Sourcing Specialist

Package Description

Vacancy type:  Permanent

Location: The Quadrant, Milton Keynes, the location is flexible and there is an option for hybrid working 

Closing date: 23rd November 2022

Band & Salary: Band 4.B (£34,050 - £38,305)

About us

We’re an organisation where people matter. We matter to millions.

This role sits in Route Services, a business area that has been created to supply services to the routes in the safest, most cost-efficient, and effective way, enabling them to benefit from economies of scale and optimised national resources.

Network Rail’s Commercial & Procurement (C&P) leads the development and delivery of commercial strategies encompassing the whole lifecycle of category strategies, sourcing, supplier management and procurement operations.

We are passionate about working with our customers and the supply chain to buy and manage great commercial solutions that deliver value for passengers.

We offer excellent benefits, including:

• Flexible working patterns such as working from home and working compressed hours
• A range of pension schemes
• Healthcare Benefits
• Childcare voucher scheme
• Rail and underground season ticket subsidies up to 75%
• 28 days annual leave, plus bank holidays and volunteering days (5 days)
• 2 weeks paid reserve leave for our Armed Forces community
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• GymPass – Access to gym’s across the UK
• Access to ‘My Benefits’ portal which include discounts in food, technology and experience days

In 2021, we were voted as one of the Best Places to work in the UK.

Job Introduction

Network Rail’s Contracts and Procurement (C&P) teams are responsible for delivering high-quality products and services that achieve value for money. Our role is to complete the end-to-end

sourcing process across a wide range of spend categories for internal customers which includes Network Rail’s 15 operational routes as well as national functions.

Main Responsibilities

The Materials, Operations and Logistics specialist C&P team within the larger C&P team are responsible for sourcing a wide range of category specific products and services to support the maintenance of our rail infrastructure including.

• Heavy materials (e.g., rail, sleepers, ballast).
• Infrastructure materials (signalling, electrical and other lineside equipment) plus related storage and distribution services.
• Road fleet services
• On-track services such as loco haulage, engineering trains, seasonal track treatment (e.g. leaves on the line) High Output track renewals and high speed infrastructure monitoring using train-borne technology, as well as the components and suppliers need to renew and maintain them.

This role will provide an excellent opportunity for the right candidate to gain experience of tendering contracts of varying levels of complexity, value and profile within a variety of markets.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and manage the sourcing process from business requirement to contract signature, on behalf of key customers and stakeholders, for medium cost and business risk opportunities, utilising, where relevant, commercial purpose-built models, to create and deliver commercial and contractual value, in support of the C&P Director’s annual savings target
• Implement approved Integrated Category Strategies (ICS) through the development and delivery of the qualified Sourcing pipeline, in collaboration with the relevant Category Manager and relevant customers and stakeholders, to release the full defined savings and benefits value committed to within the ICS
• Apply the Sourcing Framework for sourcing led opportunities outside of ICS creation, for where total annual spend of up to £100m and within an OJEU environment, to manage all risk, governance, legislative and regulatory requirements, validated by the Procurement Risk and Assurance team
• Negotiate sourcing enabled savings and benefit opportunities, in collaboration with all relevant customers and stakeholders, approved by Finance and applied to budgets where applicable, in support of the C&P Director’s savings target
• Facilitate the transition of Sourcing led execution to Strategic Supplier Management, to manage a seamless customer experience from business requirement through to post contract signature and position the Supplier Management team to optimise their delivery of full contractual and relationship value
• Demand manage customer and stakeholder common sourcing requirements to maximise overall Group-wide commercial value, with a politically aware engagement and direct influencing style across multiple Routes and Regions, in a complex, devolved organisation

The Ideal Candidate

Essential

• Educated to a degree standard or equivalent business experience or relevant professional qualification
• Demonstrable level of Sourcing experience, with a track record of savings delivery
• Experience with negotiation and dispute resolution skill set
• Experience with contract law and financial management
• Experience with driving value from sourcing opportunities
• Experienced with agile cross-functional collaborative working methods
• Politically aware, with the proven ability to use direct and indirect influencing strategies at an executive level
• Experience of problem-solving complex sourcing specific challenges

Desirable

•     Knowledge of UK Rail Industry supply chains for products and services.

• Experience of tendering within the Public or Utilities Contract Regulations.
• MCIPS qualified, part-qualified or studying towards.
• An interest in complex tendering in an engineering environment.

We are committed to a diverse workplace enriched with representation from diverse cultures, backgrounds and skills. We pride ourselves on creating an environment where difference is embraced, and individuals can thrive. We recognise that the success of the team is dependent on a multi-cultural, multi-disciplined group of individuals, aligned to deliver successful solutions.

At Network Rail, we have several employee networks to reflect our diverse population and help to raise issues to the wider workforce and support their membership and support our Everybody Matters strategy, led by our central Diversity & Inclusion team. In IT Services, we have a group of Diversity & Inclusion Champions who take part and lead on many activities, to drive through more initiatives to support an inclusive environment for all its people and promote a professional and positive working environment. For more information on D&I at Network Rail, please follow this link

About The Company

We’re an organisation where people matter. We matter to millions. 

Our role is to run a safe, reliable and efficient railway, serving customers and communities. We exist to get people and goods where they need to be and to support our country’s economic prosperity. Safety is our number one priority.  

We're undertaking an ambitious change. Our vision is Putting Passengers First - becoming a company that is on the side of passengers and freight users. As one of the UK’s leading equal opportunities employers, our values and the way we behave is important to us and we have created an environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution. We have seven employee networks that provide fantastic support, opportunities and development for applicants from all backgrounds. Click here for more information