Closing Date
2026-01-19
Senior Procurement Programme Manager
Location: Durrington (Hybrid: 2–3 days per week in office)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full-time (flexible working considered)
Salary: Competitive plus benefits
About the role:
Southern Water’s Procurement Excellence & Sustainability discipline delivers effective governance, reporting, analytics, insights, sustainability, capability development and compliance to support the efficient and ongoing enhancement of the Procurement Function’s operation.
The Senior Procurement Programme Manager supports the Head of Procurement Excellence & Sustainability by managing a team to deliver:
1. Tight management across company programmes that require Procurement’s involvement, and Procurement’s own internal programmes and projects.
2. Ongoing, meaningful communications to the business.
3. A robust, value-creating Business Engagement model with stakeholders.
4. Oversight for budgetary control (CAPEX).
This role suits someone highly organised, able to manage multiple projects and their ambiguities, and a highly effective communicator. You’ll drive procurement excellence across the Procurement function and wider Southern Water business—leading the planning and delivery of Procurement’s programmes/projects and internal change, owning company-wide communication and business engagement activity, and ensuring key deliverables for transformation programmes requiring Procurement involvement. You will also run the governance cadence that keeps decision-making crisp and accountable—bringing together programme delivery, PMO, change management and communications so that Procurement Excellence is visible, measurable and sustained across Southern Water.
What you will be responsible for:
5. Lead planning and delivery of Procurement’s programmes/projects and internal change, ensuring outcomes are visible and measurable.
6. Own all business-wide Procurement communications and the stakeholder engagement model; line-manage the Comms Lead.
7. Provide tight oversight of programme governance (including PMO cadence) and keep decision-making crisp and accountable.
8. Maintain CAPEX budget oversight and financial controls for Procurement programmes.
9. Coordinate Procurement’s contribution to company-wide transformation initiatives
10. Ensure Procurement engagement and communications align with governance and PA23 regulations.
11. Coach, develop and line-manage.
Additional requirements specific to the role:
Hybrid working: 2–3 days per week in the Durrington office.
Travel: Minimal, ad‑hoc travel to meet stakeholders.
What you’ll bring to the role:
Essential
12. Degree (or equivalent experience) in a business/management discipline.
13. CIPS (or equivalent) strongly preferred; strong Procurement background.
14. Proven people leadership and team management experience.
15. Programme/PMO/change management literacy; able to manage ambiguity across multiple concurrent initiatives.
16. Stakeholder engagement excellence; confident communicator across senior leadership.
17. Budget management experience
Desirable
18. Working knowledge of PA23 and regulated governance frameworks (utilities, banking or similar).
19. Experience delivering procurement transformation and enterprise‑wide comms.
20. Familiarity with P2P/Source‑to‑Pay solutions (e.g., SourcePay) and cross‑functional programme delivery.
This role offers senior visibility across Procurement Excellence & Sustainability, with scope to shape the function’s operating model and progress within Southern Water’s leadership community.
About Southern Water
Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025–30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed. You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long‑term value creation.
Our commitment to inclusion
At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.
If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but you’d like to be contacted about future opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself.
Our Commitment to Diversity
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.
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