Procurement Manager

About the Role The Procurement Manager serves as the primary liaison between the Procurement and Supply Chain functions and the requirements of our project portfolio. You will act as a strategic partner to internal stakeholders—including Business Development, Services, Project Management, Bid & Quote, Engineering, and Marketing—to ensure a unified approach to value creation and delivery. What You'll Do

• Strategic Sourcing & Category Management: Conduct thorough reviews of procurement categories to mitigate risk, protect supply continuity, optimize costs, and capitalize on emerging market opportunities.
• Vendor Management & Negotiation: Lead the design of negotiation strategies to meet business objectives and foster sustainable, productive vendor relationships.
• Performance Oversight: Monitor and report on vendor performance, ensuring compliance with quality, service, and delivery benchmarks, and exercise authority regarding contractual penalties.
• Compliance & Financial Control: Facilitate the end-to-end "Purchase to Pay" cycle in collaboration with Finance, Logistics, and Project Management to ensure strict adherence to internal controls and payment terms.
• Bid & Project Support: Provide expert procurement input during the pre-award bid phase and ensure seamless execution during the post-award project phase.
• Contractual Excellence: Work alongside Legal to formalize contracts prior to the commencement of equipment, supply, or service delivery; manage all "cost claim" issues to ensure equitable resolution.
• Continuous Improvement: Implement key performance indicators (KPIs) covering savings, process lead times, compliance, and customer satisfaction. Collaborate with Global Category Managers to maintain a "One Procurement" methodology.
• Financial Reporting: Develop and execute annual cost-reduction and margin-enhancement objectives with project team buy-in, while monitoring projected versus actual spend. Investigate and escalate overdue payment issues to the appropriate internal teams. What We're Looking For
• Education: Bachelor's degree required; a degree in Information Technology, Engineering, or a telecommunications-related field is preferred.
• Experience: A minimum of 5 years of professional experience within procurement and supply chain management. Experience in bid/project-based environments—such as telecommunications, IT systems integration, or energy—is a significant advantage.
• Professional Certification: CIPS certification or an equivalent qualification is highly preferred.
• Technical Proficiency: Advanced competency in ERP systems, databases, and e-bidding tools.
• Domain Expertise: Deep knowledge of telecommunications network technology and commercial category management.
• Professional Presence: As this is a hands-on, individual contributor role (with no current direct reports), you must demonstrate exceptional personal initiative, ownership, leadership, and communication skills.
• Logistics: The position requires approximately 5% travel within the UK and Europe. Compensation & Benefits
• Compensation: Competitive salary and bonus schemes; two weeks additional pay per year (holiday bonus).
• Benefits: 25 days holiday entitlement + bank holidays; attractive defined contribution pension scheme; private medical insurance; employee stock purchase plan; flexible working options; life assurance; enhanced maternity and paternity pay; career development support and learning opportunities; employee health and wellbeing support (EAP), wellbeing guidance; carbon neutral initiatives/goals; CSR volunteering days; well-known companies discount scheme.