Senior Supply Manager

Are you ready to take on a pivotal leadership role that drives operational excellence, fosters innovation, and delivers outstanding results? At Thames, we’re on a mission to ensure every customer interaction is seamless, fair, and value-driven—and we need your expertise to lead the charge.

What you’ll be doing as a Senior Supply Manager
As a Senior Supply Manager, you’ll be at the heart of our Bill to Cash operations, working with key suppliers like Debt Collection Agencies and Water-only Companies to ensure exceptional outcomes for our customers and business. You’ll have the opportunity to make a real impact by leading a high-performing team, fostering strong partnerships, and driving continuous improvement across our suppliers.

Driving Operational Excellence

• Optimising Performance: Monitor and analyse performance metrics to ensure revenue and cash targets are consistently met.
• Forecasting & Insights: Partner with finance to analyse, model, and forecast billing, revenue, and cash flow outcomes.
• Supplier Management: Build and nurture positive relationships with third-party suppliers, enhancing billing and recovery processes.
• KPI Mastery: Develop and manage KPIs related to risk appetite, affordability, repayment insights, and overall portfolio performance.

 Leadership & Culture

• Inspire & Motivate: Lead and coach a dedicated team, creating a supportive culture that values best practices and innovation.
• Team Development: Promote resilience, empathy, and a healthy work-life balance within your team, supporting their overall well-being.
• Strategic Leadership: Lead change initiatives with a steady hand, balancing business-as-usual operations with strategic alignment across the organization.

Delivering Transformational Impact

• Collaborate closely with the leadership team on high-impact projects that drive the future of our business.
• Ensure strong governance and control over processes, while keeping track of expenditures against budget expectations.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement to optimize the overall customer experience and outcomes.

Base Location: Hybrid working, with 2 days per week in the Swindon office. Travel will also be required to visit suppliers across the UK.
Working Pattern: Full-time, 36 hours per week.

What you should bring to the role

• Expertise in Bill-to-Cash Journeys: A deep understanding of end-to-end bill-to-cash processes, with a focus on optimizing performance and outcomes.
• Analytical Expertise: Skilled in modelling, interpreting, and forecasting billing, revenue, and cash flows, with a collaborative approach working alongside finance teams.
• Proven Success in Partner Management: Experience in effectively performance-managing external collections partners, ensuring excellent results and outcomes.
• Track Record of Driving Performance: A demonstrated ability to lead and implement strategies that consistently deliver measurable performance improvements.
• Target-Focused Leadership: A hands-on approach to setting, managing, and surpassing challenging collections targets.
• Supplier Management Expertise: Proficient in overseeing and coordinating the performance of multiple suppliers to ensure smooth, efficient operations.
• Exceptional Coaching Capabilities: Extensive knowledge and experience in coaching teams to build high performance, motivation, and engagement.
• Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement: Strong leadership abilities and the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels to align with organizational goals.
• Persuasive and Impactful Communicator: A natural ability to communicate with clarity, empathy, and influence, driving alignment and collaborative relationships.
• Financial Acumen: Experienced in managing budgets, forecasting, and ensuring financial targets are met with a keen eye on performance.
• P&L Accountability: Solid experience in managing profit and loss, with a focus on maximizing value and minimising potential risks.

What’s in it for you?
Join a dynamic work culture where collaboration, creativity, and a shared commitment to excellence are at the heart of everything we do. Enjoy ample opportunities for professional development and career progression as you contribute to a purpose-driven mission that enhances customer experiences and creates a positive impact on communities and the environment.

• Competitive salary from £54,000 to £60,000 per annum
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Car Allowance
• Annual Bonus
• Private Medical Health Care
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.
Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.
Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business, meet colleagues and earn some extra money along the way.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.