Supplier Relationship Manager

Salary: £72,000 – £84,000 per year

Supplier Relationship Manager (SRM) is required to work on the New High-Speed Rail project in the UK this is a multi-billion-pound high-speed railway to directly link the city centres of: London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
The SRM will play a key role in implementing the Supplier Relationship Management framework with Strategic and Important suppliers. The SRM will manage a portfolio of UK’s High Speed Rail most critical suppliers. They will be responsible for the management of SRM Framework activities that identify and deliver relationship benefits/value to supplier and HS2 alike.
The Supplier Relationship Management sits within the Procurement & Commercial department to support the delivery of HS2’s strategic goals by building value adding supply chains with sustainable commercial relationships. This is a unique role borne by the fact the SRM team aims are to derive benefits from a deeper non-contractual relationship with key strategically important suppliers to the program. Benefits could be new innovations, new improved ways of working, training & Development initiatives, health & Safety improvements which can then be cascaded across HS2 and the supply chain to enjoy programme wide benefits. The SRM will also make links with other DFT organisations such as Network Rail, National Highways etc to discuss shared challenges and solutions, innovations etc.
Strategic and Important suppliers are essentially Professional Services Consultants who work right across all phases of the High-Speed programme and major organisations within the construction supply chain.
In addition, the SRM team will also look at performance of these suppliers, not contract performance as this is a role for the Contract Managers but trends in performance to understand why one contract is performing highly but others aren’t and vice and versa to again drive performance and share good practice.
What are we looking for:
The role requires candidates with a mix of experience who understand how business work (commerciality), understand contracts, good knowledge of Procurement coupled with superb communications skills with the ability to build rapport and influence (stakeholder management skills). Have curiosity & resilience to able to uncover solutions and nuggets of information from suppliers – sales background / business development skills help as you are trying to derive benefit and carry goodwill / information from suppliers who have no contractual obligation to do so.
Working Situation – Hybrid
Role is office based from Snowhill, Birmingham or London (Euston) coupled with Hybrid working – expectation is to work 4/5 days a fortnight from the office and the rest of the time at home once Omicron has passed (currently working from home following Government guidance).
Duties & Responsibilities
* Manage their respective Supplier Relationship Management supplier portfolio including (but not exhaustive to) segmentation analysis, project plans, monthly reporting, forward work/actions, SRM Tool upkeep and providing regular updates to relevant stakeholders.
* Lead all associated meetings, workshops and collaborative events required to support the delivery and development of SRM at HS2.
* Provide ongoing operation support in the maintenance of all sources of SRM data and tools.
* Co-ordinate and maintain a working calendar of meetings and workshops in line with the SRM programme.
* Interface with other governance and assurance, IT and systems-related personnel across HS2, DfT and the supply market to align SRM to wider HS2 governance and reporting, systems and interfaces.
* Support the delivery of training in best practice SRM to nominated relationship managers, commercial and contract manager and wider stakeholder in the business.
* Support with the timely and accurate reporting in accordance with SRM programme governance.
* Work with other members of the commercial directorate team where cross working between the various groups and SRM is needed.
* Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.
* Support the SRM Lead to continuous improve the Supplier Relationship Management strategy (including: materials, approach and wider deployment across HS2).
Required Criteria
The role requires candidates with a mix of experience who understand how business work (commerciality), understand contracts, good knowledge of Procurement coupled with super communications skills with the ability to build rapport and influence (stakeholder management skills). Have curiosity & resilience to able to uncover solutions and nuggets of information from suppliers – sales background / business development skills help as you are trying to derive benefit and carry goodwill / information from suppliers who have no contractual obligation to do so.
Applicants no not have to have public sector experience, however, working in highly regulated environments whether in the public sector or provide sector is useful. Supply Chain Management, Supplier Relations Management, business development and indeed Procurement professionals will be interesting backgrounds but the soft skills and behaviours are just as important.
Skills:
Analytical, commercial and negotiating skills.
* Effective communications skills to include report writing and presenting skills.
* Stakeholder management skills – including the ability to maintain effective relationships with internal & external relationships
* Ability to use Microsoft applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
* Ability to manage meeting calendars and co-ordinating workshops / events
Type of experience:
* Experience of stakeholder and Supplier Relationship Management and Supplier Development in both the public and private sector.
* Experience of applying SRM intervention activities / arrangements to enhance supplier performance.
* Experience within a procurement, financial or commercial governance structure with supporting policy and processes.
* Understanding of Procurement and Contract Management
* Understanding of Governance, Assurance & Compliance working in regulated environments within public or private sectors