Procurement Manager

The position: Procurement Manager

 Life at Elvie; Meaningful work, Exceptional People

We're Elvie. We create smart products, new solutions, and a fair few taboo-busting conversations while we’re at it. Founded by Tania Boler in 2013, we develop extraordinary innovations designed to improve women’s lives. It's a fascinating and challenging area that requires us to solve problems that no one else has ever tackled before.

 At Elvie, you’ll be surrounded by people who want to improve everything and everyone around them. People who are passionate about our mission. People who are driven to solve problems and constantly consider the best ways to improve the health and wellbeing of women.

 Find out more about life at Elvie here.

 We're deeply proud of our values, which are intrinsic to the way we behave every day. We take them seriously because we want our culture to thrive:

• We make an impact: We’re mission-driven and not afraid to break boundaries. We relentlessly focus on going the extra mile to solve problems.
• We’re fearless innovators: We are passionate, curious, and data-driven. We continuously embrace change and innovation.
• We’re in it together: we fail and learn fast — always as one team — and have fun along the way. We stay authentic and embrace our differences.

About the role:

Okay, we’ve waffled long enough. So let’s get to the good bit: You.

As Procurement Manager, your role sits as part of the Procurement team within the Operations Business Unit. This role will own the selection and management of our most critical suppliers – our outsourced manufacturing partners (currently in China, Singapore and Mexico). The mission statement in its simplest form is to ensure we are an Intelligent Customer of our manufacturing partners, maximising cost, quality and supply chain agility competitive advantage vs our competitors.

You will own a category of Elvie products (Pumping & Feeding, Sleeping & Soothing etc) including:- cradle to grave NPD procurement leadership; strategic sourcing of critical components for products; supplier management of Tier 1 (CMs) and Tier 2 (key component manufacturers) relationships; and delivering a continuous improvement programme targeted at optimising our Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

 Location: Hybrid working; a mix of working from our Bristol office & working remotely 

Employment type: Permanent (please note, you must have the right to work in the UK)

Requirements

What you’ll be doing at Elvie:

• Contribute to the creation and execution of our Contract Manufacturing strategy covering a 1-5 year horizon where our business scale and demands will change significantly
• Own the supplier relationship and performance of our global manufacturing operations for a given product category (1-2 critical suppliers), setting and leading QBRs and other strategic supplier meetings
• Execute effective contract management of CMs, maximising value realisation in terms of quality, risk management, cost efficiency and continuous improvement
• Get hands-on with our current products to ensure that our OEM’s are producing products to meet the high quality expectations our premium brand commands
• Deep dive into the assembly line and work closely with the project team and product engineers to ensure we continue to driving efficiencies
• Manage the yield rate, rework and quality issues as they arise with the OEM
• Lead a Margin Improvement Programme for your category of products, working hand in glove with our suppliers to achieve ongoing cost efficiencies
• Own the ‘Intelligent Customer’ agenda within Elvie for our approach to supplier management, consisting of:

1. -Streamlined and clear engagement structures between us and them
2. -Effective reporting of key data
3. -Meaningful senior relationships
4. -A pipeline of agreed and delivered cost reduction initiatives
5. -Establishing Elvie as a Customer of Choice
6. -Educating internal stakeholders as to the benefits of this approach

• Lead cradle to grave NPD procurement activity within your product category, acting as a member of the Project Leadership Team. Be Elvie’s single point of truth for product related cost across current and in development products, owning the cost narrative for business case reviews
• Develop and execute new product cost strategies to meet target unit costs, represent procurement in debating cost/quality/risk trade offs through the product development lifecycle
• Ensure strategic should cost analysis and competitor cost teardown activity is conducted to support NPD and continuous improvement programmes

What we are looking for:

 First and foremost we want people with an authentic desire and enthusiasm to work within a social purpose led scale up organisation committed to bettering the lives of women. Beyond that…

• A sound level of demonstrable experience of managing global OEM relationships and contracts, preferably including relationships in Asia
• Experience of manufacturing and component sourcing, including leading on RFPs and RFQs to drive sourcing initiatives and savings is highly desirable
• A credible, capable and diplomatic communicator who can translate operational bureaucracy into true value adding procurement strategy
• Excellent personal leadership skills that make you a leader among peers and teams without formal authority
• Proven senior stakeholder engagement capabilities, able to influence in different situations using multiple skills/techniques
• A shrewd negotiator to ensure that we are always obtaining excellent value from our key contractors from OEMs to packaging partners whilst ensuring win:win partnerships
• A sharp commercial mind that seeks out commercial opportunities and acts clinically at pace to realise them
• Highly analytical and the ability to thrive in a fast paced environment, identifying areas of risk and implementing mitigation strategies
  

If you don’t have a specific manufacturing background but do have some, most or even all of the other skills we’ve set out then please apply anyway and we’ll happily consider your application.

Benefits

The benefits you’ll get:

We're on an exceptional journey. And we can offer you a genuinely purpose-led career with a culture built on trust, autonomy, and flexibility. In addition, we'll give you:

• 9 Day Fortnight - for our full time employees we work 9 days every Fortnight with every other Friday as a non-working day for you to spend as you wish!
• Lots of flexibility: whether it’s working from home, doing the school run, or life admin, we understand that flexibility is essential, and we trust you to do the right thing for you and us
• Share options: we want everyone to have a stake in our success
• 25 days’ annual leave, plus bank holidays
• 8 extra life leave days; getting married, moving house, menopause or just things that you can’t put a label on that matter to you
• 5=10 leave: 10 days’ additional leave on your 5th and 10th years of service!
• £100 contribution to your home working set up to spend as you see fit
• An annual personal development allowance of £200 and unlimited access to our learning and development platform, Learnerbly
• Generous parental leave policies; maternity & adoption (16 weeks at full pay, then 8 weeks paid at 75% followed by 15 weeks at SMP rate.), paternity/partner (6 weeks at full pay to take at any point during the first year of your child’s life), shared parental leave
• Healthcare plans, life insurance, and an employee assistance program for you and your family
• A tax-efficient group pension scheme 
• Group income protection; protect your salary if you get sick
• A free Elvie trainer for you to keep or give away when you join
• Generous employee and friends & family discounts on Elvie products
• Wellbeing support from YuLife and access to SmartHealth app with unlimited GP appointments for you and your family, plus various well-being initiatives throughout the year
• Lovely offices in great locations, with drinks and snacks provided, along with fun social events

What you can expect after you’ve applied:

A member of our recruitment team will reach out to you after they have reviewed your application. You must ensure your application is completed correctly, and we strongly encourage you to add a cover letter or note to let us know why Elvie’s the right fit for you.

 We would like to get to know you through your background, attitude, experience and understand your motivation to work with us. Our interview process varies depending on the position, but it typically looks like this:

• 20-minute video call with one of our recruiters
• 30-45 minute video call with the hiring manager
• 45-60 minute video interview with the team (some positions may require you to complete a task/presentation)
• For some positions, there may be an additional interview with one of senior our leadership team
  

This is undoubtedly a great time to join Elvie. You’ll have a voice, make an impact, and have the opportunity to mould your role. So be ready to learn, have fun, and be inspired by our passionate, talented team — and having a sense of humour helps too.

Belonging at Elvie

At Elvie, we believe having diverse teams in which everyone can be their authentic self is key to our success. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply and we don't discriminate based on race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, marital status, disability or age.

If you need any support with your application, please get in contact with us: [email removed - click apply for more details] or 020 3920 0584.

We can’t wait to hear from you!

#LI-Hybrid