IT Lead Procurement Partner

About the Team

The Group Procurement department manages procurement governance, policies, and controls for Admiral Group, with a focus on supporting UK businesses in sourcing goods and services. The team is currently undergoing a transformation to enhance value delivery across the supply chain. We work Monday to Friday, bringing together a wide range of experience and talent, and actively share knowledge. We are passionate about our work, and communication, collaborative thinking, and teamwork are central to our approach.

Role Purpose

As the Procurement Lead / Senior IT Category Manager, you will support the acquisition and commissioning of technology across Admiral EUI, including leading Group-wide arrangements where relevant. You will drive commercial excellence through strategic sourcing, aiming to improve efficiency and value. Overseeing the source-to-pay lifecycle, you will lead the development of sourcing initiatives that encourage the adoption of innovative IT solutions.

You will manage the IT sourcing team, empowering and developing colleagues, and fostering strong relationships across the IT business landscape. The role champions innovation, collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. Key outcomes include excellence in IT procurement, vendor management, and contract negotiation.

Responsibilities

• Partner with internal teams to develop sourcing strategies that deliver value, proactively managing contract renewals and new sourcing events.
• Design and implement procurement strategies aligned with organisational objectives and the technology roadmap.
• Build and maintain positive, mutually beneficial relationships with strategic partners.
• Select and manage sourcing processes that balance governance with business needs.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders at all levels.
• Work within multifunctional teams to lead sourcing and negotiation of agreements with key technology providers. Stay informed about market trends and innovations, supporting technology leaders in evaluating new partners.
• Support supplier onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Partner with Admiral’s legal team on contract reviews and approvals.
• Act as a trusted subject matter expert for IT procurement.
• Contribute to supplier risk assessments to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Address escalated concerns and maintain constructive supplier relationships.
• Uphold Group Procurement and Outsourcing policies, including Contracts Authorisation, Conflicts of Interest, and Corporate Gifts & Hospitality.

*This is not a full definition of the role but covers the main aspects and drivers for success.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Significant procurement experience (minimum 7 years), including tendering, spend analysis, contract and supplier management, ideally with progress towards full chartered status (MCIPS).
• Demonstrated success in negotiating and managing technology contracts and supplier relationships, with experience working with leading cloud providers and a strong understanding of technologies relevant to internet-based companies (cloud computing, big data, mobile computing).
• Management Experience leading teams.
• Broad enterprise technology knowledge, with experience building accountability frameworks, resolving issues, and managing large, complex tender exercises.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills at senior levels, with the ability to foster trust, transparency, and collaboration.
• Proven leadership and management experience, including developing and supporting high-performing teams.
• Analytical and data-driven, comfortable using metrics to inform decisions and communicate insights to diverse audiences.
• Financial awareness, with the ability to manage budgets and conduct financial analysis.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, able to prioritise and coordinate workloads for self and team, ensuring customer needs are met and documentation is maintained.
• Constructive approach to challenging the status quo, open to feedback, and proactive in suggesting improvements.
• Well-organised, able to manage workload independently with minimal supervision, and demonstrate effective time management.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience working in a Financial Services industry
• Empathy and support for colleagues and stakeholders, with experience managing sensitive or challenging situations and providing guidance as needed.
• Experience in program management, particularly in decentralised or cross-functional environments, and leading source-to-pay processes in the technology domain.

Please note - we may close this vacancy early if we receive lots of applications or business priorities change.

Admiral: Where You Can

We take pride in being a diverse and inclusive business. It's a place where you can Be You, and show up as you are. We’re committed to fostering a people-first culture where everyone is accepted, supported, and empowered to be brilliant. You can, Grow And Progress at a pace and direction that suits you, Make A Difference for our customers and each other, and Share in Our Future with all colleagues eligible for up to £3,600 of free shares each year after one year of service.

Everyone receives 33 days holiday (including bank holidays) when they join us, increasing the longer you stay with us, up to a maximum of 38 days (including bank holidays). You also have the option to buy or sell up to an additional five days of annual leave.

We’re proud of our people-first culture. In fact, we've been recognised as a Great Place to Work for Women, a Great Place to Work for Wellbeing, and an overall Great Place to Work for over 25 years! We’re fully committed to making sure your progression is not slowed or halted by barriers related to race, gender, age, sexuality or any of the protected characteristics.

Our fantastic benefits make sure our colleagues have a great work-life balance; You can view some of our other key benefits here.

Disability Confident Leader

As a Disability Confident Leader, for candidates with a disability or long-term health condition, that opt into the Disability Confident scheme, we’ll invite a fair and proportionate number of applicants that meet the essential requirements of the role to the first stage of our selection process.

If you need any adjustments or support with your application or during the recruitment process, just let us know. Please do email Allison.martina22@admiralgroup.co.uk, contact us on 07789 816806. This number is dedicated to supporting candidates that require reasonable adjustments or support during the application process.

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