Phil Smith

An accomplished Senior Procurement & Operations Leader with 15+ years experience working across a breadth of sectors for companies including Barclays, Santander, easyJet, SPAR and Tesco. Well versed in leading functions and driving the development and execution of sourcing strategies, vendor negotiations and buying operations to meet all KPIs. Results oriented with experience in significantly reducing costs, negotiating favourable terms and optimising processes across complex supply chains.

Strong background of leading teams and continually improving operations within fiercely competitive environments, delivering to the highest standards whilst achieving all core commercial objectives.

Assistant Vice President – Service Management - Barclays

(2025-01)

• Leading Junior Managers to oversee and govern two of Barclays' largest suppliers, ensuring alignment with banking regulations, contractual obligations and corporate service standards.
• Maintaining up-to-date SOPs and ensuring consistency and compliance across all areas of managed services.
• Managing SLAs through structured monitoring, reporting and review cycles to ensure supplier performance meets KPIs.
• Conducting regular service reviews of suppliers and internal stakeholders and ensuring outcomes, actions and decisions are fully documented and traceable.
• Implementing and tracking service improvement plans to drive measurable performance enhancements, operational efficiency and supplier accountability.
• Reviewing service forecasts, demand trends and capacity planning to ensure accurate alignment of supplier delivery with business needs and cost expectations.
• Ensuring robust service resilience and disaster recovery frameworks are in place and periodically reviewed to mitigate risks and maintain business continuity.
• Overseeing incident management processes to ensure logging, investigation and resolution within agreed timelines whilst identifying root causes and mitigation actions.
• Managing financial performance including budgets, forecasts and cost optimisation initiatives, ensuring spend remains within approved limits whilst promoting a Lean and value driven approach.
• Driving continuous improvement by managing service risks, monitoring asset and IP compliance and championing innovation to deliver sustainable cost reductions and service excellence.

Senior Procurement & Supplier Collaboration Manager - Santander

(2022-06 - 2024-11)

• Directed end-to-end contract management across mailroom centralisation, IT services, contingent workforce solutions, and employee benefits and ensured compliance with Santander's procurement policies.
• Oversaw supplier relationship and performance management, driving continuous improvement, service quality and cost optimisation through robust governance, SLA monitoring and regular reviews.
• Led strategic sourcing and negotiation initiatives and delivered value through competitive tenders, supplier consolidation and innovative partnership models that supported both IT transformation and HR change programmes.
• Managed budget forecasts and financial planning for multi-million-pound service portfolios and aligned procurement spend with business objectives, cost reduction targets and annual operating plans.
• Implemented supplier collaboration processes that enhanced transparency, contract performance and sustainability.

Senior Procurement & Supplier Collaboration Manager - Santander

(2022-06 - 2024-11)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Promoted automation within mailrooms which saved £25.5m and reduced costs by £6m through HR initiatives.
• Improved employee offerings by reducing costs and mitigating cost increases by £1m, introduced preventative services via suppliers to reduce staff sickness and encouraged a 'Giving Back' day each quarter for charity work.
• Achieved a £12m cost reduction through streamlining of contingency workers, contributing £6.3m savings in FY 2024 and £3.5m in further initiatives.
• Led a £8m project to transition the regulated SMS service from the incumbent supplier to a new supplier, directed a team of 30 personnel to achieve delivery on time, within budget and with no incidents or issues.
• Managed a major HR transformation with a £6m budget and 13 personnel, reporting directly to the Executive.

Procurement Manager - easyJet

(2019-04 - 2022-06)

• Oversaw end-to-end procurement and contract management for repairs, maintenance and engineering categories.
• Managed global supplier relationships and spend ranging from £800k to £500m to ensure operational continuity.
• Led strategic sourcing initiatives and category planning, developing and executing a 7-year procurement strategy aligned with corporate objectives and cost optimisation targets.
• Directed multiple high value projects with budgets between £100k and £250m and negotiated and renewed complex contracts in advance of expiry, mitigating risk and ensuring favourable commercial terms that supported easyJet's long-term operational and financial goals.
• Partnered with the wider procurement executive team and senior stakeholders to influence key commercial and strategic decisions, contributing to short, medium and long-term planning across the airline's procurement function.

Procurement Manager - easyJet

(2019-04 - 2022-06)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Reduced costs by £25.5m through effective negotiations and leaner contract.
• Delivered low-carbon innovations and ensured contracts were fit for purpose and met commercial and operational needs.
• Made contracts live and legally compliant, notably ensuring mitigation against the challenges of Brexit.

Senior Project Manager - SPAR Wholesale UK

(2018-01 - 2019-12)

Business Support Manager - Network Rail

(2015-01 - 2018-12)

Supply Chain and Asset Recovery Manager - Tesco Telecoms

(2010-01 - 2015-12)

Events Planning Manager - Tesco

(2008-01 - 2010-12)

World Food Buyer - Tesco

(2008-01 - 2008-12)

HNC - Business, Management and Finance

BTEC Diploma - Business and Finance