Supplier Contracts Manager

Project People; Theale; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Project People is seeking an experienced Supplier Contracts Manager to own strategic supplier relationships within Operations. The role focuses on supplier performance, contract governance and commercial management to balance delivery, cost and long-term value.

You will lead governance forums, monitor KPIs and SLAs, and manage disputes and renewals, while collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive value and improvements.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in supplier management, contract governance and commercial governance.
• Ability to challenge supplier costs, invoices, valuations and claims.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including cost control experience.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Own key strategic supplier relationships, acting as the primary point of contact.
• Lead supplier governance forums, performance reviews and escalations.
• Monitor KPIs, SLAs and contractual obligations, driving corrective and continuous improvement actions.
• Review and challenge supplier forecasts, valuations, invoices and commercial claims.
• Manage contractual issues, disputes, variations and renewals.
• Ensure appropriate commercial controls, cost management and budget governance.
• Identify opportunities to improve value, efficiency and supplier performance.
• Work closely with Operations, Finance, Commercial and Procurement teams.
• Provide clear reporting and commercial insight to senior stakeholders.
• Ensure suppliers meet contractual, regulatory and health & safety requirements.

Skills

Supplier management

Contract management

Commercial governance

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Excel

Cost control

Tools

Excel

Job description

Theale/Home – some travel to other locations

We’re looking for an experienced Supplier Contracts Manager to take ownership of key strategic supplier relationships within Operations.

This is a hands‑on role focused on supplier performance, contract governance and commercial management, ensuring suppliers deliver against their contractual commitments, KPIs and service levels while achieving the right balance between operational delivery, cost and long-term value.

What you’ll be doing

• Own key strategic supplier relationships, acting as the primary point of contact.
• Lead supplier governance forums, performance reviews and escalations.
• Monitor KPIs, SLAs and contractual obligations, driving corrective and continuous improvement actions.
• Review and challenge supplier forecasts, valuations, invoices and commercial claims.
• Manage contractual issues, disputes, variations and renewals.
• Ensure appropriate commercial controls, cost management and budget governance are in place.
• Identify opportunities to improve value, efficiency and supplier performance.
• Work closely with Operations, Finance, Commercial and Procurement teams.
• Provide clear reporting and commercial insight to senior stakeholders.
• Ensure suppliers meet contractual, regulatory and health & safety requirements.

What we’re looking for

You’ll have proven experience in supplier management, contract management and commercial governance, ideally within a complex operational environment.

You'll bring:

• Strong experience managing strategic supplier relationships and performance against contracts/KPIs.
• Proven ability to challenge supplier costs, invoices, valuations and claims.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including cost control and budget management.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing contractual disputes and resolving performance issues.
• Strong analytical skills and confidence working with Excel and supplier performance/financial data.
• A proactive approach to identifying cost savings, efficiencies and continuous improvement.

If you're commercially astute, confident managing strategic suppliers and enjoy holding partners accountable while building strong long-term relationships, we'd love to hear from you.