Senior Supplier Manager

80633- Senior Supplier Manager

This Senior Supplier Manager position will report to the Head of IS Commercial and Strategy and will work within the Information Systems directorate based in our London office. You will be a permanent employee.

You will attract a salary of Circa £80,000 and a bonus of 10%. This role can also offer blended working after probationary period (6 months) - 3 days in the office and 2 remote.

Close Date: 13/04/2025.

We also provide the following additional benefits

• 25 Days Annual Leave plus bank holidays. 
• Reservist Leave – Additional 18 days full pay and 22 unpaid
• Personal Pension Plan – Personal contribution rates of 4% or 5% (UK Power Networks will make a corresponding contribution of 8% or 10%)
• Tenancy Loan Deposit Scheme, Season Ticket Loan
• Tax efficient benefits: Cycle to Work, Home & Tech, and Green Car Leasing Schemes
• Occupational Health support
• Switched On – scheme providing discount on hundreds of retailers’ products
• Discounted gym membership
• Employee Assistance Programme

Job purpose:

You will be a member of the Commercial & Strategy Team in the Corporate IS function, providing the following important components:

• Supplier Management
• Commercial Management
• Stakeholder Management

You will develop and implement an SRM Framework to allow the management and optimisation of relationships with main suppliers in the technology area. You will build a small team of capable professionals with the focus on ensuring supplier performance, alignment with supplier x's goals and management of contractual obligations to maximise value and minimise risks.

Dimensions:

~2FTE

Supplier Portfolio Totex value of £70m per annum

Principal accountabilities:

Build an SRM function

• You will develop a supplier relationship management framework including defining an approach to supplier segmentation and the delivery of a clear governance framework

Contract Obligation Management (shares responsibility with Contracts Manager)

• Develop and deliver a contract management capability to ensure all contracts are identified, stored and assigned an owner
• Ensure compliance with all contractual obligations by managing supplier adherence to agreed terms, service levels, and performance metrics.
• Be the primary contact for resolving contractual issues, amendments or changes, discrepancies, and disputes.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of contract terms, including penalties, renewal triggers, and opportunities for renegotiation or extension.
• Collaborate with Business owner, Procurement, Operational & Legal teams to identify and address risks related to supplier contracts.
• Provide regular reporting on contract compliance and performance against obligations by both parties

Supplier Performance Management

• Develop and implement supplier performance frameworks to measure and evaluate supplier delivery.
• Conduct regular supplier reviews, using KPIs and SLAs to assess operational efficiency, quality, and service standards
• Identify areas for improvement and work with suppliers to implement corrective action plans or continuous improvement projects
• Utilise data and analytics to provide insights into supplier performance trends and outcomes.
• Ensure suppliers meet organisational goals for cost efficiency, quality, sustainability, and innovation.

Strategic Supplier Management

• Develop collaborative relationships with strategic suppliers to ensure agreement on Supplier X's priorities.
• Promote innovation and co-development opportunities to deliver added value and achieve competitive advantage.
• Mitigate risks by overseeing supplier financial health, operational capacity, and compliance with governance standards.
• Implement governance frameworks to manage supplier interactions, including regular review meetings (Weekly Business Review, Monthly BR, Quarterly BR, etc.) and associated reporting

Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with company partners, including business owner, procurement, finance, legal, and operational teams, to align supplier strategies with our goals.
• Guide communication between other teams and suppliers ensuring issue resolution.
• Provide partners with regular updates on supplier performance, risks, and opportunities.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and feedback loops between stakeholders and suppliers to improve outcomes.
• Advocate for stakeholder priorities within supplier engagements while balancing supplier capabilities and constraints.

Sustainability and Ethical Procurement

• Promote sustainable procurement practices and ensure supplier adherence to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.
• Uphold ethical sourcing principles, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Nature and scope:

• You will play a critical role supporting the team in building an approach to assure the ongoing governance of supplier relationships, ensuring compliance with contract terms, and service level agreements (SLAs).

• You will increase supplier accountability for delivering cost efficiency, quality, sustainability, and innovation. You will promote this by encouraging collaborations and demonstrating expertise in navigating company partner relationships, supplier relationship management, strategic procurement, negotiation and contract obligation management, with a focus on the unique complexities of indirect goods and services.

• Be a critical contact for strategic suppliers, you will develop a performance monitoring, risk mitigation, and value-driven collaboration capability.
• We offer an important opportunity to contribute to supplier x's success by leveraging strategic supplier partnerships.

Qualifications:

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in procurement and supplier relationship management practices as outlined by the CIPS Global Standard
• Strong negotiation, contract management, and performance analysis skills
• Knowledge of risk management frameworks and tools.

Behavioural Competencies

• Collaboration skills, with the ability to influence partners at all levels
• Focus on delivering measurable outcomes
• Strong leadership abilities.

Analytical Skills

• Interpret data and produce relevant insights for supplier performance and strategy
• Proficiency in using procurement tools and supplier management software. Experience and knowledge of Coupa is an advantage

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, supply chain management, or a related field (CIPS certification preferred, or working towards)
• Experience with supplier relationship management or procurement, with experience managing strategic supplier partnerships
• Knowledge of industry trends and best practices in procurement and supply chain management

Performance Measures

• Achieve supplier performance targets (e.g., cost savings, delivery performance)
• Supplier contracts managed, and risks avoided
• Implement supplier innovation and improvement projects
• Compliance with sustainability and ethical procurement standards
• Strength and effectiveness of supplier relationships and partner feedback.

Health & Safety Responsibilities

Managers and supervisors carry both legal and company responsibilities for ensuring the health and safety of their employees, those under their control and those who might be affected by the work undertaken, i.e. public, visitors and employees of other organisations. This includes briefing individuals working for them and ensuring there is the necessary understanding, competence and application of requirements to work safely and without harming the environment.

Employees will ensure they understand the health and safety risks involved in their work activities and their responsibility to apply the controls needed to manage those risks to acceptable levels. Similarly where work activities can have an adverse impact upon the environment, and where there are legal requirements, employees will understand those impacts and the controls they must ensure are applied.

If in doubt ask!

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

If you have any queries in connection to this vacancy or your application, please contact us at careers@ukpowernetworks.co.uk quoting the vacancy reference number and a member of the team will get in touch with you as soon as possible.