Are you a commercially astute supplier or partnership-management professional who knows how to build strong relationships and turn contractual arrangements into effective services?

The British Library is seeking a Supplier and Partnership Manager to provide dedicated oversight of its HR contracts, suppliers and strategic partners during a significant period of organisational change. This is an opportunity to review and improve existing arrangements, support the mobilisation of new contracts and develop productive partnerships that deliver better outcomes for managers, colleagues and the wider organisation.

This role is a Fixed Term Contract until March 2028

About Us

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, housing millions of items of world culture. We are committed to a ‘One British Library’ approach: breaking down silos, embracing innovation, and putting our users, staff and partners at the heart of everything we do.

About the Role

Reporting to the Senior Director of People, Culture & OD, you will provide dedicated, time-limited stewardship of the British Library’s HR contract, supplier and partnership arrangements. You will establish a clear picture of the current contract landscape, identifying expiry dates, risks, dependencies, costs, performance measures and areas where existing provision may no longer be fit for purpose.

Working closely with Procurement, HR leaders, service owners, Finance, Legal and external providers, you will review priority contracts and assess the available options. This will include considering routes to market and making clear, evidence-based recommendations on whether services should be procured, renewed, varied, directly awarded or reshaped.

You will own and maintain the HR contract register and renewal pipeline, map the wider supplier ecosystem and create effective governance arrangements for strategic and business-critical partnerships. You will monitor supplier performance through meaningful KPIs, service levels, management information and qualitative feedback, ensuring contractual measures reflect the practical experience of the managers and colleagues who use these services.

During the fixed-term period, two and potentially three new HR-related contracts are expected to come into place. You will help take these arrangements from award or mobilisation into effective live contract management, ensuring that responsibilities, governance, reporting, escalation routes, communications, guidance and training are established from the outset.

This is a highly relationship-led role. You will build trust with suppliers and internal stakeholders, address service-performance issues constructively and create practical solutions that protect continuity and improve outcomes. You will also help the organisation respond flexibly during transformation by establishing effective arrangements with interim, consultancy, legal, recruitment and other specialist providers.

About You

We are looking for someone who can combine commercial rigour with collaboration, sound judgement and a genuine commitment to developing effective partnerships.

• Strategic supplier management: Experience of managing important supplier, vendor or partner relationships from either the buying or supplying side, with evidence of improving relationship and service outcomes over time.
• Commercial acumen: The ability to understand value, cost, risk and performance, and to negotiate constructively to achieve sustainable, mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Contract and performance literacy: Confidence reviewing contractual arrangements, interpreting performance information, assessing KPIs and service levels, tracking expenditure and identifying emerging risks.
• Relationship building: The credibility to build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders and external providers, manage tensions sensitively and maintain a shared focus on service outcomes.
• Contract review and procurement planning: Experience contributing to contract reviews, market assessments, procurement planning or route-to-market recommendations, ideally in HR, professional services or another service-led environment.
• Mobilisation and implementation: Experience supporting the mobilisation, implementation or transition of new contractual arrangements, including communications, guidance, training and adoption.
• Solutions-focused delivery: A pragmatic approach and the ability to diagnose where arrangements are not working, resolve service issues and turn challenges into practical improvements.
• Stakeholder management: The confidence to work across HR, Procurement, Finance, Legal, service owners and external provider organisations.
• Professional courage: The judgement to challenge constructively, address underperformance and escalate concerns appropriately while preserving productive working relationships.
• Public-sector awareness: An understanding of public procurement principles and governance requirements would be advantageous, although training and internal guidance will be available where required.

Knowledge of HR services such as occupational health, employee assistance programmes, employment law, payroll, HR systems, recruitment, reward or benefits would be valuable. However, applications are also welcomed from candidates who can demonstrate the ability to understand new service areas quickly.

Benefits

• Generous Civil Service Pension scheme.
• Flexible and hybrid-working options.
• Access to professional development and continuous learning.
• Dedicated health, mental health and employee-wellbeing programmes.

To apply, please contact our recruitment team at: thebritishlibrary@osbornethomas.org

Closing date: 11th October