Supplier Relationship Manager

Starr Underwriting; Stratford-upon-Avon; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Supplier Relationship Manager to take ownership of strategic supplier management. In this influential role, you'll oversee significant supplier spend, drive innovation, and enhance relationships with professional services partners. This position offers the opportunity to shape supplier strategy within a growing team, ensuring alignment with long-term objectives and delivering operational excellence. You'll collaborate closely with stakeholders at all levels, navigating complex contracts and presenting insights that drive value. If you're a commercially minded professional ready to make a real impact, this is a fantastic opportunity to thrive in a supportive and dynamic environment.

Benefits

Annual bonus up to 17.5%

Contributory pension scheme up to 20%

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Family Friendly policy

Monthly gym membership contribution

Health and wellbeing plan

Employee Volunteering

Refer a Friend bonus scheme

Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary

Employee discounts on insurance policies

Qualifications

• Strong track record in managing supplier strategies and relationships.
• Experience in contract negotiation and risk management.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategic supplier relationships and manage multi-million-pound spend.
• Conduct quarterly business reviews and evaluate supplier performance.

Skills

Supplier Management

Contract Management

Commercial Acumen

Influence & Presentation Skills

Procurement Knowledge

Education

CIPS qualification

Job description

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Supplier Relationship Manager

• Shape the future of supplier management - Take ownership of a high-value category and drive strategic supplier relationships in a growing team.
• Make a real impact - Manage multi-million-pound supplier spend, drive innovation, and ensure we get the best from our professional services partners.
• Hybrid working - work up to 60% of your time from home, and 2 days from our Head Office in Stratford upon Avon (ideally Tuesdays and Thursdays with the rest of the team).

About the role

As a Supplier Relationship Manager at NFU Mutual, you'll be stepping into a strategic and influential role within our growing team. Established just last year, our Supplier Relationship Management team is still evolving, offering a fantastic opportunity to shape the way we work and make a real impact.

Sitting within our wider Procurement function, this role focuses on managing our professional services suppliers - an area that's new to the team and presents exciting opportunities for innovation and improvement. With NFU Mutual investing significantly in professional consultancy services each year, you'll play a key role in ensuring we maximise value, drive efficiencies, and maintain strong, productive relationships with key suppliers.

This is much more than a transactional role. You'll be at the heart of strategic supplier management - conducting quarterly business reviews, evaluating performance, and influencing stakeholders at all levels, right up to board and director level. Working closely with legal, procurement, and senior business leaders, you'll ensure our supplier relationships align with our long-term objectives, delivering innovation, cost savings, and operational excellence. You'll also take ownership of key commercial considerations, such as contract renewals, risk assessment, and ESG compliance.

With the support of a collaborative and knowledgeable team, you'll have the autonomy to shape supplier strategy, drive continuous improvement, and build strong partnerships that make a tangible difference to the business. If you're looking for a role where you can influence, innovate, and make your mark in a growing function, this is a brilliant opportunity to do just that.

This role is referred to internally as 'Supplier Relationship Specialist'.

About you

You're a confident and commercially minded professional who thrives on building strong relationships, influencing at all levels, and driving strategic supplier management. With a natural ability to collaborate and communicate, you can engage senior stakeholders, negotiate effectively, and challenge the status quo to drive value. You take ownership of your category, using your initiative and forward-thinking approach to identify opportunities and deliver continuous improvement. Whether it's navigating complex contracts, assessing supplier performance, or presenting insights to key decision-makers, you're comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment where your expertise makes a real difference.

• Category Strategy & Ownership - You have a strong track record of managing supplier strategies across a range of categories - including Professional Services, or similar categories such as Marketing, HR, or some exposure to IT as part of a broader portfolio. You've been responsible for multi-million-pound spend and have ensured the business gets real value from its supplier partnerships. You take a proactive approach to supplier innovation, risk assessment, and cost savings.
• Supplier Management - You bring deep knowledge of procurement and supplier management practices, with hands-on experience of building strong, performance-driven relationships across a variety of spend areas. You're confident managing complex supplier portfolios and stay on top of market trends to ensure the business is getting the best from its supplier base.
• Contract Management - You have demonstrable experience in managing contracts from negotiation through to renewal, ensuring suppliers deliver on their commitments while mitigating risk and driving commercial value.
• Procurement Knowledge - A solid understanding of procurement processes, contractual terms, and commercial risk allows you to navigate supplier agreements effectively, ensuring compliance and cost-effectiveness.
• Commercial Acumen & Financial Services Experience - Ideally, you have worked in a large corporate environment, managing significant supplier spend and balancing commercial priorities with risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Influence & Presentation Skills - You know how to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels, from senior leadership to procurement colleagues. Your ability to present insights, negotiate effectively, and drive collaboration ensures successful supplier relationships and business outcomes.

A CIPS qualification is desirable, but more importantly, you bring a strategic mindset, a results-driven approach, and the ability to shape supplier relationships in a way that supports NFU Mutual's long-term goals.

At NFU Mutual, we support an inclusive workplace and value all the differences that make us unique. We celebrate the creativity and innovation that comes from diverse perspectives and experiences and share a common vision of doing the right thing for our customers and employees.

We recognise that some candidates may experience barriers during the recruitment process. So, we encourage candidates to discuss any adjustments or accommodations they need to be the best they can be throughout our recruitment process.

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Race at Work and Women in Finance Charter signatory and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

Benefits and Rewards

When you join our team, you can expect a supportive culture and an attractive range of rewards and benefits including:

• Salary up to £58,000 depending on experience
• Annual bonus (up to 17.5% of salary)
• Contributory pension scheme, up to 20%, including your 8% contribution
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + buy/sell/save holiday trading scheme
• A Family Friendly policy that helps you balance your work and family responsibilities
• Access to savings at High Street brands, travel and supermarkets
• £20 contribution to a monthly gym membership - subject to T&Cs
• Health and wellbeing plan - cashback for dentist, opticians, physio and more
• Access to voluntary benefits, including health assessments, private medical insurance and dental insurance
• Employee Volunteering - volunteer in the community for one day each year
• Unlimited access to Refer a Friend £500 bonus scheme
• Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary
• Employee discounts of 15% on a range of NFU Mutual insurance policies.

Working at NFU Mutual

We're one of the UK's leading general insurance and financial services companies. For over 110 years we've put our customers at the heart of everything we do. Our people are just as important to us. We pride ourselves on being "a great place to work" and we're one of only 60 companies across the globe to receive a Gallup Exceptional Workplace 2024 award, and one of only two companies to receive the award for the ninth consecutive year. We were also named in the LinkedIn Top 25 Companies List 2021, the Glassdoor Best Places to Work UK List 2023 and 2024, and were recognised as a certified UK Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

We offer a supportive culture where we empower and inspire our people to perform, offer them opportunities to grow, and recognise and reward their contribution. Our people are proud to work for a company that respects them and their communities, and they trust us to be financially sustainable, so we are successful now and in the future.