Procurement Governance Risk & Supplier Relationship Manager

Primark Stores Limited; Reading; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail company is seeking a Procurement Governance, Risk and Supplier Relationships Manager to oversee external supplier compliance and performance. The ideal candidate will bridge procurement and risk functions, ensuring effective governance and minimization of supplier risks. With a focus on ethical sourcing and strong stakeholder engagement, the manager will lead a team in optimizing the supplier relationship management framework. This role offers a competitive package including healthcare and generous leave provisions.

Benefits

Healthcare

Pension

Bonus potential

27 leave days plus bank holidays

Subsidized cafeteria

Qualifications

• 10+ years’ experience in third-party risk, procurement, legal, or contract management.
• Strong understanding of regulatory environments and risk frameworks.
• Expert knowledge of ethical sourcing and corporate social responsibility issues.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Implement and oversee governance and risk management frameworks.
• Conduct due diligence and ongoing risk assessments of suppliers.
• Lead teams to deliver exceptional customer service in risk management.
• Ensure compliance of contracts with legal requirements and agreed terms.

Skills

Third-party risk management

Procurement

Contract management

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Project management

Tools

Contract management systems

Risk assessment tools

Job description

Overview

Procurement Governance, Risk and Supplier Relationships Manager

This role will be responsible for ensuring that all external suppliers and service providers meet the organization's compliance, performance, and risk standards. The ideal candidate will bridge procurement (including GBS teams), legal, and risk functions to enhance supplier value while minimising associated risks.

What You’ll Get

People are at the heart of what we do here, so it’s essential we provide you with the right environment to perform at your very best.

Let’s talk lifestyle: Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus. 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more. Because Primark is all about tailoring to you, we offer Tax Saver Tickets, fitness centre, and a subsidised cafeteria.

What You’ll Do as a Procurement Governance, Risk and Supplier Relationships Manager

In your role, you’ll collaborate with different people across a range of skillsets. Here’s a flavour of your day-to-day:

• We are seeking a strategic and detail-oriented professional to create, implement and oversee our governance, third-party risk management, supplier relationships, and contract lifecycle.
• This role will work closely with the Risk & Compliance, Legal, and Ethical teams to develop and implement frameworks for assessing, monitoring, and mitigating third-party risk (including operational, financial, regulatory, and reputational risks).
• Be responsible for the due diligence and ongoing risk assessments of suppliers and partners.
• Work closely with the Ethical teams to develop, execute and continuously improve the GNFR Ethical process and associated workflows, as well as work with suppliers to manage risks as highlighted by Ethical audits
• Lead the GBS offshore team to deliver performance and exceptional customer service throughout the delivery of Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM).
• Continuously improve and optimise the TPRM framework and process in line with internal and external risks and integrate tools and technology aligned with business processes.
• Maintain a centralised third-party risk register and coordinate with internal stakeholders (e.g., Compliance, Legal, InfoSec).
• Inspire and lead the Procurement team to fully commit to achieving a more risk aware and risk mitigated environment
• Create, implement and maintain an operational framework for supplier relationship management that ensures Primark can deliver its business value, ESG and reputation goals
• Embed the framework with procurement and business stakeholders for managing supplier segmentation, supplier review cycles and meetings, managing disputes, and driving performance, continuous improvement and innovation
• Work with the Procurement Digital Manager to develop technology as an enabler and continually evolve supplier relationship management to adapt to changing market dynamics and business demands.
• Ensure all contracts are compliant with legal and regulatory requirements and reflect agreed commercial terms.
• Lead the controls and compliance framework and operational execution for the procurement function, working with risk, legal and other business functions.

What You’ll Bring

Here at Primark, we want everyone to feel valued – so please bring your authentic self to work, of course with some other key experience and abilities for this role in particular:

• 10+ years’ experience in third-party risk, procurement, legal, or contract management.
• Strong understanding of regulatory environments (e.g., GDPR, SOX, ISO standards) and risk frameworks.
• Proficiency in contract management systems and risk assessment tools.
• Be able to demonstrate your experience in managing partner performance and service
• Have maintained and developed relationships with strategic suppliers to drive step change in value received by Primark.
• Expert knowledge of ethical sourcing and corporate social responsibility issues
• Demonstrated ability to forge close business relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all management levels
• Will thrive in Primark’s culture and demonstrate our values and behaviours – caring, dynamic, and together
• The role is also required to operate within the Primark values and behaviours which describe how we work with each other, our suppliers and our partners.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Project management skills
• Ability to travel as required (>20%)

Does this sound like you? Great, because we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. You’ll be supported within a team of equally capable people, celebrating who you are and aiding you reach your potential. At Primark, we’re excited about our future - and we’re excited to develop yours.

About Primark

At Primark, people matter. They’re the beating heart of our business and the reason we’ve grown from our first store in Dublin in 1969 to a £9bn+ turnover business and over 80,000 colleagues and over 440 stores in 17 countries today. Our values run through everything we do. In essence, we're Caring and always strive to put people first. We're also Dynamic, bravely pushing the boundaries to stay ahead. And finally, we succeed Together.

If you need any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request, during your recruitment journey, such as extended time or breaks between online assessments, a sign language interpreter, mobility access, or assistive technology please contact your talent acquisition specialist.

All offers of employment are subject to background checks, including right to work, reference education and for some roles criminal, and financial checks. If you have any concerns, please reach out to our talent acquisition team to discuss.

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