Technical Supplier Manager

Business Unit: Business Management & Control (Technology Operations & Cyber Security) 
Salary Range: Circa £65,000 per annum DOE + red-hot benefits

Live to challenge the status quo. Live a life more Virgin.

Our Team
The overarching ambition for COO remains – leverage the power of technology to deliver superb products and services for our customers. Technology Operations & Cyber Security (TOCS) plays a critical role in that pursuit, specifically, protecting our organisation and its critical data from cyber criminals as well as managing all technical services used by colleagues and customers alike.

Business Management and Control (BM&C) ensures TOCS is effective and fit for purpose in this ambition by leading the way in Financial Planning & Management, Third Party Management, Risk & Control, People & Engagement and Insights & Reporting.

We’re looking for a highly experienced Technical Supplier Manager to manage some of TOCS most important technology suppliers and cloud service providers, starting with IBM and Oracle.  This is a key role in aligning technology initiatives with our overall business strategy alongside tight and strong management of our cost envelope.

What you’ll be doing…

• Managing the contracts and renewals of supplier products and services for the portfolio of technical suppliers you own including renegotiation of contracts and contract changes
• Working with Financial Planning Teams, Finance and Procurement to manage supplier cost in line with agreed budgets ensuring good value for our investment.  Also to deliver cost efficiencies through adequately forecasting future expenditure based on third party requirements and utility as identified within the technology roadmaps
• Management of monthly Service Reviews, Change Boards and any Strategic Reviews for suppliers as well as attendance at key governance forums
• Maintain deep relationships with your portfolio of suppliers and act as an advocate for the supplier within VM as well as an advocate for VM to the supplier
• Ensure effective risk management practices through risk identification, assessment and operation of key controls as well as third party oversight activities for assurance over risk management practices and controls operated by suppliers on behalf of VM.
• Manage supplier resilience and continuity of service to protect the operation of critical bank services through documented, approved and tested service interruption plans, contingency plans, disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
• Work closely with Procurement, 1st line risk, 2nd line risk and compliance teams to ensure all third party regulatory, scheme and policy requirements are met
• Ensure suitable KPI’s are in place to monitor the performance of the individual suppliers
• Be the business SME providing support on projects and initiatives related to suppliers in your portfolio
• Provision of reporting to key stakeholders and colleagues to meet internal governance requirements

We need you to have…

• Knowledge of technology suppliers inside-out related to critical bank services including databases, application servers, mainframes or cloud services
• A comprehensive understanding of supplier software support lifecycles and technology currency management
• Demonstrable experience in speaking with the experts and knowledge of emerging technologies
• Significant experience of end-to-end contract and in life supplier management lifecycles
• Significant experience in cost management related to third party services and products
• Third party risk management knowledge and experience
• Collaboration and networking skills and ability to establish strong links between suppliers and key business areas as well as the ability to develop relationships with new and existing suppliers
• Sound comprehension of supplier technology offerings and the value they deliver
• Advanced negotiation skills and be able to plan and execute strategies in a complex multi-stakeholder environment to deliver sustainable outcomes that benefit the bank
• Excellent interpersonal & communication skills with the ability to influence in a collaborative manner
• A forensic attention to detail, exceptional numeracy, strong understanding of technology capabilities, a sharp commercial awareness, and a big-picture view of technology strategies

Red Hot Rewards

• Generous holidays - 38.5 days annual leave (including bank holidays and prorated if part-time)​ plus the option to buy more.
• Up to five extra paid well-being days per year​. 
• 20 weeks paid, gender-neutral family leave (52 weeks in total) for expectant parents and those looking to adopt. 
• Market-leading pension.
• Free private medical cover, income protection and life assurance.
• Flexible benefits include Cycle to Work, wellness and health assessments, and critical illness. 

And there's no waiting around, you'll enjoy these benefits from day one.

Feeling insatiably curious about this role? If we’re lucky to receive a lot of interest, we may close the advert early and would hate you to miss out.

We're all about helping you Live a Life More Virgin, so happy to talk flexible working with you.

Say hello to Virgin Money
We’re making great strides towards achieving our ambition of becoming the UK’s best digital bank.  As a full-service digital bank with a heritage stretching back over 180 years, we’re a workforce to be reckoned with, and we're putting the full power of our experience behind disruptive ideas that reinvent the role a bank plays in people's lives. We're customer-obsessed and work tirelessly to deliver on our purpose, ‘Making You Happier About Money.’ This means we're able to do banking differently, and by innovating and working together we can make a real difference by creating memorable moments and red-hot experiences for our millions of customers. Join us and Live a Life More Virgin that empowers you with choice and flexibility in how you work. 

Be yourself at Virgin Money
Our purpose is to make people happier about money, this means seeing and feeling the world as our customers do by creating a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our customers and communities.  We’re committed to creating an inclusive culture where colleagues feel safe and inspired to contribute, speak up and be heard.  

As a Disability Confident Leader, we're committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion.  If you need any reasonable adjustments or support making your application, contact our Talent Acquisition team careers@virginmoney.com

It’s important to note that there may be occasions where it’s not possible to interview all candidates declaring a disability who meet the essential criteria for the job. In certain recruitment situations such as receiving a high-volume of applications, we may need to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants. 

Now the legal bit
Living A Life More Virgin allows our colleagues to be based anywhere in the UK (if the role allows it), but we'll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK.

If you're successful in securing a role with us, there are some checks you need to complete before starting. These include credit and criminal record checks and three years' worth of satisfactory references. If the role is part of the Senior Manager Regime and Certification Regime, it requires enhanced pre-employment checks – we'll ask for six years of regulatory references, and once in the role, you'll be subject to periodic employment checks.