Who are we?
South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.
Join our team and help us continue to bring people together to get the most out of life.
About the job
The purpose of this role is to provide strategic compliance oversight, assurance, and insight across the entire Procurement function, enabling South Western Railway to operate a fully auditable, transparent, and forward-looking procurement model under public ownership.
The role acts as the central authority for procurement compliance reporting, pipeline governance, and performance assurance, ensuring that procurement activity across all pillars is planned, monitored, and delivered in line with statutory requirements, internal policy, and agreed targets.
By owning procurement data frameworks, stage-gate governance, and PA23 / DFTO mandated documentation and standards, the role ensures that procurement decisions, supplier engagement, and contract awards are supported by consistent evidence, clear audit trails, and robust governance controls.
This role enables the Head of Procurement, Senior Policy & Compliance Manager, Senior Supplier Relationship Manager, and Senior Procurement Managers to effectively manage their portfolios, workloads, and risk exposure, while maintaining confidence in compliance, transparency, and value delivery.
Through strengthened compliance, informed forecasting, and proactive governance, this role directly supports SWR's purpose of enabling safe, reliable, and value-driven rail services delivered through well-governed procurement activity.
Provide cover for the Senior Policy and Compliance Manager and Systems and Data Specialist role as appropriate.
Your main responsibilities will be:
Procurement Compliance & Governance Ownership
- Act as the central authority for procurement compliance across the function, ensuring alignment with the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), DFTO guidance, SWR procurement policy.
- Own, maintain, and support the development of PA23 and DFTO required documentation, standards, templates, forms, and approval mechanisms, ensuring consistent application across all procurement activity.
- Support the ownership, maintenance, and controlled evolution of the Procurement Policy, Handbook, and associated governance documents, ensuring they remain current, compliant, and operationally effective.
- Provide expert compliance advice and assurance to procurement colleagues, supporting consistent interpretation and application of policy and statutory requirements.
- Coordinate and support the controlled provision of procurement data in regard to Freedom of Information requests in line with agreed standards.
- Provide support to procurement policy and compliance discussions with the DfTO Procurement Team, to facilitate proactive engagement, alignment with mandated requirements, and effective management of assurance and reporting obligations.
- Support the procurement function engagement and collaboration across the rail industry, including with other TOCs and Network Rail, to share best practice, align approaches where appropriate, and respond collectively to procurement policy and regulatory change.
Pipeline, Stage-Gate & Workload Governance
- Own and operate procurement pipeline and stage-gate governance across all procurement pillars, ensuring activity is planned, prioritised, tracked, and delivered in line with agreed timelines and governance thresholds.
- Monitor procurement workload, contract progression, and stage-gate completion, identifying delivery risks, bottlenecks, or capacity pressures and supporting mitigation planning.
- Enable Senior Procurement Managers to manage their own pillars effectively through clear visibility of pipeline status, workload distribution, and compliance milestones.
Data, Reporting & Executive Insight
- Develop and maintain a centralised procurement reporting and assurance framework, providing accurate, timely, and auditable insight across procurement activity, compliance status, and delivery performance.
- Compile and deliver management and executive level reports to support the Head of Procurement and Supply Chain and Senior Policy & Compliance Manager, enabling informed strategic decision-making.
- Produce executive ready dashboards, reports, and analysis covering procurement pipeline health, compliance performance, stage-gate completion, and emerging risks.
- Ensure reporting outputs meet internal governance, audit, and external assurance requirements.
Strategic Analysis, Forecasting & Risk
- Conduct cross functional analysis of procurement data to identify trends, risks, capacity pressures, and opportunities for improvement across the procurement lifecycle.
- Support strategic planning, horizon scanning, and forward workload forecasting, enabling proactive management of procurement demand and compliance obligations.
- Identify and escalate systemic compliance risks or control weaknesses, supporting continuous improvement of procurement governance frameworks.
Policy, Assurance & Continuous Improvement
- Drive continuous improvement in procurement compliance processes, reporting standards, and governance controls, ensuring they remain proportionate, effective, and aligned to public-sector best practice.
- Support internal and external audit activity through preparation of evidence packs, assurance reporting, and coordination of responses to findings or recommendations.
- Act as a key interface between Procurement, Finance, and DFTO assurance functions to ensure consistency, transparency, and data integrity.
Executive & Strategic Enablement
- Provide strategic and operational enablement to the Head of Procurement and Supply Chain and senior stakeholders through the coordination, validation, and presentation of procurement data, compliance outputs, and governance insight.
- Support senior leadership by ensuring procurement information flows, submissions, and reports are accurate, complete, appropriately assured, and escalated where governance or compliance thresholds are met.
This job description shall not limit your role, and you will also be expected to carry out any other duties that your Manager feels are within your capabilities and skill set. The above information may not cover everything involved in the position but indicates the size and scope of the role and may be subject to change as the role develops
You'll need:
- Proven experience in compliance reporting, procurement analytics, and supplier performance management
- Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks, particularly the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) or similar public procurement legislation
- Advanced data analysis skills using tools such as Excel, Power BI, or Tableau, with the ability to produce complex analytical models and translate data into actionable insights
- Skilled in cost analysis techniques, negotiation, and risk mitigation planning
- Experience supporting governance processes such as stage gates, supplier onboarding, and strategic planning
- Familiarity with ERP and procurement platforms such as SAP or Coupa
- Commercially astute, with a clear understanding of supplier value, performance, and strategic sourcing
- Demonstrated contribution to transformation or change programmes within procurement or supply chain functions
- Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence at all levels including third-party suppliers
- Logical and structured approach to problem solving, with strong organisational skills and attention to detail
- Comfortable working independently, managing multiple priorities, and delivering under pressure to tight deadlines
- Proficient user of Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word and Excel
- Ability to operate as a trusted governance partner to SRM, Policy & Compliance, and senior procurement leadership.
It would be beneficial if you have:
- Familiarity with the UK transport sector, especially rail-related supply chain dynamics
- Experience using procure-to-pay and finance systems, notably SAP and Neptune
- Knowledge of e-tendering tools and digital procurement platforms
- Exposure to strategic planning and budgeting processes, including expenditure mapping and efficiency strategy development
- Awareness of supplier segmentation models and innovation frameworks
- Experience supporting transformation or change programmes within procurement or analytics functions
- Working knowledge of DFTO procurement guidance and public-sector governance frameworks.
- Experience supporting supplier risk management, assurance processes, or third-party governance models.
- Familiarity with audit processes and regulatory scrutiny within public-sector or regulated environments.
About the location
This role will primarily be based in Overline House, above Southampton Central Station. You may also be required to work from other locations around the network from time to time including South Bank Central which is a 10 minute walk from Waterloo Station.
Working pattern
You will work an average of 37 hours per week across 5 days, typically, Monday to Friday.
The Reward
In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:
- Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
- Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
- 75% discount on many other train operating companies
- Full training and support with development
- Excellent pension scheme
We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.
We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.
We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.
If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below. We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.
https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/
https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/
