Senior Supplier Manager

Department for Work and Pensions; Liverpool City Region; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a Senior Supplier Manager to manage supplier relationships and oversee digital contract performance. This role involves driving change in a fast-paced environment, ensuring stakeholders' needs are met while maintaining financial discipline. Ideal candidates will possess strong commercial and financial experience, with opportunities for hybrid working arrangements.

Benefits

Flexible working patterns

Generous annual leave

Health and wellbeing support

Family friendly policies

Funded learning and development

Qualifications

• Experience in managing digital contracts and complex procurement activities.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills.
• Ability to manage supplier performance effectively.

Responsibilities

• Manage supplier relationships and ensure contract obligations are met.
• Oversee financial reporting and project budget controls.
• Lead complex procurements and resolve supplier issues.

Skills

Stakeholder Management

Commercial Acumen

Financial Analysis

Job description

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Job description

Length of employment:

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.

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.

See selection process for further details.

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

Stage 1: Application

Your application will consist of four parts:

1. A Personal Details application form.

2. Employment history - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed.

3. 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 stakeholderswith 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.

4. 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 6months 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 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 .

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