Agency Labour Supply Chain Manager

Balfour; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading construction company in the UK is seeking an Agency Labour Supply Chain Manager to enhance its temporary labour strategies and manage relationships with suppliers. The successful candidate will navigate challenges in the construction sector, providing insights to optimize performance across a £300m spend. Join a team committed to innovative infrastructure projects and enjoy flexible working arrangements, a competitive benefits package, and a diverse workplace culture.

Benefits

Flexible working with remote options

25 days paid annual leave

Family friendly policies

Qualifications

• Proven experience within the construction labour supply chain, either from an agency background or client-side.
• Strong understanding of challenges associated with temporary labour in construction.
• Ability to engage confidently with stakeholders at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Develop workforce strategies for upcoming projects.
• Act as the central point of contact for labour agency matters.
• Build relationships with key agency suppliers and ensure alignment with business goals.

Skills

Construction labour supply chain experience

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial awareness

Strong communication skills

Solutions-driven mindset

Job description

About the Role

Balfour Beatty is currently looking for an Agency Labour Supply Chain Manager to join our Enabling Functions – Procurement team. This role can be based at any UK office, with regular travel to BB and subcontractor offices/sites required.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will come from an agency labour background, bringing strong experience in managing temporary labour supply chains and working with multiple stakeholders.

Role Purpose

Within this role, you'll support Balfour Beatty in managing and optimising its temporary labour supply chain. Labour is high spend and high risk to Balfour Beatty. This role takes ownership for supporting operational performance for over £300m spend, across tens of suppliers. The pivotal role acts as the primary interface between Balfour Beatty’s operational teams, its agency supply chain, and Nutral as the Managed Service Provider (MSP). The successful candidate will help drive consistency, performance, and strategic alignment across a diverse and complex construction portfolio.

What you'll be doing

• Developing the blue collar labour strategy. Translate business needs into workforce strategies, supporting supply chain capacity planning and early workforce mobilisation for upcoming projects and bids.
• Subject Matter Expertise. Act as the central point of contact for all labour agency-related matters across Balfour Beatty’s business units.
• Strategic Relationship Management. Build and maintain strong relationships with key agency suppliers, ensuring performance, compliance, and alignment with business goals.
• Engage with operational and commercial leads across the business to understand workforce requirements and future labour demand.
• Facilitate two-way feedback between the business and supply chain, identifying opportunities for improvement and resolving issues swiftly.
• Support work‑winning efforts by advising on labour sourcing strategy, availability, and risk, particularly in relation to skills availability and supply chain capability.
• Contribute to the development of workforce strategies that improve ethical labour practices, compliance, and commercial effectiveness.
• Analyse supply chain performance data and report trends and insights back to key stakeholders within both Balfour Beatty and Nutral.
• Communicate changes in strategy, process, or supplier status to relevant project stakeholders.

Who we're looking for (Qualifications)

• Proven experience within the construction labour supply chain, either from an agency background or working client‑side with direct exposure to agency workforce supply.
• Strong understanding of the challenges, risks, and opportunities associated with temporary labour in construction environments.
• Confident stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills across both operational and executive levels.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to align supply chain performance with business outcomes.
• Experience in labour supply planning, supplier performance management, and compliance oversight.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to act as a trusted intermediary across multiple parties.
• A proactive, solutions‑driven mindset and the ability to operate autonomously within a fast‑paced, evolving environment.

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Benefits

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partner’s leave
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more.

About Us

Balfour Beatty Group Enabling Functions are Legal, Finance, IT and Procurement, Communications, Health Safety and Environment, HR and Sustainability. Together, they support delivery of our Build to Last strategy whilst improving efficiencies and standardising our approach, systems and processes.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion. We are also committed to being a Disability Confident Employer and encourage applications from people with disabilities. For more information, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.