Serco Plc
Senior Partner Manager
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Who we are
VIVO provides facilities management and accommodation maintenance for the UK military and its partners. VIVO embodies both experience and innovation.
What we do
We put our Customers and Families First. They are the driving force behind everything we do. We drive forward improvements for them to ensure the service they receive, whether reactive repairs or a major project, is completed safely and on time. In order to achieve this, we have 4 core values: open, caring, agile, and collaborative. These are at the heart of everything we do.
Location: Mobile role. Candidates can be based anywhere in England (except London)
Permanent, Full-time
Salary: Competitive + Car allowance
Role Overview
We are looking for an experienced and commercially focused Senior Partner Manager to support the continued development of our Partner Management function. This is an exciting opportunity for a procurement or commercial professional looking to take the next step in their career within the facilities management sector, working across a complex national operation supporting the Defence Estate.
Responsibilities
As Senior Partner Manager, you will play a key role in managing the end-to-end relationship with service partners across VIVO. You will be responsible for ensuring suppliers are effectively sourced, onboarded, managed, and developed, delivering strong commercial outcomes, operational performance, and excellent customer service.
- Work closely with operational teams, commercial colleagues, and strategic suppliers to develop strong collaborative relationships that support consistent service delivery across the business.
- Help shape and embed supplier management frameworks, improving governance, driving efficiencies, and ensuring partners deliver against contractual commitments.
- Oversee supplier performance across a wide portfolio of service partners, ensuring agreed KPIs, SLAs, and quality standards are achieved. This will include monitoring performance, managing contract obligations, supporting improvement plans, and identifying opportunities to enhance delivery, reduce risk, and improve value for money.
- Support commercial and budget management activities, ensuring effective cost control and providing insight into supplier performance and opportunities for improvement. Contribute to the development of supplier frameworks, contract processes, and sourcing strategies that strengthen VIVO’s supply chain capability.
- Work across multiple contracts, building trusted relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders while acting as a key point of contact for supplier-related matters. Support tender activities, supplier evaluations, negotiations, and contract changes, ensuring commercial decisions are aligned with business objectives.
- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, identifying innovative approaches that improve quality, efficiency, and customer outcomes. Work closely with sustainability teams to help ensure supply chain activity supports wider environmental and operational goals.
- Engage regularly across the business and travel within the UK, ensuring strong visibility and effective supplier relationships across VIVO contracts.
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About You
- Experience in procurement, commercial management, supplier relationship management, or a similar role, ideally within facilities management, construction, or a related service environment.
- Strong understanding of supply chain management, contract performance, and commercial governance, with experience managing suppliers, negotiating agreements, and driving improvements through effective partnership working.
- Confident in managing multiple priorities, analyzing performance data, and turning insights into practical actions. Experience managing tender processes, evaluating supplier submissions, and supporting contract negotiations is highly beneficial.
- Strong communicator with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels and build effective relationships with both internal teams and external partners. Collaborative, commercially aware, and able to challenge constructively to achieve the best outcomes.
- Relevant qualification in procurement, commercial management, or facilities management, or a willingness to work towards one, would be desirable.
- Experience with contract management tools, e-procurement systems, and Microsoft Office applications is expected.
- Proactive, organized, and solutions-focused, with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment while maintaining high standards of governance, supplier performance, and customer service. Experience working within defence, regulated environments, or large-scale FM contracts would be advantageous.
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Please note, candidates MUST have a services rather than goods background to be considered for this role.
What We Offer
- 6% employee matched pension contribution
- 25 days annual leave
- Single private medical cover
- Car allowance
- Life assurance 2x annual salary
VIVO Defence Services
The role you have applied for is with VIVO Defence Services, a joint venture between Serco and EQUANS. By applying for this role, please be aware that information contained within your CV may be shared between VIVO Defence Services, Serco, and EQUANS during the recruitment process.
Diversity and Inclusion
At VIVO, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization that supports the needs of all. Therefore, we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool.
We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working and operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly a Disability Confident Leader. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.
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