Supplier Manager

What you’ll be responsible for

As a Supplier Manager, you will play a pivotal role in shaping how we manage our supply chain and deliver value across major contracts. You’ll take ownership of a significant contract portfolio, ensuring suppliers deliver against performance, cost, and quality expectations – while also driving innovation, sustainability, and continuous improvement.

This is a highly visible role where you’ll work with senior stakeholders and strategic partners, influencing outcomes that directly impact our customers and communities.

• Driving Contract Performance & Value
  • Manage a high-value portfolio of contracts, ensuring strong commercial performance and value delivery.
  • Lead contract mobilisation, governance, and performance management across the full lifecycle.
  • Use data, KPIs, and insights to track performance, identify opportunities, and drive improvements.
  • Deliver efficiencies and support cost-saving initiatives through effective contract management.
• Building Strategic Supplier Partnerships
  • Develop strong, collaborative relationships with key suppliers.
  • Lead supplier governance forums and performance reviews.
  • Identify opportunities for innovation, sustainability, and long-term value creation.
  • Manage disputes and escalations in a constructive, solution-focused way.
• Leading Commercial & Risk Management
  • Oversee contract variations, extensions, and change control.
  • Review and influence commercial terms to optimise outcomes and manage risk.
  • Ensure compliance with Utilities Contracts Regulations and internal governance.
  • Promote ethical, transparent, and sustainable procurement practices.
• Collaborating Across the Business
  • Partner with Category Management, Commercial Intelligence, and operational teams.
  • Provide expert commercial advice to stakeholders at all levels.
  • Support seamless transition from sourcing into operational delivery.
• Championing Continuous Improvement
  • Embed best practice contract and supplier management approaches.
  • Drive innovation and improvement across the supply chain.
  • Support capability development and share knowledge across the team.

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.

Who you’ll work with

Our Procurement & Commercial Directorate sits at the heart of the organisation, supporting Wales’ largest infrastructure programmes and operational delivery.

We operate as one integrated team across:

• Category Management
• Supplier Management
• Commercial Intelligence

You will collaborate with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including:

Internal

• Executive Team and senior stakeholders
• Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Operational teams
• Procurement colleagues across Category Management and Commercial Intelligence

External

• Suppliers and contractors
• Industry regulators and partners
• Other water companies
• Technology and market insight providers

Together, we ensure value for money, manage risk, and deliver responsible, ethical procurement. We are proud to be CIPS Ethical Procurement Certified, and we are committed to sustainability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

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

About you

We’re looking for someone who combines strong commercial expertise with a collaborative, forward-thinking mindset.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree level or equivalent appropriate professional body qualification in a commercial or procurement associated discipline.
• Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply (CIPS) Level 6 (or working towards); OR Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS); OR approximately 10 years+ experience in commercial construction management.

Experience

Essential

• Extensive experience in contract and supply chain management within a complex environment.
• Proven ability to develop and deliver contract management and supplier relationship strategies aligned to business needs, market dynamics, and regulatory requirements.
• Strong experience of supplier relationship management (SRM), driving performance, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Experience of applying contracting strategies across NEC, JCT, CCS frameworks, and bespoke agreements.
• Ability to influence contract design to improve performance, mitigate risk, and drive commercial value (e.g. outcome-based models).
• Proven track record in managing commercial risk and ensuring compliance with Utilities Contracts Regulations and governance frameworks.
• Experience developing procurement and commercial risk frameworks to support resilience and business continuity.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Strong category expertise, including supply chain structures, key suppliers, market trends, and cost drivers.
• Deep understanding of category-specific risks, including supply continuity, price volatility, regulatory change, and contractual exposure.
• Knowledge of innovation trends such as sustainability, digital transformation, and emerging technologies.
• Strong capability in cost modelling and total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Experience using data analytics and predictive modelling to inform category strategies.
• Advanced commercial negotiation and contracting skills for complex, high-value agreements.
• Strong supplier segmentation and relationship management capability.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills across business, finance, and operational teams.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to improve performance, deliver sustainable savings, and influence decision-making.

Good to know

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 to 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.

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.

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.

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.