Supply Chain Manager - Suppliers & Subcontractors in London

• JOB ROLE: Supply Chain Manager - Suppliers & Subcontractors
• About Optimal

Optimal is a growing property maintenance and refurbishment business, delivering responsive and planned works for clients including estate agents, housing associations, commercial clients and private landlords.

We combine strong operational delivery with responsive customer service.

We’re building our own system with AI and automations to reduce routine administration, improve visibility and give our team more time to focus on relationships, commercial decisions and results.

About the role

Your role is to build, manage and continually improve Optimal’s network of engineers, suppliers and subcontractors.

You’ll proactively bring new businesses into our supply chain, negotiate competitive prices and terms, and ensure they consistently meet our standards for quality, reliability, communication and service.

This is a hands-on, commercially focused role.

Success means having the right trades, materials and capacity available where we need them, at the right cost, with partners who deliver on their commitments.

Your responsibility continues beyond onboarding.

You’ll track performance, address problems, develop strong partners and replace those who consistently fall short.

You’ll work closely with Operations, Client Project Managers and Finance to ensure our supply chain supports profitable growth.

Key responsibilities

• Source and attract better suppliers and subcontractors
• Proactively identify and engage subcontractors across the trades and geographical areas we serve.
• Source material suppliers, specialist contractors and other delivery partners that strengthen our service offering.
• Build a pipeline through outbound calls, referrals, industry networks, research and recommendations.
• Explain the opportunity to work with Optimal and attract capable, commercially suitable partners.
• Identify gaps in trade coverage, geographical reach, specialist skills and availability.
• Develop alternatives so delivery does not depend too heavily on individual suppliers or subcontractors.
• Vet, onboard and activate new partners
• Assess trade experience, references, workmanship, capacity, communication and suitability for our work.
• Coordinate checks of relevant qualifications, certifications, insurance and other required documentation.
• Work with the appropriate internal teams to ensure agreements and onboarding requirements are completed before work is allocated.
• Set clear expectations for pricing, attendance, conduct, quality, communication, completion evidence and invoicing.
• Arrange trial jobs or initial performance reviews where appropriate.
• Work with Operations to move approved partners into suitable first assignments and assess their performance.
• Negotiate prices and commercial terms
• Negotiate competitive labour rates, call-out charges, material prices, discounts and terms within agreed authority.
• Maintain clear, current rate cards and agreed pricing arrangements.
• Compare quotations on a like-for-like basis, checking scope, exclusions, quality and total cost.
• Challenge avoidable charges and identify opportunities to improve margin.
• Monitor price changes and benchmark existing partners against credible alternatives.
• Balance price with reliability, quality and capacity to avoid savings being lost through delays or rework.
• Plan coverage and capacity
• Work with Operations and Client Project Managers to understand current workloads and future demand.
• Maintain visibility of each partner’s trades, locations, capacity, availability and limitations.
• Build sufficient coverage for reactive work, planned maintenance, refurbishment and specialist requirements.
• Develop contingency options for urgent jobs, peak demand, cancellations and poor performance.
• Flag capacity risks early and agree practical actions before they affect client commitments.
• Manage performance and enforce standards
• Set and communicate clear supplier and subcontractor performance expectations.
• Monitor attendance, responsiveness, completion times, workmanship, documentation and adherence to agreed prices.
• Use job outcomes, completion photos, client feedback and operational data to assess performance.
• Maintain scorecards and hold regular reviews with key partners.
• Address missed appointments, poor communication, defects, repeated delays and unauthorised charges promptly.
• Agree corrective actions with owners and deadlines, then verify that improvements happen.
• Coordinate remedial work with Operations and elevate serious or repeated failures.
• Recommend restricting, suspending or replacing partners who do not meet our standards, within agreed processes and authority.
• Build strong working relationships
• Act as the main relationship owner for suppliers and subcontractors, working alongside the teams coordinating individual jobs.
• Build professional relationships that support dependable service, fair commercial terms and long-term cooperation.
• Give clear feedback, recognise strong performance and understand what helps good partners work effectively with Optimal.
• Resolve recurring concerns around instructions, access, materials, approvals or invoice queries with the relevant internal teams.
• Keep partners informed of changing requirements and upcoming opportunities.
• Develop high-performing partners as the business grows.
• Maintain compliance and accurate records
• Keep supplier and subcontractor records complete and up to date in our system.
• Monitor document expiry dates and coordinate renewals before they affect eligibility for work.
• Ensure Operations can clearly see approval status, trade coverage, agreed rates and any restrictions.
• Maintain records of agreements, performance issues, corrective actions and commercial changes.
• Escalate safety concerns, missing documentation and material risks promptly through the appropriate channels.
• Use AI and improve how we work
• Use Chat GPT and other approved AI tools to support sourcing research, communications, pricing comparisons, reporting and process improvement.
• Check AI-generated information before using it for commercial or operational decisions.
• Help develop our own system and automations by identifying repetitive tasks and gaps in supply chain visibility.
• Create and improve practical processes for sourcing, onboarding, performance reviews and renewals.
• Use data to identify weak coverage, recurring failures and opportunities to improve cost and service.
• Continually develop your knowledge of trades, materials, market rates and new ways of working.
• How we measure success

Your performance will be measured by the strength, availability, commercial value and delivery quality of our supply chain.

Key measures include

• Coverage across required trades and geographical areas.
• Suitable partners onboarded and successfully completing work.
• Time taken to fill priority supply chain gaps.
• Competitive pricing and verified savings without reduced quality.
• Attendance, responsiveness and completion performance.
• Defect, callback and rework levels.
• Compliance records kept current.
• Speed and effectiveness of corrective actions.
• Retention and development of high-performing partners.
• We value partners who consistently deliver—not simply the number added to our database.
• Experience managing suppliers or subcontractors within property maintenance, refurbishment, construction, facilities management or a closely related sector.
• A track record of sourcing and onboarding capable partners and managing their ongoing performance.
• Confidence making outbound calls, building relationships and negotiating commercial terms.
• Practical knowledge of trades, materials, labour requirements and pricing.
• The ability to assess suitability and recognise when specialist technical input is needed.
• Strong commercial judgement, with an understanding of margins, total cost and the impact of rework.
• Confidence having difficult conversations and holding partners accountable.
• Strong organisation and reliable follow-through across multiple priorities.
• Excellent spoken and written English.
• Confidence using CRM or job-management systems, spreadsheets and performance data.
• Hands-on experience using Chat GPT or similar AI tools, with a commitment to continued learning.
• A proactive approach: you identify gaps, find solutions and take ownership of results.
• An established network of reliable trade subcontractors and suppliers is an advantage.
• Ownership of a function that directly affects service quality, profitability and growth.
• The opportunity to build and shape a stronger supplier and subcontractor network.
• A business investing in its own system with AI and automations.
• Close collaboration with operational and commercial decision-makers.
• A performance-driven environment that values initiative, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Opportunities to develop as the business grows.
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