Sourcing Team Manager

Job Description:

Sourcing Team Manager

Hybrid working with 2 days per week working on site

Salford Quays Manchester

12 month fixed term contract

Salary £56,000 - £69,900 per annum depending on experience

Fantastic benefits including 10% Management Bonus Scheme

Full time 37.5 hours per week

We make health happen

Working in our UK support functions you’ll play a key part in helping our customer facing colleagues deliver exceptional standards of customer service and patient care. No matter your role, you’ll have an opportunity to do work that matters. Making a difference to the lives of our customers each and every day.

As Sourcing Team Manager you’ll lead and develop the team of Buyers and Assistant Buyers, ensuring sourcing activity is effectively prioritised, resourced and delivered across the Bupa Global and UK Market Unit. The role is accountable for team performance, capacity management, commercial outcomes, adherence to procurement processes and the consistent delivery of sourcing, contracting and supplier due-diligence activity across all category towers.

How you’ll help us make health happen

The role manages demand and allocates resources across category towers according to business priority and available capacity. It oversees sourcing activity typically valued under £500,000, including competitive tendering, negotiation, contracting, internal stakeholder management and activity that may carry significant commercial, operational or supplier risk.

Working in partnership with Category Managers, Heads of Procurement and business stakeholders, the role ensures delivery aligns with category strategies and procurement priorities. The role owns sourcing-team delivery and operational performance; ownership of category strategy remains with the relevant category lead unless specifically delegated.

As a senior commercial leader, the job holder drives value through price, total cost of ownership and demand management, while maintaining effective governance and risk controls. The role provides hands-on commercial leadership for complex, sensitive or escalated sourcing and contracting activity where management intervention is required.

Leadership and People Management – lead, coach and develop Buyers and Assistant Buyers; set clear objectives and role accountabilities; manage performance, wellbeing, absence, recruitment, onboarding, succession and capability development; and establish effective team ways of working.

Demand, Capacity and Delivery Management – maintain a consolidated sourcing pipeline; allocate and reallocate work across category towers; review demand against capacity; monitor contract expiries, milestones, ageing and delivery risks; and ensure priorities are progressed efficiently.

Commercial and Sourcing Oversight – assure the quality of sourcing strategies, tendering, evaluation, negotiation and contracting; support delivery of validated value and savings; act as the escalation point for complex activity; and intervene directly where commercial leadership is required.

Governance, Risk and Compliance – ensure the team follows the six-step procurement process, relevant systems and approval requirements, supplier segmentation and due diligence, SARF governance, Delegation of Authority, contract approval and signature controls, and benefit-reporting requirements; escalate late engagement and non-compliance appropriately.

• Lead, coach, motivate and develop the team, creating clear accountability and a high-performance culture.
• Provide structured training, coaching, quality assurance and knowledge transfer so team members can fulfil their roles effectively.
• Maintain the team sourcing pipeline and align delivery to category plans, savings opportunities and business priorities.
• Agree sourcing priorities with category leads and business stakeholders, based on value, risk, business need and available capacity.
• Follow and support category risk plans in agreement with Procurement Towers and Bupa’s risk management policies and procedures to mitigate Bupa's exposure to supply chain risks within the categories under management.
• Oversee the active timeline for sourcing initiatives
• Lead and support the Buyers and Assistant Buyers where they lead contract negotiations on behalf of the Category Manager.
• Act as an escalation point for Buyers and Assistant Buyers and where appropriate directing their activities with assistance from the Head of Procurement or Category Manager as needed.
• Lead and support the Buyers and Assistant Buyers to develops innovative solutions by challenging the status quo and business requirements.
• Interfacing with internal customers to ensure requirements are delivered, performance tracked and operational efficiencies are maximised.
• Participates in team and department meetings and events and is responsible for communicating and advocating procurement throughout the organisation.  
• Maintain personal integrity with regards to commercial confidentiality and conduct supplier relationships with the highest standard of ethical conduct and set and maintain the same expectation for the team of Buyers and Assistant Buyers.
• Creation, monitoring and reporting of appropriate team KPIs.
• Performance management of all team members.
• Identify and propose process and system improvements.

Key Skills / Qualifications needed for this role:

• Ideally holds a Graduate Degree (e.g. BA, BSc, MEng) or relevant equivalent experience.
• Desirable MCIPS qualified or is studying towards this qualification
• 5 years + sourcing experience and expertise
• Evidence of sourcing a wide range of products and services within the remit of Indirects, including IT.
• Experience of delivering savings through driving sourcing and category procurement activities
• Excellent communication skills
• Comprehensive experience of working closely with internal stakeholders to ensure a successful commercial outcome
• Recent and relevant experience of leading cross functional/business unit teams

Benefits

Our benefits are designed to make health happen for our people. Viva is our global wellbeing programme and includes all aspects of our health – from mental and physical, to financial, social and environmental wellbeing. We support flexible working and have a range of family friendly benefits.

Joining Bupa in this role you will receive the following benefits and more:

• 25 days holiday, increasing through length of service, with option to buy or sell

• Bupa health insurance as a benefit in kind

• An enhanced pension plan and life insurance

• Onsite gyms or local discounts where no onsite gym available

• Various other benefits and online discounts

Why Bupa?

We’re a health insurer and provider. With no shareholders, our customers are our focus. Our people are all driven by the same purpose – helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. We make health happen by being brave, caring and responsible in everything we do.

We encourage all of our people to “Be you at Bupa”, we champion diversity, and we understand the importance of our people representing the communities and customers we serve.  That’s why we especially encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Bupa takes pride in being a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer and will aim to offer an interview/assessment to disabled applicants who best meet the minimum criteria for the role. We’re committed to ensuring you’re treated fairly during the recruitment process and offer reasonable adjustments to anyone who may benefit from accommodations to the recruitment process. 

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