Supply Chain Sustainability, Risk, and Best Practice Manager

NATS; Whiteley; Hybrid; GBP 68,000 - 91,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading air navigation service provider in the UK is seeking a Supply Chain professional to enhance sustainability practices and manage risk. The successful candidate will have extensive experience in sourcing and supply chain processes, with a degree or MBA, and a passion for continuous improvement. This role offers flexibility in working arrangements and is part of a dynamic team committed to advancing aviation safely.

Benefits

Agile working arrangements

Total reward package

Flexible working opportunities

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in sourcing, category, and contract management.
• Strong background in supply chain sustainability and risk management.
• Excellent project management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the evolution and implementation of the supply chain sustainability strategy.
• Identify and mitigate supply chain risks.
• Create external networks to enhance supply chain governance.

Skills

Sourcing

Supply chain sustainability

Supply chain risk management

Process improvement

Planning and organizational skills

Education

Degree/MBA

Membership of relevant professional body (e.g. CIPS)

Job description

Salary - £68,128.54 - £90,838.04

Closing Date - 24th October 2025

NATS is the UK's leading air navigation service provider, handling over 2.4 million flights each year. We provide air traffic control services from two control centres and at airports around the UK. We also provide a wide range of commercial products and solutions internationally. Our people are at the heart of our purpose to advance aviation and keep the skies safe.

You will be joining a Supply Chain Team that has been awarded Platinum status on the Procurement Excellence Programme run by the Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply. Our team has also received multiple industry awards for collaborative working and sustainability, including recent recognition at the ICW Collaboration Awards and the CIPS Best Supplier Relationship Management Initiative.

We operate with a strong culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and professional development. Our procurement professionals are actively involved in outreach and STEM engagement, and we maintain a robust supplier performance framework that supports our 2040 strategy, including sustainability goals.

Job Purpose/Overview:

We are seeking a Supply Chain professional with a passion and proven track record in supply chain sustainability, risk, and best practice to join our team. This is a key role within the department and in addition to maintaining and improving our supply chain process set in line with industry best practice, the successful applicant will lead risk identification and mitigation activities across the supply chain. Crucially, the role will lead the development of a sustainable supply chain that actively reduces supply chain green house gas emissions and directly supports our corporate target of being net-zero by 2035, and net negative by 2040.

The successful candidate will have a proven track record in sourcing, process design, supply chain risk management, and engaging both suppliers and internal stakeholders in developing sustainable supply chains.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the evolution and implementation of the supply chain sustainability strategy covering all aspects of ESG, but focussing primarily on ensuring that emissions from Purchased Goods and Services are measured and actively managed with suppliers and internal stakeholders to deliver material reductions.
• Lead the development and implementation of the NATS end to end supply chain risk management framework, ensuring that existing and emergent supply chain risks are identified, documented, actively managed, and mitigated, with a primary focus on resilience to supply chain disruption.
• Manage the coordination of end-to-end supply chain audit activity (including the use of external auditors) across both NATS and supplier organisations to ensure that it is carried out consistently, efficiently and with minimal disruption.
• Develop and maintain an effective external network to identify relevant supply chain best practice, proactively using it to enhance NATS' Supply Chain own governance, processes and tools.
• Build and develop strong, collaborative internal and external relationships at all levels, to provide support and guidance, champion supply chain risk management and best practice and optimise NATS end to end supply chain risk and process performance.
• Lead or actively support supply chain improvement projects and initiatives as required.

Essential Skills and experience:

• A Supply Chain & Procurement professional with extensive experience in:
  • sourcing, category, and contract management
  • supply chain sustainability
  • supply chain risk management
  • process definition and process improvement
• Qualified to Degree/MBA level with membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. CIPS).
• Well versed in the application of best practice procurement processes and tools.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, including project management.

Additional vacancy information:

We are proud to offer a fantastic total reward package to help you thrive both personally and professionally - for more information on what NATS can offer you please visit - Why NATS?

We have adopted agile working to provide greater flexibility and increased choice over working arrangements, with the opportunity for this role to work in our modern office facilities as well as remotely. We also welcome discussions on flexible and part-time working arrangements. Find out more here.

If you share our passion to advance aviation and keep the skies safe - we would like to hear from you whatever your age, sex, race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, visible or invisible disability. Individuals that bring different perspectives, skills, life experiences and backgrounds help us be at the forefront of our industry.