Supplier Management Team Leader

Supplier Management Team Leader

💰 £50,000 to £55,000

📍 Remote with one or two days a month in the Hampshire office

Company & role

This role sits with a well established technology reseller and services provider that works with a large and varied supplier base underpinning everything it delivers. There is already a small supplier management team and an established process in place. What is needed now is someone to lead it, sharpen it and give it direction.

This is a leadership role focused on the supplier lifecycle, covering onboarding, compliance, risk and performance across a broad range of suppliers. The team is small today with plans to grow, and the people in it are experienced and self sufficient, so the priority is direction and governance rather than close management. You will improve how things run, tighten the compliance and onboarding side, and make sure the function is always ready for audit and ISO recertification.

Why This Role Stands Out

• You lead an established team and get to raise its game. The foundations exist, so your focus is improving the process, adding governance and putting real weight behind it.
• Compliance and risk are front and centre. Audit preparedness and ISO recertification genuinely matter to the business, and you are the person who keeps the function ready for them.
• Broad, cross functional exposure. You will work across legal, finance, GRC and sales, so the role sits at the centre of the business rather than off to one side.
• Real breadth in the supplier base. The suppliers range from small niche providers through to the backbone of major managed services, so no two days look the same and judgement matters more than box ticking.
• Genuine flexibility. The role is remote with only occasional office time, and you will be leading a remote team....

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, develop and give direction to an established supplier management team
• Own the supplier lifecycle across onboarding, compliance, performance and risk
• Improve and embed onboarding and governance processes, reducing onboarding time and improving data quality
• Keep the function audit ready and aligned to ISO and other accreditation requirements
• Apply a risk based approach, matching the level of scrutiny to the risk each supplier presents
• Work across legal, finance, GRC and sales to give those teams the suppliers and governance they need
• Manage a remote team and support the ongoing development of the supplier management tooling

Ideal Experience

Essential

• Experience running or leading a supplier management or supplier relationship function, in any industry
• Proven leadership experience, including managing remote teams
• Strong grounding in supplier onboarding, compliance, risk mitigation and audit or ISO readiness
• A continuous improvement mindset, comfortable improving an existing process rather than only running it
• Strong cross functional stakeholder management across functions such as legal, finance, GRC and sales

Desirable

• Experience across a large and varied supplier base
• Exposure to developing or improving supplier management systems or portals