Junior Procurement Manager - IT

At Smart, our mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing, across all generations, around the world.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a commercially minded Junior Procurement Manager to join our Procurement and Vendor Management team on a 12-month fixed-term maternity cover contract. This role will play a key part in advancing our procurement transformation agenda, with a particular focus on SaaS and technology services sourcing.

The Junior Procurement Manager will be responsible for partnering with stakeholders across the business to develop and execute sourcing strategies, optimise supplier relationships, and drive commercial value across our software portfolio. While the role will primarily focus on SaaS solutions, and technology services, we are looking for a collaborative team player who is comfortable supporting sourcing activity across other spend categories when required.

Responsibilities:

• Managing procurement activity for IT/Technology categories including, hardware, software, Saas.
• Support the Senior Sourcing Manager to build and maintain relationships with internal stakeholders, becoming the go-to person for IT/Technology procurement within the business.
• Vendor and spend data analysis to identify key IT spend areas of opportunity.
• Manage the RFQ/RFP process in conjunction with stakeholders for IT/technology requests .
• Optimise commercial and licence models through your knowledge of applicability/relevance of the licensing model to the requirement.
• Lead or support negotiations and renegotiate existing contracts with vendors in conjunction with stakeholders.
• Drive commercial benefits and savings within your category area whilst not compromising on quality.
• AdHoc management of renewals and low risk categories

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The skills, experience, and aptitudes we are looking for are listed below but please don't be discouraged from applying if you don't meet every single one of these criteria - having a 'can do' attitude is sometimes more important than being able to tick every box:

• Process driven
• Good written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build relationships
• Able to prioritise workload and multitask while maintaining high standards
• Able to take direction and run with a task
• At least 2 years experience experience of IT category management / procurement
• Understanding of software licensing and IT networks and infrastructure, and other IT equipment and services
• Ability to work well as part of a team
• Preferable experience within Omnea as a Procurement tool

WHO WE ARE

We work in partnerships with governments and financial institutions in the UK and internationally. Our cloud-native digital platform is revolutionising how people around the world think about, and save for, their retirement.

At heart, we're a financial technology business. What we do is all about innovation, and using the power of digital change to put the customer first. Our Engineers will tell you that working at Smart gives you the opportunity to play your part in developing world-class technological solutions, working with - and learning from - like-minded people.

You'll also find that, across our business, our colleagues love Smart's culture, and how what we do means better financial outcomes for savers. That feels worthwhile, and it means that what we do, collectively, goes way beyond the nine to five of a typical working day.

Don't just take our word for it - you can see what our colleagues say about working at Smart on LinkedIn Life and Glassdoor .

BENEFITS

At Smart, one of the eight principles we work to is "We want happy and good people in our team". We created a list of benefits that helps us achieve this goal:

• 25 days' holiday per year, increasing with length of service.
• £500 annual training budget to spend on your professional development
• Extensive private healthcare, including dental, eyecare and EAP
• Enhanced sick leave (three months' pay per year)
• Enhanced maternity and paternity (maternity - 6 months fully paid/paternity - 3 weeks fully paid)
• Death in service insurance cover
• Fully-paid five-week sabbatical after five years of employment
• In office wellbeing, such as manicures, massages and barbers.
• Smart employees also enjoy a 50% discount on orders from our sister company Arena Flowers, Britain's most ethical florist. They offer unique hand-tied bouquets, luxury flowers, letterbox flowers, plants and gifts to spend on friends and loved ones or even for yourself.

At Smart, we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to do their best work.

We believe that diverse perspectives help us lead the way in transforming retirement, savings, and financial wellbeing. We welcome differences in background, experience, thinking, and identity, and we recognise that innovation is strongest when it is built on inclusion and fairness. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences and do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the workplace, we encourage you to let us know - we are committed to supporting you.

We think Smart is an awesome place to work. If it sounds like somewhere you'd like to work, too, and if you're ready to play your part in our continued success in the future, then naturally we'd love to meet you.

Department Procurement Locations London Remote status Hybrid