Sustainable Procurement Manager

In line with the ambitions of MBDA Group and the introduction of new and updated legislation with more stringent reporting requirements, Sustainable Procurement has an important role within MBDA.

The increased focus reflects changes to Government policy, such as the launch of the Social Value Act and the Modern Slavery Act which are now contractualised with Prime Contractors such as ourselves and have to be flowed down through our supply chain. In addition, the Governments Defence Industrial Strategy, our new Portfolio Agreement with the MOD and the MOD SME Action Plan all have placed increased requirements on MBDA to report on, and evidence, the progress of our Suppliers across the various ESG topics. This requires the Sustainable Procurement team to work with colleagues across all functions at MBDA, and externally with our Suppliers.

Salary: Circa £46,000 depending on experience

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 1-2 days per week on-site. UK Travel will be required and occasionally within Europe

Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), and achieve SC Clearance which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you:

• Company bonus: Up to £2,500 (based on company performance and will vary year to year)
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: opportunity for paid overtime
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…

The opportunity:

This role is a contributor to the success of embedding Sustainable Procurement into all aspects of how we do procurement, as well as ensuring we have the right levels of collaboration with our Supply Chain Partners.

The main purpose of the role will require the post holder to have, or be willing to develop, skills across ESG topics in order to lead initiatives with supply chain partners to reduce Scope 3 emissions. This will include having ownership of the systems used to assess the ESG risks in the supply chain and how our suppliers are performing. Other aspects of the role include:

• Understand the Strategic aims of Sustainable Procurement, and the inter-dependencies between other activities happening across Procurement UK (PUK)
• Lead on initiatives to engage with the supply chain, facilitating exploratory discussions around Sustainable Procurement and their ESG activities
• Project manage the successful use of our ESG supplier assessment tool/s, including stakeholder comms, acting as a subject matter expert on the use of the portal, training PUK colleagues, providing regular reporting and proactively managing risks highlighted by the tool.
• Undertake learning & develop of your skills and knowledge across ESG and Procurement topics in order to lead initiatives with supply chain partners with the aim to reduce Scope 3 emissions.
• Proactively manage suppliers identified as high risk / high emissions and ensure that all data/KPI/reports are reviewed and feedback provided.
• Provide data led evidence where performance is below that expected and work with the Supplier to agree an improvement plan and how this will be managed.
• Introduce and maintain simplified SP reporting which reduces the quantity of reports produced whilst improving consistency and quality.
• Contribute to designing and creating training materials for the PUK community and the supply chain, ensuring all resources are informative, accurate and accessible. Gather feedback on each resource to demonstrate suitability and measure usage stats.
• Support initiatives and opportunities to engage and educate on the full range of Sustainable Procurement topics across PUK and the wider business
• Project manage engagement events to support our procurement community with opportunities to engage with existing and new suppliers and promote sustainable procurement and social value ethics at all times. This will include both internal events and external conferences / networking opportunities.
• Ensure any risks, opportunities and issues are reported at team meetings and provide options for mitigation of risks.
• Ensure that objectives are achieved in the timescales set, and that work allocated is effectively and efficiently managed with progress being clearly shown via a Project Plan in an agreed format.

This is an opportunity to join a small but highly motivated team and influence MBDA to continue on its ambitious Sustainable Procurement journey.

What we're looking for from you:

• Experience in, or willingness to learn, about ESG and Sustainable Procurement
• Ability to prioritise competing demands
• Adaptable and flexible, against frequently uncertain or changing requirements.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to present complex concepts simply and concisely.
• Confident preparing and providing reports both externally and internally, verbally and in written format.
• Strong Excel skills, and be comfortable managing spreadsheets and undertaking data analysis
• Confident in briefing a range of information, including tailoring outputs to meet the needs of a wide range of stakeholders.
• Rounded business acumen and ability to engage credibly across the enterprise

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

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