Job Description

Unite Students are hiring for an exciting opportunity to join our busy and thriving Procurement team as a Senior Supplier Relationship Manager.


Our suppliers are instrumental to our success as a business and the Senior Supplier Relationship Manager (SSRM) is accountable for leading and delivering how we manage the performance of suppliers to the success of our business. The SSRM drives out poor performance and encourages continuous improvement to measurable successes, often negotiating and facilitating as much internally within our company, operating as the voice of our supply chain and always ensuring we remain transparent and clear in how we measure the performance of our suppliers. The role is critical to our summer peak, ensuring operations and suppliers alike understand expectations, facilitating process and managing performance throughout.


The SSRM oversees a small team, including the Procurement Analyst and Procurement Coordinator and as such also manages functional data, analysis and administration.

What You`ll Be Doing

Accountable for driving the design, implementation and management of the supplier management framework to enable proactive supplier performance management. Setting the tone and governance for how we manage our supply base, personally overseeing the relationships for our most critical suppliers and those having the greatest impact on our business. Driving governance and good practice across the wider procurement team for supplier performance measures and contracting - the critical friend in reviewing contract recommendations and projects. Accountable for setting and driving our Sustainable Procurement goals and plan across the wider team. Ensuring quality KPIs are in place and consistently measured, with plans put in place with our Tier 1-3 suppliers that drive performance and shared goals alike, including improved quality, managing cost/risk, sustainability and ethical procurement. Fostering good relationships and rapport with internal stakeholders across the business, most notably Central and Regional Estates teams. Acting as an escalation point for supplier performance and resolving issues. Responsibility for how we communicate supplier performance across the business in a meaningful way, gathering feedback from the business that is timely, representative and constructively. Collate and feedback supplier performance statistics to procurement managers to aid competitive tendering processes and contractual discussions. Profiling, assessing and putting actions in place to mitigate supply chain risks appropriately. Play a pivotal role in driving customer NPS, working closely with operations to ensure buildings operate to be exceptional standards for our students from the moment they arrive and throughout their stay with US.

What We`re Looking for in You

Demonstrable experience in procurement, specifically in leading contract management and supplier management functions. Excellent negotiation and mediation skills - both with suppliers and internally with colleagues. Commercial intuition and acumen - to unlock the maximum possible benefit. Brilliant writing and report writing skills - a must, given the volume of verbal and written communication needed with suppliers and the wider business. Numerically savvy - able to analyse and interpret numbers, whether costs, performance data or survey results. Presentation skills - ability to present data and facilitate decision making across numerous stakeholder groups. Analytical skills - ability to set indicators or performance, and measure achievement against these. Able to learn fast- it is impossible to be an expert in all areas of supply - be that technical, construction materials, technology or simply paint - but you will demonstrate ability to work with others to tease the information out and learn fast. A people person - since this role works across the entire business much like the wider procurement team, ability to work with all people and being a critical friend in establishing great stakeholder relationships is a must. A `customer-first mind-set` - a great team player, with the ability to build relationships and rapport with the wider procurement team and a variety of key stakeholders. You understand our customers` needs from the product. Note that most particularly during summer peak, this role needs to be contactable during weekends and evenings.

What You`ll Get in Return

A discretionary annual bonus so you can share in the company`s success 25 days` paid holiday and an annual holiday buying scheme, with 5 additional days awarded for long service A generous pension scheme - employer contributions between 5% and 11% depending on how much you save Various benefits to support your health and wellbeing including a Healthcare Cash Plan, an Employee Assistance Programme, a Wellbeing platform and a Gym benefit that you can share with your family and friends Enhanced Family Leave including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents Lots of other great benefits including an annual ShareSave scheme, Employee Life Assurance, a discounts portal and more!

About Unite Students

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is the UK`s leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation. You can find us in 23 leading university towns and cities, with 70,000 students calling US home! We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.

Instinctive inclusion.

We know that to create and maintain a happy healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isn`t just what we do but who we are.

People make Unite Students.

Employees, students and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.

Room for Everyone

We`re proud to be an employer that embraces individuality, and we`re passionate about building inclusive teams. We focus on creating a collaborative culture where you can be you, where your voice is heard, and where you can truly belong. We take great pride in being rated Gold Investors in People and are constantly striving to provide the highest standard of learning and development opportunities and professional pathways for our people. Building a home for success, for both our employees and students, requires exceptional people with a passion for creating room for everyone, doing what`s right, keeping US safe, and raising the bar. Join us as we build better experiences for students that live with us.

We are US.