Procurement Business Partner

Full Time
11 months ago

Role OVO-View

Location: Hub based! Bristol, London or Glasgow

But you have the flexibility to work wherever suits you best

Team: Procurement

Salary banding:  £70,000 - £85,000

Experience: Expert

Working pattern:Full-Time

Reporting to: Karl Walton - Head of Procurement

Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

This role in 3 words: Engaging, Ownership, Commercial

Top 3 qualities for this role: Change agent, Communication, Results driven

 

In the words of the team, you should leave your current role for this one because….

OVO is a fantastic place to work. The company really cares for its people which makes you want to go the extra mile. There is a reason we won Times best place to work! The Procurement & SM team are on a really exciting journey and it's not every day you get the ability to actively participate in a Procurement transformation! OVO felt like home to me after just 2 weeks and i put that down to having such a great team around me.

 

Everyone belongs at OVO

At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity's biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That's why we need diverse people from all gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

 

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you’ll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Here’s how:

You’ll be working within OVO’s  Procurement & Supplier Management Team which sits within the Finance area, with a directive to drive value from the supplier ecosystem. Buying goods or services is an essential part of OVO’s business. It enables us to deliver a whole range of products to our customers from marketing campaigns, smart meters and everything in between. Our suppliers have a huge impact on the planet so we have some great sustainability goals also.

 

This role in a nutshell:

Outsourcing providers are a key part of OVOs supplier Ecosystem and play a critical role in supporting OVO to meet our goals, including Plan Zero. This is a newly formed and strategic role within the Procurement leadership team, and we are looking for someone with significant outsourcing experience to; a) commercially own these key relationships, b) bring the market to OVO, and c) drive some commercial creativity into our relationships.

The successful candidate will manage, coach and develop a team of two individuals (Snr Procurement Manager and a Supplier Relationship Manager) as well as business partner with our Operations area to help orchestrate key commercial activities.

Your key outcomes will be:

Category Management

  • Develop, agree and implement an effective category plan that enables OVO to deliver its commercial and performance objectives for Outsourced Service Providers (OSPs) and maximise the value from the supply chain (increasing leverage, merging services, fewer but more valuable relationships) 
  • Identify and evaluate existing and recommend potential new OSPs, negotiate contracts and establish relationships with suppliers (current and new).
  • Conduct market research and analysis to identify economic trends, pricing, potential cost savings opportunities and potential new relationships (bring the market to OVO!)
  • Establish a forward looking and progressive category strategy which support OVOs strategy and Plan Zero agenda
  • Analyze and report on key metrics such as; savings, supplier performance, priorities, risks and opportunities
  • Maintaining and managing a pipeline of key activities, establishing reporting metrics from this data to enable effective resource and stakeholder management 
  • Constantly be seeking ways to optimise cost and increase value maturing existing resource based contracts towards gain share or outcome based, where applicable
  • Collaborate with internal stakeholders to align requirements to supplier delivery.

Supplier Relationship & Performance Management

    • Align with the central Supplier Management team to ensure the OSP category adopts best practice and leverages tools and templates already in existence
    • Monitor supplier performance and ensure compliance with contractual obligations and service level agreements
    • Seek out and action on opportunities to improve service levels and ultimately improve upon OVO’s customer satisfaction
    • Explore innovative ideas to incentivise our partners to do things differently (what can we stop, automate, digitalise, shorten that will make our customers’ lives easier)
    • Stay updated on OSP industry best practices and emerging trends in procurement to drive continuous improvement.
    • Provide guidance and support to team members, including training and development opportunities
    • Ensure robust contracts are in place with OSPs and are proactively managed to ensure risks are controlled and mitigated
    • You’ll be responsible for the risk, compliance and oversight within OSP contracts by managing the contractual relationships
    • Work collaboratively with key business stakeholders (including Legal and Finance Business Partners ) to ensure success for OVO 

Within your first 3 months you’ll:

  • Establish yourself and your team as the go to points of contact for all commercial matters within the category
  • Set out a clear plan to deliver commercial objectives for 2024 and beyond
  • Have a clear baseline on current supplier performance, contracts, commercial activities, risks and opportunities
  • Have met with all key stakeholders and suppliers

You’ll be a successful Procurement Business Partner at OVO if you…

  • Are self driven and can work autonomously with direction but within a framework of a wider team
  • Are motivated by developing a small team and seeing the outputs of your support
  • Are comfortable working in a fast moving, changing environment
  • Are results and output driven
  • Want to build something great and enhance your future career profile!

You won’t like this role if you…

  • Are uncomfortable or unable to engage and influence senior executives, both internally and externally
  • Like to work as an individual contributor
  • Do not possess strong business acumen or commercial flare
  • Are unable to take people on a journey at their own pace

Let’s talk about what’s in it for you

We’ll pay you between £70,000 and £85,000, depending on your specific skills and experience. If your expectations are a little different, have a chat with us!

We keep our pay ranges broad on purpose to give us, and you, flexibility to match your experience to our zero carbon mission.

You’ll be eligible for an on-target bonus of 15%. We have one OVO bonus plan that focuses on the collective performance of our people to deliver our Plan Zero goal. 

We also offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to help you feel like you belong at OVO…and there’s flex pay.  It’s an extra 9% of your salary on top of your core pay to use as you like. You can take it as cash, add to your pension, or choose to spend it on a huge range of flex benefits. Here’s a taster of what’s on offer: 

For starters, you’ll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays). For your healthWith benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and moreFor your wellbeingWith gym membership, gadget, travel and cyber insurance, workplace ISA, will writing services, DNA testing, dental insurance, and more For your lifestyle With extra holiday buying, discount dining, culture cards, tech loans, and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donationsFor your home  Get up to £300 off any OVO Energy plan (when you pay by Direct Debit), plus personal carbon offsetting and great discounts on smart thermostats and EV chargersFor your commute Nab a great deal on ultra-low emission car leasing, plus our cycle to work scheme and public transport season ticket loans Want to hear about our full range of flexible benefits and progressive people policies? Our People Team can tell you everything you need to know.

 

For your Belonging

To find better ways to support our people, we need to listen to each other’s experiences and find ways to build a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. As part of this, we have 8 Belonging Networks at OVO. Led by our people, for our people - so when you join OVO, you can play a part - big or small - with any of the Networks. It's up to you.

 

Oh, and one last thing...

We’d be thrilled if you tick off all our boxes yet we also believe it’s just as important we tick off all of yours. And if you think you have most of what we’re looking for but not every single thing, go ahead and hit apply. We’d still love to hear from you! If you have any additional requirements, there’s a space to let us know on the application form; we want to make the process as easy and comfortable for you as possible..