Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

purchasing managertoprocurement category specialist

A purchasing manager already meets 50% of what the procurement category specialist role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

From purchasing manager
50%
Overlap1
To procurement category specialist
13 Skills carried over
6 Required, not held
51.5 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

50%

Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

51.5/ 100

1 Share of the procurement category specialist role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the purchasing manager profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A procurement category specialist role treats 10 of its required skills as things a purchasing manager already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • assess procurement needs
  • category specific expertise
  • implement procurement of innovation
  • implement sustainable procurement
  • maintain relationship with suppliers
  • manage contracts

What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A procurement category specialist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a purchasing manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held category specific expertise business, administration and law
  • already held manage procurement planning management skills
  • already held perform procurement market analysis information skills
  • already held assess procurement needs communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held implement sustainable procurement communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held procurement lifecycle business, administration and law

All 13 carried skills, including the 10 the procurement category specialist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 21 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held draft procurement technical specifications required
  • required, not held adapt to changing situations required
  • required, not held address problems critically required
  • optional, not held cooperate with colleagues optional
  • optional, not held manage relationships with stakeholders optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
02 information skills 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held keep up-to-date with regulations required
  • required, not held monitor developments in field of expertise required
  • optional, not held evaluate tender optional
  • optional, not held implement risk management in procurement optional
  • optional, not held draft tender documentation optional
03 management skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held develop performance orientation in public administration required
  • optional, not held develop procurement strategy optional
04 assisting and caring 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held adhere to organisational code of ethics optional
  • optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
05 business, administration and law 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held e-procurement optional
  • optional, not held organisational structure optional
06 generic programmes and qualifications 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held communication principles optional
  • optional, not held teamwork principles optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a procurement category specialist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess procurement needs skill
  • already held category specific expertise knowledge
  • already held implement procurement of innovation skill
  • already held implement sustainable procurement skill
  • already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
  • already held manage contracts skill
  • already held manage procurement planning skill
  • already held perform procurement market analysis skill
  • already held procurement lifecycle knowledge
  • already held supplier management knowledge
  • already held international business knowledge
  • already held procurement legislation knowledge
  • already held use e-procurement skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 arts and humanities 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held morality optional
08 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held adhere to organisational code of ethics optional
  • optional, not held develop procurement strategy optional
  • optional, not held e-procurement optional
  • optional, not held evaluate tender optional
  • optional, not held implement risk management in procurement optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held adhere to organisational guidelines optional
  • optional, not held communication principles optional
  • optional, not held cooperate with colleagues optional
  • optional, not held draft tender documentation optional
  • optional, not held manage relationships with stakeholders optional
  • optional, not held morality optional
  • optional, not held organisational structure optional
  • optional, not held teamwork principles optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
40 held skills the procurement category specialist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on sustainable management policies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse logistic changes skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain trends skill
  • not needed by the target role assess supplier risks skill
  • not needed by the target role attend trade fairs skill
  • not needed by the target role calculate purchasing levels of raw materials skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out statistical forecasts skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate purchasing activities skill
  • not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
  • not needed by the target role estimate costs of required supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
  • not needed by the target role identify suppliers skill
  • not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain contract administration skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
  • not needed by the target role manage inventory skill
  • not needed by the target role manage rented goods returns skill
  • not needed by the target role manage staff skill
  • not needed by the target role manage supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role market pricing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
  • not needed by the target role negotiate buying conditions skill
  • not needed by the target role negotiate sales contracts skill
  • not needed by the target role order supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role pricing strategies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
  • not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role strive for company growth skill
  • not needed by the target role study sales levels of products skill
  • not needed by the target role supply chain management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role supply chain principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role sustainable manufacturing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role track price trends skill
  • not needed by the target role train employees skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held e-procurement optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held communication principles optional
  • optional, not held morality optional
  • optional, not held organisational structure optional
  • optional, not held teamwork principles optional
Index

Other moves recorded from purchasing manager

Full index of moves from purchasing manager

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.