Supplier Management Lead

What you’ll be responsible for

Job Profile

As a Supplier Management Lead, you’ll play a key role in ensuring our supplier contracts deliver value, compliance and strong performance. Working closely with Supplier Managers and stakeholders across the business, you’ll manage supplier relationships, oversee contract changes and governance activities, monitor supplier performance and risk, and drive continuous improvement across our supplier management processes. You'll help ensure we work with suppliers in a way that supports our business objectives, sustainability ambitions and high standards of service.

Key Responsibilities

1.         Coordinate and oversee the contract and supplier management of allocated silver level and enterprise-wide agreements, with responsibility for managing performance, risk, value and contractual compliance.

2.         Analyse supplier performance against KPIs, SLAs and contractual requirements, identifying emerging trends and risks, and manage compliance with accreditation and certification requirements throughout the contract lifecycle.

3.         Support and drive improvements to the procurement systems and processes used to capture supplier performance and certification data, ensuring information is accurate, complete and available to support effective decision making.

4.         Support the planning and delivery of supplier engagement activities, working effectively with colleagues, stakeholders and suppliers.

5.         Manage contract extensions and variations, including negotiation, documentation, preparation for governance approval, issue, communication and system updates, ensuring all changes are accurately recorded.

6.         Prepare, check and issue framework call off contracts across allocated categories, ensuring compliance with the relevant framework and governance requirements.

7.         Manage supplier performance issues, risks and disputes, escalating matters appropriately and maintaining constructive supplier relationships.

8.         Undertake activities in accordance with internal governance, applicable procurement legislation and contractual requirements.

9.         Apply ethical procurement principles, including transparency, sustainability and integrity, across supplier management and contracting activities.

Make a difference where it matters most

At Welsh Water, we don’t just deliver water – we deliver something essential to life. As a not-for-profit organisation, every pound we make is reinvested back into our services, our communities, and the environment.

We’re on an exciting journey as we enter a new investment cycle focused on innovation, digital transformation, and long-term sustainability. Procurement plays a critical role in enabling this – and that’s where you come in.

If you’re passionate about driving value, building meaningful supplier partnerships, and making a real impact through procurement, we’d love to hear from you.

About you

Unless otherwise stated, the following are essential requirements for the recruitment of the role:

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional qualification and experience in a commercial, analytical, economics, data or procurement-related discipline.

Experience 

• Experience of commercial negotiation and a proven track record in delivering sustainable value savings.
• Experience in contract and supply chain management, with a proven ability to work effectively across multiple systems to deliver workloads aligned to business needs and regulatory requirements.
• Experience of operating within governance, procurement or contract management frameworks would be advantageous, but is not essential.

Knowledge & Skills

• Proven ability to drive commercial value through negotiation, supported by strong commercial acumen, stakeholder influencing skills and a minimum of five years’ relevant experience.
• Strong understanding of contract management processes, Framework Agreements, framework call-off contracts, contract variations, and third-party contract risk management across Capital, IT or other categories.
• Excellent communication, relationship management, judgement and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge poor performance, drive improvements and escalate issues appropriately.
• Ability to identify, assess and manage supply chain risks, applying procurement policy, governance and assurance requirements to support effective decision-making and risk management.
• Proven ability to deliver supply chain improvements through coordinated supplier engagement and recognised supplier management practices.
• Ability to maintain clear, accurate and audit-ready records and evidence trails to support effective contract management, supplier engagement and governance activities.

Good to know

We work in a hybrid way, with colleagues coming together on site three days a week to collaborate and build strong relationships.

Please note, we may close this role sooner if required. We may also extend the original closing date depending on interest.

Due to the nature of the industry, we require satisfactory references, post offer medical clearance, and a criminal records Basic Disclosure check on all new employees joining the business. For some roles there may be additional checks and security clearance required, and this offer is subject all checks being satisfied. You will receive further information on how to complete these checks via email once you have accepted this offer.

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact: recruitment@dwrcymru.com and enter the job ID [8760] in the subject title line.

Our Commitment

At Welsh Water, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and able to thrive. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are dedicated to building a diverse and representative workforce.

Ready to make a difference?

Apply now and help shape the future of procurement at Welsh Water.

Benefits

Why Join Us?

• Purpose-driven work – make a real impact on communities and the environment
• Not-for-profit model – every decision is about long-term value, not short-term gain
• Sustainability-focused – play a role in protecting natural resources for future generations
• Collaborative culture – work with passionate, values-driven colleagues
• Career development – opportunities to grow, innovate, and lead in your field

Who we are

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water keep 3 million people healthy each day with safe, reliable water, and take away wastewater to clean, before returning it safely to our beautiful rivers and seas.

To be able to deliver high quality, essential services which help to protect the health of our customers, colleagues and our environment, we need the right people to deliver on our vision.  This is achieved by living our core values and demonstrating the core behaviours that underpin them.  The security of our people, assets and information is key to us, so we are looking for people who understand and comply with the company’s required security objectives.

We know that the most successful teams are the most diverse teams. Equality, diversity and inclusion provide the very foundation to our culture at Welsh Water. We want every individual to feel confident, proud and able to bring their whole selves to work. 

To ensure an improved representation in our workforce, applications are particularly welcome from minority groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, Females, LGBT+, Non-binary and people with disabilities. Together we continue to build a workplace that not only celebrates the diverse voices of our colleagues but also represents each customer we serve.

In essence, ours is a company based on trust, openness, respect, commitment and honesty. A company that our colleagues are proud to work for.