Assistant Buyer

The Assistant Buyer will work within the Procurement tower to support the delivery of the procurement strategy and achieve the 'quadruple aim' targets. This includes delivering against the following objectives:

• Savings and efficiency targets
• Improving compliance with procurement regulations
• customer service
• Reducing harm initiatives
Work on specific/allocated projects against agreed timescales and outcomes for LPC customers. This will include sourcing of goods, equipment, materials and services that meet requirements by demonstrating value for money and promoting an integrated approach to procurement. Carry out the procurement of agreed goods and services in line with the Standing Financial Instructions obtaining best value and delivery within the specifications provided. Provide professional support to users in respect of the procurement process, including EU regulations and required process to be followed under the guidance of line manager. Be part of a busy customer services helpdesk team that undertake various duties including processing of purchase requisitions and placement of purchase orders, invoice/price queries, product sourcing and catalogue management for the Trusts. You will also be required to assist colleagues/stakeholders to understand both Trust and Public procurement rules where understanding may be limited and be able to relate, communicate and interact with colleagues at all levels across the organisation using both written and oral skills.Working for our organisation The Lancashire Procurement Cluster (LPC) provides strategic procurement, commercial and supply chain services to the Trust partners - Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The organisation is a shared service model, hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. The LPC has four distinct service lines:
• Procurement
• Strategic Relationship Management
• Systems & e-Commerce
• Logistics and Supply Chain
The posts are within the Customer Services Helpdesk Team which is part of the Procurement Service. Please note, although this role is being advertised by East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, it will transfer to OneLSC a Corporate Collaboration hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals Trust on 1.11.24. There are no plans to change the location of the role., Evaluate and deliver the best value procurement process for acquisitions for the LPC Stakeholders by use of different sourcing options for a range of goods and services. Build up product knowledge from the supplier base and introduce alternative products to internal and external stakeholders as opportunities to save money. Responsible for assisting with quotation exercises and cost analysis for the purchase of goods and services for both internal and external stakeholders. Liaise with the NHS Supply Chain and suppliers to ensure that best pricing has been secured. Provide reports and other data to members of the procurement team to assist in the identification of items to be considered for standardisation of products or to identify lower cost alternatives. To assist with and where appropriate lead the subsequent implementation of such agreed changes. Produce management reports from the procurement purchasing systems. Schedule and analyse the data to provide internal stakeholders with statistics for developing and monitoring spend and stock-holding levels and future product switching and saving opportunities. Liaise with the procurement team internally and externally to ensure that only standardised products are ordered. Process requisitions for internal and external stakeholders onto the selected Procurement purchasing systems, Deal with reported discrepancies, shortages, returns for internal and external stakeholders in a proactive but diplomatic manner Operate within the LPC Policies and Procedures and display a high standard of professional conduct with stakeholders and suppliers. Report any problems or difficulties that cannot be resolved immediately. Assist and support the other members of the Procurement team in ensuring customer satisfaction with the service. Provide cover for other members of the Procurement team (such as annual leave/sickness) as and when required. This role may involve cross site working or travel to other NHS or external organisations for training or work purposes. Any other duties within the general scope of the post and appropriate to the grading. Change of duties will be discussed with the post holder before implementation. The contents of this post will be reviewed with the post holder in the light of future development of the Assistant Buyer role. Support budget holders in managing their budgets for allocated projects (across the whole life cycle) and the provision of regular update reports against agreed timescales. Record efficiencies in the form of savings from budget and inflation/cost-avoidance

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an ambitious, motivated and enthusiastic individual to join our procurement team. You will be an excellent communicator for the department to ensure we provide an effective and efficient operational procurement service across all areas of the LPC. The successful candidate must have access to a vehicle and able to drive.,
• Good general standard of education including Mathematics and English Language - GCSE level C/4 or equivalent
• Participation or willingness to participate in continuing development to improve and update knowledge, Knowledge of professional purchasing principles acquired through NVQ level 3 or Chartered Institute of Procurement (CIPS) Foundation (Level 3) or equivalent experience, Experience of working with clients/stakeholders to deliver projects or agreed service level
• Experience of working in busy, target driven team
• Experience of Customer Care
Desirable criteria
• Experience of procurement or operational purchasing, expediting, logistics or materials management
• Public Sector experience
• Electronic catalogues/purchasing systems, IT literate with well developed skills for the use and application of information technology systems (especially MS Office products)
• Good communication and skills (written and oral) with the ability to work positively with colleagues
• Evidence of analytical and problem solving skills with a focus on delivering results, Must have access to a vehicle for work purposes and able to work between sites
• Able to flexibly work across all Trust locations
  
  At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work., The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.
We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background. We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
• This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
• Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.
Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained. The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed. The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £42.90 and for a Standard Disclosure £22.90 which includes a small handling fee.