Senior Procurement Manager

Inbound Talent is partnering with an established and fast-scaling telecoms and technology provider to find a Senior Procurement Manager to act as a right hand to the Head of Procurement. This is a deputy-level role at the heart of a procurement function that touches almost every part of the business, with genuine scope to shape how the function operates as the company grows.

About the company

The business is a well-established telecoms and technology provider that is growing and scaling rapidly across mainland UK. Procurement here is not siloed. The team supports IT, marketing, HR, finance, legal, and operational categories including fleet, stores, and site leases for mobile infrastructure. The department manages around 1,000 suppliers and roughly £50 million in annual spend, and the business is actively investing in strategic growth initiatives, including projects targeting significant additional revenue over the coming years.

About the role

This role sits just below the Head of Procurement, acting as a trusted deputy and covering both day-to-day BAU activity and higher-value strategic work. No two days will look the same. Depending on the week, this person might be running an RFP, onboarding a new vendor, negotiating a renewal, resolving a commercial dispute, or supporting a capital business case.

Key areas of focus include:

• Commercial modelling, analytics, and data-driven decision making
• Contract renewals, with a strong emphasis on getting ahead of auto-renewal and CPI-linked increases before notice periods expire
• Supplier negotiation, with autonomy to manage deals up to an agreed value threshold, working collaboratively with the Head of Procurement on larger contracts
• Supplier risk, compliance assertions, and cyber risk awareness across the vendor base
• Data protection and GDPR related activity
• Supporting supplier optimisation and driving better buying power as the business scales

There is currently no dedicated procurement platform in place beyond Sage, SharePoint, and Salesforce, so prior experience with these specific tools is not required, just a willingness to get up to speed quickly.

About you

This role suits someone with strong commercial acumen and solid procurement or commercial experience who wants variety over routine. The client is explicit that temperament matters as much as technical skill. Ideal traits include being self-sufficient, agile, and comfortable picking up new categories rather than specialising narrowly in one area.

A technology background is genuinely useful given that technology is the largest spend category by a significant margin, though direct telecoms experience is not essential. A background purely in facilities management would not be a fit.

Other useful attributes:

• Confident negotiator with experience across contracts and tenders
• Comfortable working with limited process definition and figuring things out
• Some exposure to AI tools and their application to procurement or supplier management is a plus
• MCIPS is a nice to have rather than a requirement. Capability and attitude matter more than the qualification itself

This role will typically require at least two days a week in the Manchester office, with flexibility for more. Occasional travel will also be required.

What s in it for you

This is a genuine opportunity to step into a second-in-command style position with real autonomy, direct exposure to senior leadership, and a clear path to grow into a broader remit as the business scales. The management style here is trust based rather than micromanaged, with support available when needed.

Highly competitive salary and benefits package on offer.

Disclaimers

Unfortunately, this role does not offer VISA sponsorship, so only applicants with valid Right to Work in the UK will be considered.