Senior Supplier Relationship Manager

About the job:

To design, implement and evolve RE’s Strategic Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) to provide Commercial expertise to support the existing operational contract management structure within the business and ensure compliance with Procurement Act 2023.

To provide tactical operational support management and deploy supply management strategies throughout South Western Railway, attending quarterly, 6 monthly or annual contract review meetings as appropriate to support the day to day operational Business Contract Owner.

To establish excellent relationships with strategic partners, monitoring fulfilment of requirements and managing contractual and Supplier issues by providing an escalation point for operational contract managers within RE.

To drive the performance requirements of the contract, ensuring compliance through measurement of contracted KPI and SLA regimes, and Procurement legislation requirements regarding in life Contract Management.

To seek continuous improvement and cost effectiveness through the life of the contracts and ensure compliance to Procurement legislation requirements regarding in life Contract Management.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Establish excellent relationships with RE’s strategic partners, monitoring and supporting them in ensuring that all requirements are fulfilled and levels of service set out in contractual agreements are delivered.
Lead the team that will be the first point of contact for all contractual and supplier management issues over and above BAU activity across our Network.
Lead regular Supplier Relationship Analysis.
Provide support to RE on strategic contracts, inputting to detailed tender specification requirements for all key contracts being tendered by the core Procurement Team.
Establish mechanisms for capturing and reviewing Management Information, to include Suppliers service performance; KPIs, Milestones and Service Credits.
Develop the Contract Management handover process and manage contract mobilisations following contract award by the core Procurement team to ensure smooth transition into BAU activity and operational contract management.
Manage key relationships with all stakeholders who are party to the contracts of strategic suppliers.
Maintain a strong working relationship with RE’s key non-Fleet Supplier’s to facilitate delivery of high-quality performance in both cost and service.
Provide visible commercial and contract management leadership, developing detailed knowledge of the obligations within RE’s key strategic contracts, maintaining knowledge of the levers, performance standards, KPIs and SLA’s etc. contained. Making strategic recommendations based on actual performance data to drive out effective delivery from all suppliers.

You’ll need:

Strong experience in Supply Management and relationship management
Strong leadership experience with the ability to communicate at all levels across the organisation and motivate and engage a team.
Knowledge of procurement legislation and contract law.
Proven ability to meet deadlines and targets, results driven.
Resilient mindset with a capacity to recover quickly from supply chain challenges.
Proven track record in complex relationship management
Be able to build and maintain strong relationships at all levels of the business.
Demonstrates achievement in driving business performance through developing innovative supply chain strategies and partnerships.
To be aware and be able to articulate the understanding of the commercial impact of the varying business models in the organisation.
A strong ability to influence effectively at all levels, especially in regard to company policies and processes.
Be organised, methodical and self-motivated with an ability to work independently or as part of a team.
To be able to demonstrate a flexible ability to predetermine workload demand and prioritisation skills, to be able to identify the urgent business need for support.
Advanced IT skills including use of Microsoft suite (Excel, Word & PowerPoint).

The Reward:

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

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 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.

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Tagged as: contract manager