Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to improve quality of life, by bringing people together to get the most out of life.

About the job

To design, implement and evolve SWR'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 SWR.

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:

• To develop SWR's Supplier Relationship Management policy, and design/ implement a Commercial Contract Management structure to support SWR's existing Contract Management approach, in compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 and any subsequent legislation.
• Establish excellent relationships with SWR'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 SWR.
• Lead regular Supplier Relationship Analysis.
• Provide support to SWR 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 SWR'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 SWR'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.
• Advise and support SWR key stakeholders, responding accurately with reference to contractual issues in a timely manner.
• Develop and deliver education and training across SWR so that contract management awareness is enhanced across all stakeholders.

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) 

Working pattern

You will work an average of 37 hours across 5 days per week, typically office hours.

The Reward

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

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• 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 all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, across its group of businesses, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

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.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.  We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/