Supply Chain Manager

Job summary

Can you work collaboratively with stakeholders and deliver at pace in a high-profile commercial role, where each day presents new supply chain challenges to be understood and overcome? Is so, we’d be interested in hearing from you.

The Department for Transport (DfT) works with its agencies and partners to support the transport network that helps the UK’s businesses and gets people and goods travelling around the country. It plans and invests in transport infrastructure to keep the UK on the move.

The Supply Chain Manager role will support strategic supply chain management of risk across the Department’s multi-billion-pound commercial spend, adding value by identifying risks and presenting solutions across a range of commercial activities conducted across the DfT, its Agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies.

The role sits within the Group Commercial Directorate, specifically in the Supply Chain Management Team, which in turn nests within the Assurance, Supply Chain and Category Management (ASCCM) team, and offers a fantastic opportunity to become involved with major projects and associated supply chains and to help ensure delivery of effective commercial strategies in support of UK growth.

The role will help the successful candidate build their commercial career and enhance their CV through the unique insights gained from involvement in the arena of complex, high value transport infrastructure projects.

Job description

As a Supply Chain Manager in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Team, you will be expected to be flexible in your approach to work, but your initial assigned responsibilities are expected to be as follows:

The Supply Chain Manager will develop a deep understanding of supply chain and market risks and consider improvement measures across the Department’s key third-party spend sectors, provide scrutiny and expert, robust challenge to commercial strategies, and ensure that senior management and governance bodies are informed of market and supply chain risks and associated contingency measures in the delivery of the Department’s commercial activities. There may also be great opportunities to undertake short-term secondments to support delivery of some of the DfT’s major, high profile commercial projects.

With this role, the SCM team will be able to develop a holistic supply chain risk picture, fully exploiting a wide range of existing intelligence, and tailoring it for DfT’s needs. This will enhance our understanding of how a wide range of global raw materials have relevance for transport and transport operations, such that suitable mitigations can be put in place, liaising with departments such as the Department for Business and Trade. This role will also drive improvements in supply chain visibility, by drawing on lessons learnt and best practice from other departments, enabling the team to develop proactive risk responses and move away from reactive interventions.

Locations

The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace.

Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance.

This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

Person specification

The successful candidate will:

• Responsibility for providing supply chain advice to Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, DfT senior management and various governance and assurance Boards on procurement strategies, business cases, tender processes and contract management practices for major projects across the DfT Group, including Arm’s-Length Bodies.
  
  
• Supporting the supply chain management of risk approach for complex and high value procurements and contracts (£ multi-million, high risk/criticality). This will be achieved through supplier working groups, collating and interrogating supplier and market data and developing supplier and market specific strategy reports.
  
  
• Developing approaches to secure supplier feedback and utilising that intelligence to improve performance and reduce risk.
  
  
• Identifying commercial risks and presenting solutions.
  
  
• Engaging with senior commercial leaders on complex commercial arrangements and risks across the Department and with wider Government.
  
  
• Capturing and sharing lessons learnt across the commercial community.
  
  
• Providing input to commercial considerations for projects.
  
  
• Constructively challenging commercial decisions at Governance Boards.
  
  
• Supporting and chairing, where required, supply chain management of risk forums.
  
  
• Supporting delivery of strategic supplier events.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Experience of supply chain management of risk in major commercial activities and a track record of compliance, delivery and continuous improvement.
• Proven track record of setting high standards and delivering at pace.
• Excellent analytical capabilities.
• Highly effective communication skills and the ability to influence both commercial and non-commercial stakeholders.
• Ability to manage conflict effectively and appropriately at all levels to ensure objectives are achieved.

Benefits

As a valued employee of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), you will have access to all the benefits the centre has to offer; including flexible working, generous benefits, Career Coaches, Mentors, L&D, a Commercial College, active talent management and, most importantly, access to commercial projects that will far exceed the scale and complexity on offer elsewhere in the UK.

For existing Civil Servants: For full details of the impact on any move across the civil service on your existing terms and conditions, please read the candidate pack. Please note that any move across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to continue to claim childcare vouchers.

Kindly refer to the following link for the GCF Rewards and benefits page.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-benefits/

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on Thursday 21st May 2026 and will require a full day's attendance.

If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team on commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates.

For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the attached candidate pack.

Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the Technical Skills (essential criteria) and your Job History (CV) that you will be asked to provide during the application process. Further help and advice on our application and selection process can be found at this web address https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-how-to-apply/

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/
IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Sean Kelly
• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should direct this to the Head of Commercial Resourcing Hub at the following email commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk quoting the vacancy reference number (if applicable) and the details of your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission via the following web page: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

Attachments

Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 64kB)456811 - Candidate Pack - DfT - Supply Chain Manager.docx Opens in new window (pdf, 466kB)