Assistant Commercial Officer Apprenticeship

Are you are looking for a rewarding career which uses your great communication skills, top-level organisation skills and positive outlook? If you see challenges as opportunities to be faced head on, then an apprenticeship in commercial procurement at Defra could be the opportunity for you!

If you are also passionate about protecting our environment then read on…because these roles are working for Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). We are the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Encouraging diverse applicants

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups.

These 7 commercial apprentice roles are within the Commercial Procurement Team at Defra. The team buys all the goods and services needed by Defra to deliver its priorities. This is everything from IT applications to flood defences and lots in between. We often respond to unusual requests, for example finding specialist vans to collect pets traveling to the UK from Ukraine to be reunited with their owners. It's fair to say Defra would not be able to do all the vital work improving our environment without the commercial team.

You will gain experience working with colleagues across Defra to work out exactly what they need to buy and researching the companies available to supply what is needed. You will also learn how to run a competitive tender process to find the best supplier and then form a contract with the supplier.

These are permanent positions and a great development opportunity for an individual with an interest in commercial procurement to undertake a two-year Level 4 apprenticeship as part of their role. After the two years, upon successful completion of the apprenticeship scheme you will be a permanent member of staff at Executive Officer (EO) grade.

We hope you're up for a challenge because these are busy roles as you'll be doing everything from helping to plan projects, set up meetings to drafting documents. Beyond that, you'll be ensuring the commercial projects run smoothly by being super organised and heading off problems before they happen.

You'll use your great communication skills and confidence dealing with a range of people as building relationships is key to everything we do.

You'll be rubbing shoulders with senior colleagues and external suppliers with the opportunities to see how your managers and leaders operate. You'll enjoy researching and using data as well as being methodical and organised.