Senior Procurement Manager

First Group; London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the transport sector is seeking a Procurement Manager to oversee contract management and procurement strategy. This role involves liaising with internal and external stakeholders to maximize efficiencies, ensuring compliance with procurement policies, and driving continuous improvement. The successful candidate will possess strong negotiation skills and a proven track record in delivering cost benefits.

Benefits

Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees

75% discount on many other train operating companies

Excellent pension scheme

Full training and support with development

Large range of exclusive retail offers

Qualifications

• Track record of delivering cost benefits and improvements.
• Previous UCR/PCR tendering experience of a large value (£1m+).
• Ability to develop and manage collaborative business relationships.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Procurement and contract negotiation of goods and services.
• Support the Head of Procurement in developing and implementing the Procurement Strategy.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies and external requirements.

Skills

Cost benefits delivery

Commercial awareness

Advanced IT skills

Excellent report writing

Organizational skills

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to improve quality of life, by bringing people together to get the most out of life.

About the job

• To manage the acquisition, tendering and renewal of contracts in South Western Railway (SWR), supporting the evaluation, selection and contract negotiation process, liaising with other internal functions and external organisations as appropriate to maximise efficiencies.
• To manage the SAP Procurement/AP interface.
• To deputise for the Head of Procurement and other Senior Procurement Managers, where required.
• To peer review all tenders/works set up by Procurement Managers on their behalf.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• To manage the Procurement and contract negotiation of goods and services within your functional area of the business, liaising with relevant associated Procurement departments to maximise efficiencies.
• Reporting directly to the Head of Procurement, deputising for other Senior Procurement Managers within the function and the Head of Procurement where required, with line management of the Procurement Managers and Procurement Assistants within your functional areas of responsibility in the Department.
• Supporting the Head of Procurement for the development, implementation and on-going management of the Procurement Strategy for the Company to influence legal compliance of procurement policy and supporting legislation across operations and to generate value for money for the Company.
• Supporting the Head of Procurement in the developing, implementation and ongoing management of the Procurement Strategy for the Company to influence and embed sustainable procurement practices throughout the business in order to comply with any business sustainability objectives and commitments across all categories of spend.
• Ensuring that the sourcing, contracts and R2P agreed with suppliers are aligned with SWR policies, procedures, governance and values.
• Implementation of appropriate frameworks including National, Divisional and inter-TOC relationships.
• Ensuring that cost, risk and compliance is managed through robust contracts with approved suppliers and that trading terms and conditions are aligned with SWR legal governance, requirements and obligations
• Developing and managing the procurement activity of supplier evaluation, selection, contract negotiation and drafting for SWR agreements, including full execution by SWR and Supplier signatories on completion.
• Support and aid in the development of a preferred supplier list that is refreshed every 6 -12 months based on commodity, category, performance and cost.
• Meeting and reviewing contracts with relevant stakeholders and contract managers around the business to deliver efficiencies and proactive contract and procurement pipeline planning within your functional area of responsibility, recording any savings achieved to contribute towards overall team savings targets.
• Act as a key negotiator in terms of completing new contracts and undertaking renewals and reviews and responsible for producing Procurement Strategy and Tender Support documents.
• Using e-tendering tools, for procurement projects, ensuring relevant evaluation documentation is accessible within the recognised central repository and provide feedback on the efficient operation of the e-tendering tools.
• Managing the efficient use of the central contract repository system for storing of all completed contracts, contract approval forms and other formal documentary evidence of approvals according to governance procedures.
• To drive continuous improvement, best value and quality improvements within the team and departments in challenging existing practices and actively seek ways to achieve better outcomes, contributing to ensure key performance and financial targets are met and corrective action taken where necessary.
• To leverage synergies and resources to support business goals, bringing all expertise necessary to address the Company challenges to safeguard against contractual and commercial risk.
• Toensure all aspects of regulatory compliance (noting UCR/Procurement Act 2023 procedures) are adhered to in regard to the respective procurement policies and external requirements and implement strategies that safeguard the Company's contractual and commercial risk.
• To deputise or individually report to the Senior Management team and respective committees as may be required from time to time to provide up to date status reports on procurement to include development, demonstrate value for money and compliance with regulatory procurement requirements, including but not limited to GDPR, Anti-Bribery and Corruption and Fraud.
• Responsible for ensuring completion of periodic reporting requirements.
• Adopt a business partnering approach with the Senior Commercial Finance Managers to embed Procurement compliance requirements and financial disciplines in the Annual Business Planning (ABP) process and ensuring procurement resources are sufficient to deliver associated business needs.
• To lead and motivate colleagues and ensure that they receive appropriate support, training and development to achieve their potential, conducting peer reviews of team member documentation, to ensure the highest standards are maintained.
• To identify and address procurement team training needs for individual and organisational development.
• Promote importance of procurement across the organisation and best practice through continuous improvement.
• Any other reasonable requests or requirements to support the Procurement function as directed by the Head of Procurement

You'll need:

• Track record of delivering cost benefits and improvements
• Previous UCR/PCR tendering experience of a large value (£1m+)
• Ability to identify and deliver innovative solutions
• Ability to develop and manage collaborative business relationships both internally and externally
• Commercial awareness
• Advanced IT skills including use of Microsoft suite (Excel, Word & Powerpoint)
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills
• Flexible and adaptive to changing priorities and objectives
• Confidence, poise with ability to relate to and communicate with senior stakeholders
• Highly organised with ability to work autonomously and prioritise own workload to meet pre-defined objectives
• Proven ability to meet deadlines and targets
• Ability to work autonomously within a defined scope

Working pattern

On average you will be working 37 hours per week across 5 days, typically office hours.

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development
• Large range of exclusive retail offers
• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/