IT Supplier Manager

You’ll be joining the IT Procurement and Supply Chain Management team in the fast-paced UK Operations. You will lead and monitor the relationship, ongoing performance and contractual commitments of our IT Suppliers. Adding value through your existing experience gained within an IT environment to contribute to the development of reporting, contracts, policies, and procedures, and alignment to regulatory requirements in ensuring the delivery of business-aligned services.

You’ll manage some of our Strategic Tier-1 IT suppliers and contracts, brokering relationships that will require a holistic view, across multiple projects, and multiple contracts both locally and globally. You will lead on contract change and negotiations and take a more focused view of our relationship with a supplier, looking specifically at requirements and details needed for particular engagements. You’ll be constantly and consistently looking at mitigating risk, cost management and driving value from our Outsourced arrangements, as well as stakeholder management - your chance to really demonstrate your passion for customer focus and continuous improvement.

We need someone who is organised, proactive and comfortable developing and maintaining a range of internal relationships across all areas of the business, including senior and executive management, external relationships with outsourced partners and business-to-business relationships with suppliers. Many of our employees work flexibly in a variety of different ways, including part-time, flexible hours, job share, an element of working from home or compressed hours.

This is because we want the best people for our roles, and we recognise that sometimes those people aren't available full-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you may need.

• Effectively build and maintain relationships with suppliers and key stakeholders.
• Monitor and drive compliance of the suppliers with obligations within the agreement and alignment to regulatory requirements.
• Monitor the delivery of the suppliers against the appropriate level of commitment in the agreement.
• Manage and initiate Service Improvement initiatives to track and address failures against contractual commitments, ensuring remediation plans exist.
• Act as a contract advisor and support/lead on contract negotiations, change management, new IT contracting or termination and supplier onboarding.
• Act as an escalation point for contractual queries or disputes.
• Propose amendments to the contract as necessary to meet the organisation's evolving business needs.
• Work with UK Operations and the wider Zurich organisation to deliver business‑aligned services.
• Communicate with stakeholders to set expectations and manage perceptions about sourced services and the sourcing strategy.

  Communicate Chances are you have a broad range of experience gained in a Service Management environment, in something like procurement or contract management, maybe a high level of commercial acumen and delivery focus? You may have worked within a regulated environment and understand the intricacies of managing suppliers and contracts within the guidelines and frameworks laid out. BUT what really matters is that you are highly motivated with a drive and ability to succeed at any given task.
  
  You're at the stage of your Zurich career where you're resilient and positive so if things don't always go to plan, it won't phase you!

• Relevant professional IT qualifications (ITIL).
• IT background essential.
• Experience in managing 3rd party suppliers and contracts in a regulated environment is desirable.
• Effective problem solver, ability to quickly assess technical escalations.
• Strong and effective Meeting Management skills are essential.
• High level of communication influencing and negotiation skills, coupled with an ability to build relationships at all levels of the organisation both internally and externally.
• High level of commercial knowledge with sound business acumen.
• Good interpersonal and networking skills, and highly articulate team player.
• Strong delivery focus with an ability to help others get on board quickly with changing…