Director, Supplier Relationship Management

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband and digital solutions. Behind that sits a complex, high-stakes supplier ecosystem — and we're building the function to manage it properly.  

In your role as a Director of Supplier Relationship Management, you will lead the Commercial Supplier Management program at Optus. This newly established role provides the rare opportunity to shape something from the ground up. If you're someone who gets energy from solving hard problems, connecting the right people, and seeing value before others do, then this role is for you. 

What You’ll Do 

• Connect suppliers to strategy. You'll understand the real strategic challenges the business is navigating and know which supplier relationships can help solve them. Your job is to make those connections happen. 

• Unlock value that the business can't yet see. You'll work across a siloed enterprise to surface commercial and partnership opportunities that no one business unit could find alone — and then drive them to reality. 

• Consolidate the supplier base, strategically. You'll know when rationalisation makes sense, what the business impact will be, and how to land the story with stakeholders so they're with you, not against you. 

• Manage suppliers by what they actually are. Strategic, critical, transactional — you treat them differently because they are different. You'll apply the right engagement model to the right tier, every time. 

• Find the value leakage and fix it. You'll read commercial contracts fluently, know where the gaps are, and work through the right channels to close them. 

• Build trust fast, at every level. From supplier C-Suite to internal operations teams, you're credible, direct, and easy to work with. 

• Make TPRM and Sustainable Procurement real. Not a compliance checkbox — an actual competitive edge. You'll weave both into how we manage suppliers in a way that means something. 

• Coach and bring others up. No direct reports, but a clear responsibility to lift the capability of more junior team members across the portfolio. 

What You Bring 

• Deep SRM experience in complex environments — you've run enterprise programs, built governance frameworks, and managed Tier-1 relationships that actually mattered commercially. 

• Commercial sharpness. You understand contracts, know where value is being left on the table, and have a track record of doing something about it. 

• The ability to work a matrix. You don't rely on authority to get things done. You influence, connect and build coalitions across business units. 

• Strategic range. You can think long-term and work in-year. You're comfortable in the boardroom and equally comfortable rolling up your sleeves when the business needs it. 

• A genuine understanding of TPRM and sustainable procurement — not just awareness, but practical experience embedding both into supplier management in a way that adds real value. 

• Exceptional relationship-building instincts. You read rooms well, build trust quickly, and know how to navigate difficult conversations. 

• A problem-solver's mindset. You don't wait for a brief. You see the issue, find the right people, and move. 

• Experience in telecoms, technology, or complex B2B environments is a plus — but the mindset matters more than the industry. 

The good stuff…. | What’s in it for you? 

• Competitive remuneration and colleague discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and outstanding shopping discounts with our retail partners. 

• Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home. 

• Vibrant and collaborative office campus that includes cafes, convenience store, chill out zones, GP, post office, gym and on-site childcare centre. 

• Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected’ days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever’s important to you. 

• We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks. 

• Direct your own development and build future-ready skills with Optus U’s industry-focused micro-credentials, developed with La Trobe and Macquarie Universities. 

• Build meaningful connections through colleague-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network, and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+). 

• Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 — in-person, by phone, SMS, or video. 

• Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6-8 minutes); morning and afternoon. 

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying ‘yes’ to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email AccessibleRecruitment@optus.com.au or call 1800 309 170.  

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit https://www.optus.com.au/about/inclusion-diversity