Senior Commercial Manager - Outsourcing

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: Experienced

Working pattern: Full-Time

Reporting to: Rob Skidmore, Director of Procurement & Supplier Management

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 offers an outstanding work environment, prioritizing the well-being of its employees and encouraging them to excel. OVO has earned prestigious recognition, including the "Best Place to Work for Women" and a spot in the Sunday Times' Top 10 Best Places 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 a crucial 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 extraordinary sustainability goals also.

This role in a nutshell:

Outsourcing providers are a key part of OVOs supplier Ecosystem and will have a significant and meaningful role in supporting OVO to meet our goals, including Plan Zero. We are looking for someone phenomenal to own these key relationships, bringing experience of the supplier landscape and innovative commercial models.

The successful candidate will manage, mentor and strengthen a team that will be seen as a strategic enabler within OVO.

Your key outcomes will be:

• Develop, agree and implement a procurement strategy to enable OVO to deliver our commercial and performance objectives for Outsourcing Service Providers (OSPs)
• Identify and evaluate existing and recommend potential new OSPs, negotiate contracts, and establish relationships with vendors.
• Conduct market research and analysis to identify trends, pricing, and potential cost savings opportunities, including but not limited to value based/output commercial models.
• You’ll constantly be seeking ways to reduce cost via renegotiation contracts away from resource models, towards gain sharing or outcome bases, all whilst improving service levels and customer outcomes
• You’ll be looking at innovative ideas to incentivise our partners to do things differently (what can we stop, automate, digitalise, shorten that will make our customers’ lives easier)
• Collaborate with internal partners to understand their OSP needs and requirements.
• Monitor OSP performance and ensure compliance with contractual agreements and service level agreements.
• Analyze and report on procurement and Supplier Management metrics and key performance indicators to identify areas for improvement.
• Stay updated on OSP industry standard processes and emerging trends in procurement to drive continuous improvement.
• Provide mentorship 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 partners (including Legal and Finance Business Partners) to ensure success for OVO.

Within your first 3 months you’ll:

• Develop, agree and implement a procurement strategy to enable OVO to deliver our commercial and performance objectives for Outsourcing Service Providers (OSPs)
• Set out a clear plan to deliver commercial objectives for 2024 and beyond.
• Have a clear baseline on current supplier performance, contracts, risks and opportunities

Systems: Workday and Workday Strategic Sourcing

You’ll be a successful Senior Commercial Manager - Outsourcing at OVO if you…

• Are driven and can work autonomously with direction but within a framework of a wider team.
• Are motivated by mentoring and coaching a small team
• Enjoy working in a fast paced, changing environment.
• Are results and output driven
• Want to build something great!

You won’t like this role if you…

• Like to be micromanaged 
• Aren’t a great teammate 

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 health
With benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and more

For your wellbeing
With 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 donations

For 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 chargers

For 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..