Senior Supplier Manager

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Blackpool; Hybrid; CAD 43,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a Senior Supplier Manager to enhance supplier relationships and manage financial performance in a fast-paced environment. This pivotal role involves overseeing digital contracts and engaging with dynamic teams to ensure quality service delivery. Join DWP to make a meaningful impact while facilitating efficient digital services that benefit millions.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Flexible working patterns

Health and wellbeing support

Funded learning and development

Employee discount schemes

Qualifications

• Strong commercial and financial experience.
• Ability to manage supplier contracts effectively.
• Skills in financial reporting and budgeting.

Responsibilities

• Manage up to 20 digital contracts, ensuring compliance with KPIs.
• Lead complex procurements and maintain stakeholder relationships.
• Oversee cost models and financial planning for projects.

Skills

Stakeholder Management

Financial Management

Supplier Relationship Management

Job description

This role may be located in one of the following locations; Blackpool or Manchester

Please find further information on the Corporate hub locations here.

Job Summary

Ready to make a real impact in a fast-paced digital environment?

We’re looking for a Senior Supplier Manager with strong commercial and financial experience, great stakeholder skills, and a passion for driving change.

At the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), our work touches millions of lives, especially the most vulnerable. Join us and help deliver secure, efficient, and resilient digital services that power one of the UK’s largest government departments.

You’ll play a vital role in the Workplace Computing Environment, managing supplier relationships, overseeing the commercial lifecycle, and ensuring financial discipline across dynamic, cross-functional teams.

Why join Technology Services at DWP?

• Be part of a team that underpins critical digital services.
• Work with cutting-edge tools to boost efficiency and user experience.
• Grow your skills with clear development and progression opportunities.
  
  

If you’re relationship-driven, commercially savvy, and thrive under pressure we want to hear from you.

Job Description

As a Senior Supplier Manager, you’ll manage up to 20 digital contracts of varying complexity, overseeing cost models, financial reporting, and supplier performance.

You’ll lead complex procurements from end to end, resolve issues, and maintain strong stakeholder relationships. A key focus will be ensuring suppliers meet their commitments, including full traceability of end-of-life ICT.

You may also have line management responsibilities, including setting priorities and allocating work across the team.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include, But Not Limited To:

• Managing suppliers to meet key performance indicators and agreed targets and implementing supplier service improvement actions.
• Collaborating with Delivery teams to ensure that Commercial activities are in place to support product roadmaps.
• Managing operational relationships between suppliers. Ensure potential disputes or conflicts are raised at an early stage, with clear escalation paths for resolving them.
• Perform benchmarking and make use of supplier performance data to ensure that supplier performance is properly monitored and regularly reviewed to handle contracts with third party supplier to ensure obligations are met.
• Supporting the Programme Manager to identify constraints and opportunities when negotiating or renegotiating contracts.
• Managing supplier relationships at a strategic level, providing to support on helping resolve complex or high-risk commercial issues.
• Managing project cost models, enabling budgeting cost control, financial planning to ensure the projects and live services stay within the approved budget.
• Understand Business requirements to establish route to market, including re-use of current contracts. Negotiate contract proposals with Commercial Business Partners and challenge where appropriate, to deliver cost savings and VFM for the Business.
• You will manage the governance process for contracts, ensuring they deliver cost savings, value for money and Business needs are met.
• You will support financial Spending Review planning, forecasts, working closely with Lead Programme Manager to secure budgets and track spend for this high-profile government initiative.
  
  

As a Senior Supplier Manager, you’ll manage up to 20 digital contracts of varying complexity, overseeing cost models, financial reporting, and supplier performance.

You’ll lead complex procurements from end to end, resolve issues, and maintain strong stakeholder relationships. A key focus will be ensuring suppliers meet their commitments, including full traceability of end-of-life ICT.

You may also have line management responsibilities, including setting priorities and allocating work across the team.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include, But Not Limited To:

• Managing suppliers to meet key performance indicators and agreed targets and implementing supplier service improvement actions.
• Collaborating with Delivery teams to ensure that Commercial activities are in place to support product roadmaps.
• Managing operational relationships between suppliers. Ensure potential disputes or conflicts are raised at an early stage, with clear escalation paths for resolving them.
• Perform benchmarking and make use of supplier performance data to ensure that supplier performance is properly monitored and regularly reviewed to handle contracts with third party supplier to ensure obligations are met.
• Supporting the Programme Manager to identify constraints and opportunities when negotiating or renegotiating contracts.
• Managing supplier relationships at a strategic level, providing to support on helping resolve complex or high-risk commercial issues.
• Managing project cost models, enabling budgeting cost control, financial planning to ensure the projects and live services stay within the approved budget.
• Understand Business requirements to establish route to market, including re-use of current contracts. Negotiate contract proposals with Commercial Business Partners and challenge where appropriate, to deliver cost savings and VFM for the Business.
• You will manage the governance process for contracts, ensuring they deliver cost savings, value for money and Business needs are met.
• You will support financial Spending Review planning, forecasts, working closely with Lead Programme Manager to secure budgets and track spend for this high-profile government initiative.
  
  

Person specification

See selection process for further details.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact [e-mail].

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Financial Management
  
  

Alongside your salary of £42,614, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £12,345 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.
  
  

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Salary Information

New entrants to the Civil Service will join on band minimum.

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current salary.

Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion may move to the bottom of the grade pay scale or 10% increase in salary whichever would be the greater.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application

Your Application Will Consist Of Four Parts:

• A Personal Details application form.
• Employment history - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed.
• Personal statement - up to 750 words. This statement should be used to provide examples of how you meet the essential criteria below:
• Experience in establishing professional relationships with a range of stakeholders with strong evidence of your ability to drive and form a network of key contacts.
• Evidence of strong communication and engagement skills with the ability to negotiate favourable outcomes for the Business and Department.
• Experience of establishing ways to find and respond to feedback from customers about the services provided.
• Experience of managing high profile complex commercial and procurement activities during a Project lifecycle, prioritising tasks in a fast-paced agile working environment.
• Technical statement (up to 250 words). The following statement is aligned to the required technical skill of Financial Management.
• Experience of maintaining finance and budgetary requirements within a major programme or organisation with experience of achieving value for money.
  
  

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history, personal statement, and technical statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge.

An initial sift will be conducted using the technical statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift.

Important Information

• You will be asked to complete your employment history. Any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.
• Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
• If your employment history, personal statement or technical statement contain any personal details your application will be withdrawn.
• We recognise that AI may be helpful when applying for this role, but it is important to use it in the right way. Read the DWP AI Candidate Guide to understand how you can make the best use of GenAI while ensuring your application remains authentic and effective.
  
  

Stage 2: Interview

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the experiences listed above.

Interviews will take place from mid July 2025. Interview dates to be confirmed.

Other Information:

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location.

Further Information:

Find out more about Working for DWP.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via [e-mail] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How We Recruit page.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact :

• Name : Natalie Selby
• Email : [e-mail]
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : [e-mail]
  
  

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you wish to make a complaint, please find further details here: https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/how-we-recruit/.