Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) is the name of Melbourne's new metropolitan rail service.

Metro manages Melbourne’s metropolitan train network operating 150 six-carriage trains across 830 kilometres of track. The train fleet covers more than 30 million kilometres per year servicing more than 200 million customer journeys.

The Metro train network has 15 lines, 211 train stations and a loyal workforce of 3,500 rail professionals including train drivers, mechanical and electrical engineers, network operations specialists and customer service representatives.

Metro will meet Melbourne's transport needs with unprecedented efficiency by synchronising the train system with the community's vibrant, diverse and ever evolving lifestyles. With around 380,000 customers using the train service each day, Metro is a crucial part of Victoria’s 21st century social and economic fabric.

As a new entity the organisation is still in its infancy and being at the forefront of public life it is imperative that the priority is to get the basics right – which in essence means providing customers with clean, safe and reliable train services.

The organisation is committed to getting the absolute best performance out of existing rail assets while at the same time, readying the network for patronage growth, an increased number of trains and continued future infrastructure investment. Customer service is a top priority for Metro and a series of customer services commitments have been made, which in turn means that the culture of the business is all about transparency, diligence and delivery, with an ongoing focus on continuous improvement.

Based in the corporate headquarters in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD the procurement team like the rest of the organisation is very new as an entity, but highly experienced from a personnel perspective. With half a billion dollars worth of spend to manage the department’s mission is to provide effective procurement services that add value and continuously improve high quality delivery through the MTM supply chain.

Key commodities managed include Project Services, Utilities, Plant & Labour Hire, Sleepers, Rolling Stock Maintenance, Cleaning Services, HR Services, Telecommunications, Station Maintenance, Signalling, Telecommunications, IT Services, Traction Motors, Rail, Overhead Wire/Cables, Ballast and Vehicle Fleet management.

From an operational perspective the department’s objectives are to…

• Obtain best overall value for each purchasing dollar spent
• Assure timely delivery of goods & services to meet company requirements
• Cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers which consider total cost of ownership
• Listen and respond to our internal customers’ changing business needs and practices
• Continuously search for new products, equipment and services to improve the quality of product offered to customers
• Adhere to the highest ethical standards in all business dealings

Metro trains represents a truly unique opportunity for candidates to not only join a genuinely ‘Greenfield’ procurement function (established in Dec 2009), but also one that has responsibility for over $500M worth of spend.

Other characteristics that make Metro a highly attractive department for procurement practitioners include…

• High profile role with a genuine impact on the functionality of the environment around you
• Meaningful and pertinent negotiations that can have major impacts on service delivery
• Continuous improvement focus, bringing variety of work and ongoing development of skills
• 'Clean slate' stakeholder relationships that have a positive view of procurement
• No cultural baggage of how things have traditional been done
• Public service based role gives long term job security
• Inclusive and team based management culture

From Jigsaw Search’s perspective Metro trains represents a fantastic opportunity for procurement experts to work in a challenging, but ultimately rewarding workplace where individual endeavour can really make a difference to the way in which the organisation provides its services.

The department itself will expand over the next 12 months and beyond, both from personnel and operational perspective and this will lead to the expansion of roles and an increased reach for procurement across the organisation.

In summary the organisation offers personal development within a motivated and highly competent team and provides a secure, supported and self-fulfilling environment within which individuals can develop their Strategic Sourcing, Project Procurement and Supply Management skills.