Role Overview
Bestway is one of the UK’s largest independent food and drink wholesalers, operating at significant scale across retail, wholesale, and e-commerce. As the business continues to invest in its technology capabilities, we are looking for an IT Procurement Manager to bring commercial ownership and structure to how we source and manage technology across the organisation.
This is a broad, hands-on role with real scope. You will own supplier relationships, manage contracts, drive cost efficiency, and work closely with IT leadership to ensure procurement activity stays aligned with business priorities. If you enjoy having genuine commercial responsibility and building something that makes a visible difference — this is a good role for you.
Key Responsibilities
- Vendor & Contract Management: Own the end-to-end lifecycle of IT supplier relationships — from onboarding and SLA management through to renewal and renegotiation. Ensure contracts are documented, tracked, and performing.
- Procurement Process: Develop and maintain a consistent, auditable procurement process for all IT goods and services. Introduce structure where it is needed without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Cost Control & Commercial Awareness: Actively manage IT expenditure, identifying consolidation opportunities, eliminating wasteful spend, and negotiating commercial terms that reflect Bestway’s scale and volume.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with the Head of IT and other senior stakeholders to understand current and future technology requirements, ensuring procurement activity stays ahead of business need.
- Supplier Performance: Track and report on supplier performance against agreed KPIs. Escalate where needed and manage remediation plans professionally.
- Compliance & Risk: Ensure all procurement activity is compliant with internal policy and relevant regulation. Manage contractual risk and flag exposure earl
The Ideal Candidate
- Significant experience in IT procurement, vendor management, or technology category management. You have managed a broad portfolio of technology suppliers and understand the commercial levers available to you.
- Sector Advantage: Experience in Retail, Wholesale, FMCG, or similarly fast-moving commercial environments is a genuine differentiator. You understand how procurement decisions connect to operational outcomes.
- Commercial Sharpness: You know how to read a contract, spot risk, and negotiate without burning relationships. You are comfortable with GBP-denominated budgets and have a track record of delivering cost savings.
- Self-Sufficient: You take ownership of your workload and drive things forward without needing to be chased. You communicate proactively and know when to escalate and when to just get on with it.
- Collaborative: You build good working relationships quickly. You are interested in understanding the business context behind a procurement decision, not just the transaction itself.
- Commercially Driven: You spot opportunities others walk past — whether that's a contract up for renegotiation, a duplicate subscription, or a supplier relationship that hasn't been reviewed in years. You act on them.
- Bias for Action: You are comfortable making decisions with imperfect information. You don't wait for the perfect moment to engage a supplier or flag a risk — you move.
- Ownership Mentality: You treat the IT supplier portfolio like it's yours. You know what's in it, what it costs, when it renews, and what it should cost next time.
- Organised & Process-Minded: You bring clarity and structure to your work. You are comfortable picking up an existing portfolio of supplier arrangements, getting on top of them quickly, and managing them well going forward.
- Communication: Clear, plain, and professional. You can hold your own in a commercial negotiation and summarise a complex situation in plain language for a senior audience.
What We Offer
- Broad commercial ownership across a wide range of technology categories and supplier relationships.
- A high-volume, fast-moving business where your work has real and visible impact.
- Direct access to senior IT leadership and a collaborative culture within the technology function.
- Competitive salary based on experience, plus a benefits package.
We understand that no applicant ever ticks every box so please do consider applying should some or most of the above apply. Bestway Group is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We welcome people of different nationalities, backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives. We want strong, and diverse teams built from talented individuals with different backgrounds identities and experiences.
If this is of interest to you and you would like to learn more, please do get in touch, we are looking forward to hearing from you.
