General Manager - Supply Chain

Wärtsilä is an innovative technology company known for being a forerunner in the Marine and Energy markets. Every day, we – Wärtsilians - put our hearts and minds into turning Wärtsilä's purpose of enabling sustainable societies with smart technology, and our Smart Marine and Energy visions into reality. Our ultimate aim is to provide increased value to both our customers and society. New, game-changing ideas and continuous improvement have been part of our DNA since 1834. Together, we can create new business opportunities and more sustainable future that we can all be proud of.

Water and Waste business unit (WAW) is a true end-to-end business as part of Wärtsilä Portfolio Businesses. WAW is a global leader in designing and supplying innovative wet and dry waste equipment and freshwater generation solutions for passenger vessels & conventional waste management and ballast water treatment equipment for all marine segments. WAW has the industry’s broadest product offering to secure beyond compliant operations for our marine customers.

We want to transition the world towards a cleaner future. By pushing the boundaries of engineering and technology, we can make it work. We are always on the lookout for future-oriented talent – want to join the ride?

We are now looking for a General Manager Supply Chain to lead and develop our Supply Chain Management team working for a better future. The preferred location for the position is in the UK Poole, Dorset.

What will you be doing?

Senior Role

• Overall global supply chain responsibility for the Water & Waste business line with approximate revenue of €50m and comprising of up to 10 team members
• Collaborate with the senior Water & Waste departmental heads to form a cohesive management team focussing on employee engagement and local site initiatives where necessary
• Visit business unit and supplier sites to build relationships and develop collaboration as necessary.

Supply Chain

• Set the direction with energy and forward momentum aligning commercial decisions with operational requirements to optimise our supply chain efficiency and effectiveness
• Balance immediate operational requirements with longer-term planning to ensure customer and business needs are met
• Support the supply chain team with day-to-day challenges, actively participating in problem solving when needed
• Demonstrate and implement high quality methodology in delivery excellence ensuring safety and environmental standards are met through effective contract negotiation and relationship management
• Build and maintain robust relationships with key suppliers at a senior level to drive profitable business growth through organic relationship management
• Support the identification and development strategic suppliers as part of a robust sourcing strategy to maximise opportunity for cost savings, whilst retaining quality.
• Design and execute a 5-year supply chain strategy to assist the business in growing market share, increasing profitability, and to reduce reliance on single source supply and mitigate business risks
• Identify gaps and challenge our current ways of working, offer and implement changes where agreed and needed.
• Demonstrate and lead a culture of continuous improvement within the department and the wider organisation
• Employ policies, procedures and standards to document and sustain improvements
• Develop and maintain a strong partnership with the Operations team to help manage stock levels and inventory requirements
• Work collaboratively with the Quality team to identify product and supplier improvement plans, increase quality standards and reduce costs where possible

• Support and understand the requirements of the New Build, Project and Services teams to deliver on customer commitments and mitigate project delivery delays and ship system down time
• With full accountability for departmental P&L, implement actions when needed to meet departmental spend requirements and budget
• Present monthly departmental performance reports to the managing director
• Utilise business KPI’s to enhance departmental performance
• Ensure working processes/instructions are compliant with ISO/DNV accreditation procedures

Leadership

• Lead and enthuse team members to achieve business and departmental goals
• Create and develop a resilient and high performing team
• Promote and encourage cross team collaboration
• Coach and mentor team members in supply chain strategy implementation and process improvements
• Actively develop team members to increase their business, product and professional knowledge

Last application date: 14/03/2025 

At Wärtsilä we value, respect and embrace all our differences, and are committed to diversity, inclusion and equal employment opportunities; everyone can be their true self and succeed based on their job-relevant merits and abilities. 

This is Wärtsilä 

Wärtsilä is a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. Our team of 17,800 professionals, in more than 280 locations in 79 countries, shape the decarbonisation transformation of our industries across the globe. Read more on www.wartsila.com.