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Job summary

Shape stronger supplier partnerships delivering reliable services for Scotland’s pensions.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) administers pensions for Scottish Teachers, Police, Firefighters' and National Health Service employees on behalf of the Scottish Government. We’re responsible for protecting the financial futures of over half a million people - that’s around 1 in 10 people in Scotland. If you’re looking for meaningful work, a supportive environment and a career with purpose, you’ll find it at the SPPA. Our office is based in Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders, the train station is a short two-minute walk away and offers regular services to and from Edinburgh Waverley, making it a convenient and well-connected location for commuters. The surrounding area offers access to green space, walking routes and a strong sense of local community, supporting wellbeing both in and outside of work. Our modern office building is designed to support flexible and collaborative working, with spaces for teamwork, quiet focus and hybrid working. Colleagues benefit from a comfortable, welcoming environment that reflects our commitment to wellbeing and inclusion.

SPPA are engaged in large-scale contract and supplier management, primarily centred around the provision of our pensions platform but also including a large volume of other smaller contracts. As Supplier Manager, you will help ensure our suppliers deliver optimal performance, manage risks effectively, comply with contractual requirements, and continually improve outcomes to deliver maximum value to our staff, our members and their employers.

Job description

• Manage supplier and contract performance against KPIs, SLAs, and delivery targets to ensure quality, value for money, and service continuity.
• Lead regular supplier performance reviews, producing actionable insights, reports, and improvement recommendations.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships, acting as a key point of contact and resolving issues through effective escalation and collaboration.
• Lead and support improvement plans to address underperformance and help drive continuous improvement initiatives and value enhancement.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate supplier and supply chain risks, ensuring resilience and alignment with organisational risk frameworks.
• Ensure compliance and governance, including adherence to contractual terms, procurement policy, legal requirements, and ethical standards.
• Use data and market insights to analyse supplier performance, inform decision making, and improve contract delivery approaches.
• Drive sustainability and social value outcomes, ensuring suppliers meet environmental, socio economic, and fair work commitments.

Person specification

Qualifications

• (Lead Criteria 1) The successful candidate will have either CIPS Level 4, 5 or 6 (Advanced/Professional Diploma in Procurement & Supply) / or APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) / or APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) / or CMI Level 5 or 6 Diploma in Management & Leadership / or a CMI qualification in Ethical & Inclusive Leadership.

Success profile Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. Experience

• (Lead Criteria 2) Demonstrable experience in supplier management, contract management, procurement, or a similar role responsible for managing high‑value or high‑risk contracts.
• Demonstrable experience managing supplier performance, KPIs, and contract reviews.

Behaviours:

• Managing a Quality Service - Level 3
• Working Together - Level 3

Find out more about .

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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 Behaviours and Experience.

How To Apply

Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 750 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.

Stage one (CV review):

An initial review will be conducted using the CV and Supporting Statement on the below Lead Criteria:

1. The successful candidate will have either CIPS Level 4, 5 or 6 (Advanced/Professional Diploma in Procurement & Supply) / or APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) / or APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) / or CMI Level 5 or 6 Diploma in Management & Leadership / or a CMI qualification in Ethical & Inclusive Leadership.
2. Demonstrable experience in supplier management, contract management, procurement, or a similar role responsible for managing high‑value or high‑risk contracts.

Candidates who pass the initial review will have their applications fully assessed against all remaining criteria in the Success Profile, including the behaviours detailed above.

Stage two (interview and assessment): If successful at application review, you will be invited for assessment, which will consist of an interview and presentation, where we will test all criteria listed above.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples 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, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Sifting will commence from w/c 20 July 2026

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 10 August 2026, however this may be subject to change.

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

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.

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

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 : Robert Skey
• Email : Robert.Skey@gov.scot

Recruitment team

• Email : ScottishGovernmentrecruitment@gov.scot