Procurement Manager

Join National Express Bus as a Procurement Manager and play a key role in leading end-to-end procurement strategies across both operational fleet needs and broader business overheads. Working closely with our Engineering Director and operational teams, this is an exciting opportunity to drive value for money, support operational performance, and reduce commercial risk across direct and indirect spend categories, including Technology, Marketing, Facilities Management, HR, Professional Services, Fleet, and Maintenance Repair Operations.

Working at the heart of our bus operations, you will lead sourcing exercises, competitive tenders, contract negotiations, supplier relationship management, and governance processes. We are looking for an experienced public sector / regulated procurement professional who can hit the ground running, act as a trusted commercial adviser, lead complex open tenders from start to finish and drive innovation, value, and strong governance across the organisation.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own and deliver category strategies across defined direct and indirect spend areas (Engineering, Fleet, Technology, FM, HR, Marketing, and Professional Services) to deliver savings and value creation.
• Lead end-to-end procurement activity, competitive tenders, contract negotiations, market engagement, and supplier mobilisation.
• Apply ESG and corporate governance requirements within individual procurement activities and challenge stakeholders where proposals fall short to maximise commercial, social, and environmental outcomes.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, working closely with operational teams to understand business requirements while ensuring risks and compliance obligations are met.
• Lead on contract and supplier relationship management (SRM), tracking supplier performance and conducting regular reviews using robust KPIs.
• Standardise contract templates (NDAs, SLAs, Master Service Agreements) to ensure the business remains legally and commercially protected.
• Demonstrate market intelligence by monitoring supplier developments, benchmarking pricing, identifying new technologies/innovations, and mitigating inflationary and supply chain risks.
• Maintain robust audit, governance, and assurance processes to ensure all procurement activities comply with company policies and relevant UK legislation.

What’s Essential

• Proven capability to independently design, run, and deliver end-to-end Open Tenders compliant with public sector frameworks, along with significant experience of Procurement Act 2023.
• Proven track record in procurement, ideally managing a mix of direct (engineering/fleet) and indirect (corporate/IT/FM) categories.
• Demonstrated ability to develop category/procurement strategies, lead tender evaluations, undertake bid conditioning and clarifications, debrief suppliers, award contracts, and manage ongoing supplier performance and contracts.
• Expertise in strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, market benchmarking, and risk mitigation in accordance with public sector and utility frameworks.
• Experience in leading a team, influencing senior management and building stakeholder credibility to obtain buy-in for proposals, systems, and new methods of working.
• Strong track record of driving procurement process improvements, maintaining compliance, and delivering against cost-reduction and value targets.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, written, and verbal communication skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office and computerised financial/procurement systems.

Location The location for this role is NX House on a hybrid working model.

Things to Note...

At National Express, we are really proud of our health and safety record and as a result, we operate a Drugs and Alcohol Policy which is applicable to all employees.

As part of your initial assessment, we will complete Drug and Alcohol testing and you may be subject to random tests during your employment.