Procurement Lead

Starling; Greater London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary sacrifice

Pension scheme

Life insurance

Private Medical Insurance

Family-friendly policies

Perkbox membership

Cycle to Work

Gym partnerships

Job summary

Starling Bank is seeking an ambitious Procurement Lead to join the Finance team’s Vendor function in London. You will manage end-to-end procurement across technology, data, and operations, negotiating contracts and driving cost savings while collaborating with stakeholders bank-wide.

Reporting to the Head of Procurement, you’ll shape supplier onboarding, risk controls and category strategies, with 1–3 years’ procurement experience and a strong academic background.

Qualifications

• 1-3 years’ procurement experience.
• Grad scheme or consulting experience is beneficial.
• Strong early career progression.
• Financial Services experience preferable.
• Strong academic background.
• Sourcing top quality suppliers, negotiation and contract markup experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end procurement activity including sourcing, evaluation, negotiation and contracting.
• Work on contracts across technology, data, operational services, and people teams.
• Deliver cost savings through intelligent sourcing and negotiation.
• Handle new-to-bank suppliers and contract renewals.
• Spot and exploit commercial opportunities in existing contracts.
• Develop systems and processes as the team evolves.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and suppliers.
• Coordinate with Supplier Risk for onboarding in line with process and regulations.

Skills

Analytical skills

Numeracy

Written communication

Verbal communication

Stakeholder engagement

Problem solving

Project management

Education

Strong academic background

Tools

Excel

Spreadsheet modelling

Job description

Hello, we’re Starling.

Banking was broken – so we decided to fix it. The vision? Fast technology, fair service and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time. We built Britain’s first digital bank. One hard-won banking licence later, we set about giving people a new way to spend, save and manage their money (and take better care of the planet, too). We’re changing banking for good. Back then, we were obsessed with unravelling the knotty world of finance and solving people’s problems rather than selling them stuff. We still are.

Since then, we’ve grown. A lot. Over four million accounts (and four account types!). A team of thousands. Headquartered in London with offices in Cardiff, Dublin, Manchester and Southampton. Seven years voted Which? Recommended Provider and Britain’s Best Banking Brand. Still zero branches. Our culture is open, inclusive and focused on solving real customer problems, with an emphasis on doing the right thing, even when it’s not always the easy thing. From our approach to working together and sustainability to how we build our products, our decisions need to make the world – and Starling – a better place to be. Everyone at Starling is essential to our mission, which is really quite simple: to solve our customer’s problems – and build the best bank in the world!

And now we’re providing Starling to other banks, via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) proposition through our subsidiary Engine, using the proprietary technology platform that it uses to power our own bank.

We are looking for an ambitious, commercial Procurement Lead to join our Finance team’s Vendor function. Reporting directly to the Head of Procurement, this role is a fantastic opportunity for someone early in their career looking to accelerate their growth with hands‑on experience and solid support. You will manage end-to-end procurement across various categories – from sourcing and negotiation to contracting – acting as a key commercial contact while collaborating across the entire bank.

Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end procurement activity including sourcing, evaluation, negotiation and contracting

• Work on contracts across a range of categories including technology, data, operational services, and people team – you may lead one or more categories and support others

• Deliver cost savings through intelligent sourcing and negotiation – spotting and exploiting the commercial levers

• Work on a combination of new to bank suppliers and contract renewals

• Spot and exploit commercial opportunities in existing contracts

• Support the development of systems and processes as the team evolves

• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders – winning them over through your expertise and the value you create

• Work closely with the Supplier Risk teams ensuring supplier on-boarding is in line with process and regulations.

Knowledge & Experience:

• 1-3 years’ procurement experience

• Prior experience on a grad scheme or consulting is beneficial.

• Strong early career progression

• Financial Services experience preferable

• Strong academic background

• Some hands on experience of the full Procurement cycle:

  • Sourcing top quality suppliers
  • Negotiation
  • Comfortable developing/marking up contracts

• Strong analytical skills - spreadsheet modelling a must; knowledge of basic financial analysis a bonus

Behaviours & Competencies:

• Problem solver with strong critical reasoning, numeracy and written and verbal communication

• Strong planning and project management

• Ability to work independently with a drive to deliver

• Ability to engage with stakeholders at all levels

• Strong analytical skills to cut through ambiguity and understand the nub of a challenge

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)

• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday

• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off

• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year

• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme

• Life insurance at 4x your salary

• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton

• Generous family-friendly policies

• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks

• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don’t tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’re always open to discussion. So, if you’re excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you’re 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.