructions before finalising the Word response.
Essential role requirements
Applicants need relevant qualifications or significant experience in procurement and category management and must meet the position description’s essential requirements. This is a child-related position requiring a valid NSW Working with Children Check before commencement, and TAFE NSW conducts an Australian National Criminal Record Check on the preferred applicant. Eligibility requires Australian citizenship, Australian permanent residency or New Zealand citizenship with a current New Zealand passport.
Candidate evidence to highlight
The response needs to show the chain of reasoning behind a category strategy. Use these practical evidence areas to select details that demonstrate your commercial judgement and the way you worked with the organisation.
| Requirement or evidence area | How to demonstrate it |
|---|---|
| Requirements, spend and supply market | Explain how you established service needs, analysed spend and understood supplier capacity, competition and constraints. |
| Strategy and risk | Show how the analysis informed sourcing choices, contract arrangements and a proportionate response to risk. |
| Stakeholder influence | Describe who needed to support the strategy, what concerns they raised and how you achieved a workable agreement. |
| Commercial and service outcomes | Use verified outcomes for value, service, sustainability, risk or operations and explain how you measured them. |
Example application structure for Category Manager
The targeted response carries the detailed procurement example, supported by your resume and qualification documents. The public instructions give no word or page maximum, so check the form before setting the final length. The table follows the question’s components to keep your response complete and easy to assess.
| Application section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Context and responsibility | Identify the Facilities Management or comparable services category, its scope and the strategy decisions you owned. |
| Assessment | Explain organisational requirements, spend analysis, risks and supply market findings. |
| Opportunities and strategy | Show the opportunities and constraints you identified and how they shaped the strategy you implemented. |
| Stakeholder support | Describe your engagement approach, competing requirements and how agreement was reached. |
| Implementation and outcomes | Explain delivery and measurable benefits, including any limitations or lessons that affected later decisions. |
Responses to targeted questions
Address the whole prompt in one coherent response. Clear subheadings can help the reader follow the assessment, strategy, engagement and outcomes without repeating the same material.
| Targeted question | What a strong response would include |
|---|---|
| Describe a category strategy that you have developed and implemented for Facilities Management or a comparable services category. In your response, explain: How you assessed the organisation’s requirements, spend profile, risks and supply market. The key opportunities and challenges you identified. How those insights informed your category strategy. The approach you took to engage stakeholders and gain support for the strategy. The outcomes achieved, including commercial, service, sustainability, risk or operational benefits. | Use one implemented strategy and address each listed component. Connect the requirements, spend, risks and market analysis to your chosen approach, then explain stakeholder support and the outcomes actually achieved. |
What the panel will want to see in your examples
- A strategy you helped implement, with your responsibility explicit.
- Analysis that explains why you chose the approach.
- A credible account of stakeholder concerns and agreement.
- Results supported by evidence and a meaningful comparison.
A facilities services example could involve consolidating fragmented contracts while protecting service continuity across multiple sites. Explain how you assessed the spend and different site requirements, tested market capacity and chose the sourcing approach. Discuss the trade-offs you made and how internal customers supported them. Use actual results, such as service reliability, risk reduction or verified commercial benefits, rather than treating estimated savings as achieved savings.
Before you submit
Check the targeted response is saved as a Word document and uploaded under Supporting documents. Combine applicable qualification copies into one PDF and confirm your preferred campus can be considered. Applications close at 11:55pm AEDT on 22 October 2026. Ensure the resume and response use consistent scope, dates and outcomes.
View the official Category Manager job ad.
Help with your Category Manager application
Team 3Thirty can help you structure the category-strategy response and make the commercial reasoning clear. If you want support selecting and explaining the example, request application support and include the role instructions with your own procurement evidence.