Senior Supplier Relationship Manager

Powered by Water, Driven by Purpose

At Pennon Group, we’re proud to serve communities while protecting the environment. Together with our subsidiaries, South West Water, Bristol Water, Bournemouth Water, SES Water, Pennon Water Services and Pennon Power, we’re leading the way in water and renewables.

We’re proud to be recognised as a leader in the UK water sector, working towards a greener future. Our goals? As well as lowering our carbon footprint, we’re working with partners to plant 300,000 trees, restore peatlands and supporting farmers and landowners to improve water quality and wildlife.

Whether you’re starting out or seeking a new challenge, our scale and ambition create opportunities for you to shape your own career.

About the Role

Pennon is embarking on a transformational smart metering programme, deploying smart meters to over one million customers throughout AMP8 and beyond. This high profile programme will introduce new delivery models, innovative contractual arrangements, and strategic partnerships that will help shape the future of water services.

As Senior Supplier Relationship Manager, you will lead the commercial relationship with Pennon's smart metering delivery partner, acting as the key interface between Pennon and the supplier. You will be responsible for ensuring contractual commitments, performance measures, and service levels are achieved whilst building a long-term, collaborative partnership focused on delivering value and innovation.

Working closely with Programme Delivery Managers and senior stakeholders across the business, you will establish and embed best practice Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) processes and lead a small specialist team responsible for supporting successful contract delivery.

What You'll Be Doing

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the commercial relationship with Pennon's smart metering delivery partner.
• Own delivery of the smart data as a service contract, ensuring performance, value, and outcomes are achieved against agreed KPIs and contractual commitments.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships founded on collaboration, transparency, and trust.
• Establish and develop an effective Supplier Relationship Management function for the smart metering programme.
• Lead all commercial governance forums and contract review meetings.
• Monitor contract performance and service levels, implementing corrective actions where required to protect Pennon's interests.
• Work closely with Programme Delivery Managers to align commercial and programme delivery objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement and identify opportunities to enhance contract performance and long-term value.
• Manage and develop a specialist team of approximately five colleagues.
• Support strategic decision-making by providing commercial insight and performance reporting to senior stakeholders.
• Regular travel between each of the regional sites.

What We're Looking For

Essential Experience

• Significant experience managing large scale contracts, ideally exceeding £100m in value.
• Experience owning and managing business critical supplier or partner relationships.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen with a proven track record of delivering contractual outcomes.
• Experience managing contract delivery across complex organisations.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at executive level.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience leading specialist teams and driving high performance.
• Ability to operate effectively within complex and evolving business environments.

What Success Looks Like

You'll thrive in this role if you enjoy:

• Building trusted relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Delivering positive commercial outcomes and measurable value.
• Taking ownership of critical business capabilities.
• Working in fast-moving and evolving environments.
• Shaping future organisational capability and ways of working.
• Identifying opportunities through long-term strategic partnerships.

Benefits

At Pennon, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a fantastic range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, financial security and work-life balance.

• 23 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising with service – More time to rest, recharge and enjoy what matters most.
• Holiday Buy & Sell Scheme – Flex your leave allowance to suit your lifestyle.
• Competitive Pension Scheme – Helping you build a secure future with company contribution matching.
• Car Allowance - Helping you stay mobile with an allowance towards your travel needs.
• Life Assurance – Providing peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
• Group Income Protection – Financial support if illness or injury prevents you from working.
• Enhanced Family Leave – Supporting maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
• Share Schemes – Share in Pennon's success through discounted and matched share plans.
• Health Cash Plan – Supporting everyday healthcare costs for you and your family.
• Free Flu Vaccination – Helping you stay healthy throughout the year.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – 24/7 wellbeing, financial and mental health support.
• Free On-Site Parking – Making your commute easier.
• Cycle to Work Scheme – Promoting healthier and more sustainable travel.
• Car Share Scheme – Save money while reducing your environmental impact.
• On-Site Canteen – Offering convenient and affordable meal options at our Exeter headquarters.
• Give As You Earn Scheme – Support charities through tax-efficient payroll giving.
• Retail Discounts – Access savings across a wide range of leading brands and retailers.

Closing Date:

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Please note that the successful candidate will be subject to a mandatory DBS check as part of the onboarding process.

Be yourself, we like it that way. Together, we will build a culture of belonging, where inclusion is instinctive. Diversity is our strength and a reflection of our communities. We care, we value everyone, we celebrate uniqueness.

Our core values, which are essential to our success, are:

Be Rock Solid - Build trust and be trusted. Be the one we all look to and can depend on.

Be You - We want you to bring your best everyday. Be yourself and make your mark in your individual way.

Be the Future - Embrace change. Drive Progress. Own the challenge.

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