Working Capital Senior Manager – Inventory

Kernow Vet Group; Keynsham; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading veterinary services provider in Keynsham seeks a Working Capital Senior Manager to drive inventory reduction across multiple phases, managing a team and coordinating with local operations and finance teams. Ideal candidates should have 5-10 years of experience in inventory management and possess strong analytical skills. This role offers a competitive salary and various employee benefits including work-life balance and a cycle to work scheme.

Benefits

26 days annual leave

Cycle to Work scheme

Employee wellbeing initiatives

Pension

Discretionary bonus

Discounted staff pet care

Dog friendly office

Free parking at Head Office

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in relevant roles focused on cash generation.
• Deep knowledge of inventory management and working capital optimization.
• Strong influence across complex stakeholder landscapes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global inventory reduction roadmap.
• Ensure timely execution of governance structure and training.
• Develop weekly reporting for stakeholders.

Skills

Analytical skills

Commercial acumen

Stakeholder management

Self-starter

Job description

At IVC Evidensia, we are a leading veterinary services provider in Europe and North America with more than 2,500 clinics and hospitals across 19 countries and around 41,000 employees. We aim to have an extraordinary impact on animal lives, supporting in the region of 25,000 animals every single day across our international network. IVC Evidensia exists to champion the long‑term health and welfare of animals and deliver our purpose of Healthy Animals, Happy Owners.

We are embarking on a multi‑country initiative to reduce inventory levels and improve working capital efficiency. This role will lead the design and execution of a roadmap that includes quick wins spanning diagnostic analysis, supply chain reconfiguration, and product range optimisation.

The Working Capital Senior Manager will report to the Group Head of Working Capital and will manage a central team while coordinating with procurement, local operations and finance teams. The role requires strong subject‑matter expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence across diverse markets and functions.

This is an opportunity to join the company at an exciting point in its development, providing a chance to make an immediate difference to our cash generation and operational performance. It will suit someone with a high degree of commercial acumen coupled with a problem‑solving mindset.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities:

• Own the global inventory reduction roadmap, ensuring delivery across all phases
• Lead the initiative through multiple phases, including:
  1. Phase 1 (Quick Wins): Deploy updated Top 200 SKU approach, define SLOB procedures, implement MIN/MAX compliance monitoring, and roll out good‑practice guides; develop pathways for stock issues by category (Pharma, Consumables, Food, Surgical) and deploy them clinic‑by‑clinic based on diagnostics.
  2. Phase 2 (Data & Tools): Harmonise master data, define data flows, evaluate PMS systems, and establish short‑term tooling needs.
  3. Phase 3 (Supply Chain Config): Analyse re‑configuration opportunities, define supplier SLAs, integrate into contracts, and deploy re‑configuration plans.
  4. Phase 4 (Product Range): Rationalise product assortment, standardise SKUs, and implement retail space evaluation methodology.
• Ensure timely execution of milestones such as governance structure deployment, team training, and diagnostic workshops.

Visibility

• Generate weekly and monthly reporting across inventory reduction initiatives and provide updates to key stakeholders.
• Develop insightful and meaningful analysis, turning data into presentations and helping to build stakeholder engagement.

Governance & Stakeholder Alignment

• Establish rigorous governance with SteerCo reporting and consequential follow‑up.
• Align with local CFOs, COOs, Ops Managers, and clinic leadership to secure buy‑in and prevent deviation from agreed targets.
• Manage dependencies such as resource availability, leadership support, and local bandwidth for change.
• Lead root cause analysis using P12 stock take data, SLOB values, and SKU performance.
• Conduct interviews, site visits, and supplier engagement to identify improvement opportunities.
• Refine analysis into actionable insights and prioritise interventions.

Improving Outcomes

• Develop and roll out a global stock planning strategy that balances service levels with working capital targets.
• Build and maintain guidelines and good‑practice documents, updating regularly to reflect evolving needs.
• Support Procurement, Operations, and Finance teams with guidance, analysis, and energy toward delivery of improved visibility and accountability.
• Facilitate meetings, performance reviews, and improvement workshops across multiple markets.
• Recruit and train local stock champions to support implementation and sustain improvements.

Experience/Qualifications:

• Self‑starter, able to manage work independently
• High levels of credibility to underpin influence of a complex stakeholder landscape
• Results‑oriented, committed to hands‑on delivery
• 5‑10 years of experience in relevant roles, where cash generation has also been a priority
• Strong analytical skills and commercial acumen
• Deep knowledge and experience of inventory management and working capital optimisation, ideally from direct involvement in global or regional projects

Following receipt of your application, you will be contacted by one of our experienced recruitment team.

IVC Evidensia is committed to Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging. We are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long‑term health conditions and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

What We Offer:

At IVC Evidensia we recognise that our people are fundamental to the success of our business. Investing in our people, premises and processes is at the heart of what we do. In addition to a competitive base salary, you will benefit from:

• Work‑life balance
• 26 days annual leave
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Initiatives focused on employee wellbeing
• Pension
• Discretionary Bonus
• Discounted staff pet care
• Dog Friendly office
• Free parking available at Head Office

IVC Evidensia UK

IVC Evidensia

The Chocolate Factory, Keynsham, BS31 2AU, United Kingdom

Any questions before applying?

Speak to Neil Merritt from our recruitment team who would be happy to help you with any questions you have before applying for this role.