Supply Chain Managers

Department: Operations

Location: Bristol, UK

Description

We’re building the next UK-headquartered engineering powerhouse. At Rowden, we design and integrate advanced systems that sense, connect, and protect data in challenging environments where quick decisions are vital. Our solutions use intelligent automation to enhance speed and efficiency and are built to be reliable and straightforward for critical operations in remote or high-pressure settings.

Headquartered in Bristol (UK), we combine modern engineering methods with cutting-edge commercial technology to create adaptable, mission-critical systems. We focus on solving the tough challenges that others overlook, ensuring our customers can operate effectively in an ever-changing world.

About the Role

As our platform programmes scale, we’re looking for Supply Chain Managers to lead supplier engagement, commercial arrangements, and logistics for critical platform delivery. These roles are central to enabling seamless integration across software and hardware components, ensuring commercial clarity, logistical efficiency, and technical alignment in complex, high-assurance environments.

You will own supplier relationships, negotiate terms and conditions, set up and manage contracts, and track asset lifecycles—from initial procurement through to deployment and disposal. Working closely with commercial, delivery, and engineering teams, you’ll ensure every part of our supply ecosystem contributes effectively to mission outcomes.

This role requires regular on-site presence in Bristol with flexibility to attend supplier sites and customer facilities. Candidates must be willing to obtain a UKNSV security clearance with SC being essential, and DV clearance desirable.

Key areas of responsibility

• Act as the principal interface between Rowden and key technology suppliers.
• Lead contract setup, negotiation, and management—ensuring clarity of terms, deliverables, and risk allocations.
• Coordinate full lifecycle management of hardware and software assets, including acquisition, delivery, tracking, compliance, and decommissioning.
• Maintain accurate Bills of Materials (BoM), configuration baselines, and supplier documentation.
• Manage software licensing, subscriptions, renewals, and entitlements to ensure compliance and optimise value.
• Oversee inventory tracking, inbound logistics, and delivery schedules aligned with programme milestones.
• Monitor supplier performance and escalate risks related to quality, delays, or non-compliance.
• Identify opportunities to improve commercial value or reduce delivery risk across the supplier landscape.
• Work collaboratively across delivery, engineering, finance, and legal teams to ensure aligned supply chain execution.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

Essential

• Demonstrated experience managing suppliers, contracts, and supply chain operations in complex technical delivery environments.
• Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills with a track record of establishing effective supplier agreements.
• Deep understanding of IT hardware and software asset lifecycles, including licensing models.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage detailed documentation, data, and timelines.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across technical, commercial, and delivery domains.
• Ability to operate with control and composure under pressure.
• Knowledge of configuration management, ITSM, or ISO-compliant asset governance.

Highly Desirable

• Experience in regulated or high-security sectors (e.g. defence, aerospace, national infrastructure).
• Familiarity with procurement and logistics processes in complex, compliance-driven environments.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average of 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!