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2-3 months contract with a Local Authority

Job Summary:

•The role involves supporting effective category management across procurement and supply, ensuring the delivery of commercial solutions from the commissioning, procurement, or contract stages.

•This includes applying innovative thinking, reviewing work related to goods, works, and services, and developing tailored solutions while considering governance, risks, opportunities, and sustainability.

•The successful candidate will manage procurement activities, collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, and drive service improvement processes.

Key Duties/Accountabilities (Sample):

•Complete assigned work in procurement and supply that support effective category management from commissioning, procurement or contract stages, considering the choice of possible solutions and using innovatory thinking to deliver the required commercial solution, doing and not just advising as necessary.

•Appreciation/application of main cycles and steps therein, including the procurement and supply, category management and/or contract management cycle.  Act proportionally and add value, maximising use of electronic systems e.g. for e-auctions, tendering, invoicing etc.

•Review category work for goods, works and services, appraise potential ways forward, develop and plan a solution, evaluate and keep track of progress, taking appropriate responsibility for the work that you are managing, considering new or less obvious options and solutions.

•Identify and utilise the correct procurement and supply guidance, template, form or system needed for any stage in the process, recognising there may be numerous potential options to select from and in some cases will need adapting to a more bespoke approach.

•Undertake procurement supply work in a consistent and timely way, which may result in different ways of working, alternative practice in service delivery/stakeholders or impact on procedures, adhering to governance requirements and ensuring value for money and savings.

•Consider council/procurement strategies and balance risks, opportunities, sustainability, collaboration with advice/actions that may have significant service implications for your colleagues, other services, partner organisations, residents, businesses and/or suppliers.

•Develop and input project planning, market/spend analysis, business cases, impact assessments, specifications, approval/award processes, TUPE needs, internal/external consultation/engagement, adverts, procurement/tender documentation/assessment and feedback.

•Drive forward procurement and supply service improvement processes and procedures, which may have significant service or supplier implications for others, with appropriate tenacity and sensitivity, including change, financial, objective and transitional arrangements.

•Cascade your advanced subject matter skills as needed to others e.g. clients and commissioning departments etc., act always in line with corporate governance, fraud awareness, the Council’s Constitution and Procurement Rules, raising concerns promptly to senior management.

•Take responsibility for any equipment needed to undertake your role.  Undertake financial support activities as needed, including processing invoices for management approval, creating/amending suppliers, reviewing, compiling and maintaining payment information etc.

•Attend meetings, audio/conference calls and webcam based calls on or off site(s) as directed and/or reasonably required by the role, utilising prescribed technology, collaboratively covering for peers, undertaking extra commensurate level work at no additional remuneration.  

•Undertake relevant and more complex specialist procurement and supply contract related work to an auditable advanced level, displaying specialist skills in a specific area such as procurement or contract management across the full spectrum of the category or detailed knowledge across multiple categories.

•Lead and manage professionally specialist and complex procurement and supply work requiring detailed knowledge across your specialist category area with a highly developed knowledge in particular area of expertise across goods, works or services as defined within the overall category management area.

•Contribute specialist or detailed knowledge in category work with considered, proportionate and non-discriminatory advice/action, incorporating economic, social and environmental social value, inclusive economies, community wealth building and/or income needs, showing advanced knowledge.

•Source and manage third party relationships to an advanced level within your allocated sphere of responsibility, including supporting specifying requirements; developing tender documentation, criteria, evaluations and feedback; and contract management arrangements.

•Input specialist procurement and supply knowledge into understanding business needs; market/industry trends; organisational practice; relevant compliance, legislation and policy; contracts/agreements; service, service user, organisational and partner needs/demands.

•Conduct and disseminate contractual reporting information at relevant stages of procurement and supply, performing and escalating procurement and supply health check needs, inputting and managing specialist systems, ensuring effective controls and control systems.

•Maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders to director level, residents, businesses, audit and fraud, and where necessary service users with visible high levels of confidence, satisfaction and professionalism, acting in an ethical way. Including, resolving issues which are not straight forward which require assessments, evaluation and advice.

•Manage a frequently changing programme of work with tight deadlines responding to unexpected events, challenging idea, conflicting priorities smoothly in difficult and often forthright exchanges of views, adapting your approach to competing service needs.

•Ability to undertake responsibility for delivery of an area of work, as opposed to a series of procurement projects or contracts with an area, dealing with matters of a complex area, taking a level of responsibility for delivery of that assigned area and providing professional challenge.

•To apply advanced skills within a defined category to deliver on any aspect of industry recognised category management, procurement, and supply and/or contract management cycle activity, writing, reviewing and presenting business reports, performance dashboard and/or presentations for internal or external audiences.

•To achieve and record relevant savings demonstrating your understanding of total costs, social value (whether economic, environmental, or social), community wealth building, inclusive economy, fairness, reduce inequality, achieve net zero carbon and any other corporate ambitions/targets, demonstrating skills across diverse disciplines.

•To consider effective management of the supplier base which does not present unnecessary barriers and actively supports business growth for small and medium enterprises, local businesses, community, or employee-owned businesses, black and minority owned businesses and the voluntary sector.

•To enhance and deliver on the category plans and strategies by delivering highly complex procurement and/or contract management activity as needed including at initiation; strategy and opportunity preparation; delivery including implementation; change and maintaining category needs; aligning, improving and enhancing strategies.

•To be able to write and input in reports or actual procurement/contractual activity at a junior managerial level in line with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, Council and/or industry recognised relevant category, procurement and supply or contract management cycles.

•To provide any relevant training as necessary to others.

Skills/Experience:

•Solid experience in a large organisation including a professional procurement and/or supply environment.

•Experience finding/reviewing guidance and providing advice to remove barriers to participation.

•Experience of using practical, theoretical and technical advanced knowledge to finding solutions to queries/issues across a range of different matters.  

•Experience using analysis, interpretation and evaluation to produce solutions for corporate ambitions or savings.

•Experience delivering or supervising on procurement and supply; category or spend; or project related work.

•Understanding of CIPS Global Standards for Procurement and Supply competency level ‘Managerial’.

•Demonstrated ability to ensure quality of data inputted into systems and providing information to management.  

•Ability to handle high volume requests on-time and to the required standard, dealing with frequent challenges.

•Demonstrated ability to deal with contentious matters with tact, persuasion and sensitivity.

•Ability to support the creation, monitoring and implementation of new or existing policy and practice.

•Demonstrated ability to challenge requests in a considered way that impact on others.

•Demonstrated ability for the effective use of resources, making recommendations and understanding implications.

•Demonstrated ability to cope with conflicting priorities and frequently changing demands.

•Ability to work flexibly with work location, travel safely with equipment and work extended hours when needed

•Ability to perform calmly in a considered way regularly in contentious and confrontation scenarios.

•Demonstrated ability work with minimal support, requiring you demonstrate advanced knowledge, skills or aptitude in a range of specialist matters relevant to the post.

•Ability to adhere to the Council’s Dignity for All policy.

Additional Information:

•Full-time role: 35 Hr/week.

•Relevant academic subject qualification at Ofqual Level 4 (i.e., HNC or higher); and/or equivalent professional, vocational or technical qualification; and/or equivalent assessed professional accreditation.

•Relevant personnel management or project management qualification from accredited college, university or institution at Ofqual RQF Level 4 (HNC) or higher level; or commitment to upskilling programme at level 4, being performance managed and in probation to achieve in 24 months.

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