Job Title: Strategic Procurement Manager
Location: Frimley, Portsmouth, Barrow, Coventry, Weymouth, Bristol – We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role
Salary: Circa £80,000 – depending on skills and experience

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES:

• Proven strategic supply chain experience, with a strong focus on supplier development, risk management, and market engagement rather than logistics or operations.
• Industry background in complex, highly regulated sectors.
• Polished communication and presentation skills, capable of representing the organisation professionally in supplier meetings and strategic discussions.
• A proactive and forward-thinking mindset, able to identify new market opportunities, bring in fresh suppliers, and support innovation across the supply base.

• Drive Future Technology Enablement: Support the future technology roadmap by gathering market insights, identifying innovation trends, and engaging suppliers on capability development.
• Intelligence & Risk Management: Maintain strategic links with industry, academia, and central teams to monitor supply chain risk, lead intelligence-gathering initiatives, and implement assurance activities on high-risk suppliers.
• Expand Supplier Ecosystem: Build and maintain agile access to the wider supply base by mapping new markets, fostering relationships with academia and adjacent industries, and engaging regularly with transactional suppliers.
• Support Strategic Programmes: Deploy engagement strategies for key programmes, support strategic planning, and ensure supplier readiness aligned to future programme needs.
• Lead SME Development Initiatives: Act as the SME point of contact across the business unit, break down barriers for SMEs entering defence, and run collaborative development workshops to integrate next-generation technologies.
• Contribute to Sustainable & Ethical Supply Chain Practice: Monitor compliance with sustainability codes, including the prompt payment code, and support supply chain inclusion, diversity, and responsible innovation initiatives.