Procurement Manager – Contractors, Solar + Storage

Ovo Energy
Role OVO-View

Location: Hub based! Bristol, London or Glasgow

But you have the flexibility to work wherever suits you best

Team: Procurement & Supplier Management

Salary banding: £47,580 – £57,570

Experience: Mid-level

Working pattern:Full-Time

Reporting to: Rory North – Senior Procurement Manager (Zero Carbon Living)

Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

This role in 3 words: Impactful, Dynamic, Driving

Top 3 qualities for this role: Entrepreneurial, Organised, Negotiator

In the words of the team, you should leave your current role for this one because .

“OVO is a fantastic place to work, the company really cares for its people and it won a Times best place to work award in 2023! The Procurement & Supplier Management team are on a really exciting journey and it’s not every day you get to actively participate in a Procurement transformation.”

Everyone belongs at OVO

At OVO, we are on a mission to solve one of humanity’s biggest challenges, the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. That’s why we need diverse people from all abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So, naturally, the team you’ll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Here’s how:

You’ll be working within OVO’s Procurement Team which sits within the Finance area, with a directive to drive value from the supplier ecosystem. Buying goods or services is a crucial part of OVO’s business. It enables us to deliver a whole range of products to our customers from marketing campaigns to smart meters and everything in between. Our suppliers have a huge impact on the planet, so we have some extraordinary sustainability goals also!

This role in a nutshell:

This is a ‘Directs’ Procurement role that will see you taking ownership for the contracting category and business partnering with the OVO teams that deliver energy efficient homes for our clients and customers. In addition to individual houses, OVO work with all kinds of organisations to make buildings greener, from local authorities to independent businesses and housing associations. We need to find the best contracting partners to fulfill installation of inventive green features like insulation, heat pumps, and solar panels.

This Procurement Manager role underpins the growth plans for these teams (Energy Solutions & Zero Carbon Living) by proactively;

1. Seeking out opportunities to improve buy prices to enable stronger margins with contractors
2. Establishing a robust supply chain that can support the needed scale
3. Creating agile ways of working that help the business navigate the procurement process in an efficient manner
4. Helping de-risk delivery through strong contractual negotiations with suppliers, flowing down client terms where needed and positioning strategic framework agreements

In addition, as these categories grow you will have a secondary responsibility for OVO’s zero-carbon living hardware for Solar + Storage. This is buying the panels and batteries that will help to propel customer decarbonisation forwards by harnessing the power of the sun, now there’s a forward-thinking idea! We need a passionate and driven individual to develop the category strategy to secure the right supply chain for this with Plan Zero in mind.

The Procurement Team’s objectives are:

• Driving commercial benefits to support OVOs EBITDA targets
• Getting the Procurement basics right, reducing risks and driving compliance whilst still allowing OVO to operate in an agile manner
• Procuring goods and services in a sustainable manner wherever possible, aligning to OVO’s Plan Zero
• Becoming a knowledge base of relevant supply markets, products, technologies and trends and bringing this back into our business
• Continuously aspiring for improvements in commercial value, process efficiency and risk mitigation
• Optimally partner with our internal colleagues
• Supporting in the implementation of procurement systems that underpin the execution of opportunities whilst reducing risk and improving compliance

Your key outcomes will be:

• Leading negotiations with the supply base, driving value based commercial and contractual outcomes
• Partnering with the business to choose the right suppliers and technology, at the optimal cost and quality by working closely with partners in the energy solutions, commercial, finance and sustainability teams
• Working with the Senior Procurement Manager to establish the most appropriate supply chain models for each of the varied sub-categories of efficiency contractors, retrofit materials, solar and energy storage
• Managing risk by conducting appropriate due diligence on new suppliers and working closely with the Supplier Management team to ensure end to end supplier management approach is in place
• Contributing to the development of category strategies by understanding the broader industry landscapes and supplier marketplace and the commercial and non-commercial factors influencing the category
• Ensuring all relevant OVO partners are aligned (and are adhering to) the procurement policy and process, monitoring and reporting on compliance
• Helping to implement new process and optimise ways of working whilst chipping in towards a positive team culture

Within your first 3 months month you’ll have:

• Engaged multiple new and existing suppliers, acting as an ambassador for OVO
• Delivered analysis on supplier commercial proposals, ensuring any levers and opportunities for cost optimisation are reviewed with a strong focus on generating the best value for OVO
• Established strong relationships with key partners and supporting business functions
• Developed a 2024 pipeline of key activities and opportunities that will enable the business to succeed

Systems: Workday Strategic Sourcing, Google Workspace

You’ll be a successful Procurement Manager at OVO if you

• Enjoy building trusting relationships both internally with team members and externally with suppliers
• Are able to pick up new processes, systems and ways of working quickly and effectively and problem solve in order to improve them
• Have experience of the Solar and Storage categories as well as renewable energy measures and retrofit supply chains (nice to have)
• Strong organisational skills and able to handle multiple tasks at one time
• Have a proven understanding on construction contracts as well as private commercial contracting
• Willingness to self drive learning and development and allow yourself to be coachable (OVO have some excellent tools to support you on your journey)
• Can call on strong and creative negotiation skills and bring these to bear, driving phenomenal commercial outcomes for OVO
• Able to effectively prioritise work loads, balancing importance and vitality whilst handling stakeholder expectations
• Strong presentation and communication skills which enable you to take people on a journey (story telling)
• Able to apply skills beyond the traditional functions of Procurement and to bring them to bear on a broad range of commercial issues
• Comfortable sharing your thoughts and opinions in topics that may be out of your immediate area of expertise
• A delivery focused self starter and team-oriented, with a collaborative, pragmatic approach
• Have a foundational understanding of category management practices and able to demonstrate these

Let’s talk about what’s in it for you

We’ll pay you between £47,580 – £57,570, depending on your specific skills and experience. If your expectations are a little different, have a chat with us!

We keep our pay ranges broad on purpose to give us, and you, flexibility to match your experience to our zero carbon mission.

You’ll be eligible for an on-target bonus of 15%. We have one OVO bonus plan that focuses on the collective performance of our people to deliver our Plan Zero goal.

We also offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to help you feel like you belong at OVO and there’s flex pay. It’s an extra 9% of your salary on top of your core pay to use as you like. You can take it as cash, add to your pension, or choose to spend it on a huge range of flex benefits.

Here’s a taster of what’s on offer:

For starters, you’ll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays).

For your health
With benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level, critical illness cover, life assurance, health assessments, and more

For your wellbeing
With gym membership, gadget, travel and cyber insurance, workplace ISA, will writing services, DNA testing, dental insurance, and more

For your lifestyle
With extra holiday buying, discount dining, culture cards, tech loans, and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donations

For your home
Get up to £300 off any OVO Energy plan (when you pay by Direct Debit), plus personal carbon offsetting and great discounts on smart thermostats and EV chargers . click apply for full job details