Procurement Assistant Manager

Do you want to make a difference to real people and real lives? Do you want to be a part of helping to shape the future of Procurement at Brentwood and Rochford council as part of the Procurement service at Essex County Council (ECC) ?

Did you know that ECC spends c£1.2Billion per annum on 3rd party commissioned services, making it the 2nd largest spending Authority in the UK? We now are providing procurement support to Brentwood and Rochford Councils further increasing the spend supported, The Procurement Team at ECC are award winning and support the organisation to deliver services to 1.4million residents. We aim to lead the profession on exciting initiatives such as social value, climate action through procurement and how we use our size and scale to support our Levelling up Agenda.

We are looking for experienced procurement professionals to fulfil these truly wide-ranging roles spanning both category and contract work you will deal with the full procurement lifecycle, touching all elements of the process from cradle to grave.

The Opportunity

Working for Essex County Council but delivering procurement support to Brentwood and Rochford this role will have unique access across different levels of local government, working across a range of procurements including collaborative procurements across multiple Councils.

The post holder's focus will be to l undertake a significant number and variety of sourcing projects, responsible for embedding and delivering excellent procurement practice within Brentwood and Rochford councils.

You can hear the success stories of some of our employees in our Blog via the following links

My Procurement Journey - Amanda

My Procurement Journey - Victoria

Jawid - Success Story

For more information on Procurement careers within the Council and the broader Procurement Service, visit https://workingforessex.com/careers-in-procurement, · Embed category management and lead the development, maintenance and implementation of category strategies, ensuring alignment to commissioning objectives.

· Develop and implement innovative approaches and solutions in the delivery of complex projects to enhance levels of service and minimise costs. This requires working collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation and externally, to ensure best practice can be achieved when implementing new ways of working.

· Collaborate with Senior Managers and Members as to the commercial and financial viability of differing commercial options for specific projects within complex and at times, contentious environments.

· Manage suppliers to ensure they consistently achieve the performance standards set out in contracts and that adequate controls are in place to protect the Authority's interests. Take a proactive approach to identifying and investigating contractual, commercial and market risks to ensure continuity of supply and protect the Authority's interests.

· Operate a continuous improvement approach to identify and deliver on-going changes whilst also leading the negotiation of commercial and contractual changes to ensure they consistently meet business requirements.

· Lead projects and tenders, ensuring all sourcing activity fully complies with appropriate legislation and regulation whilst also complying with Brentwood and Rochford policies.

· Work collaboratively with incumbent suppliers and potential new entrants to identify gaps in market provision and explore opportunities to close those gaps.

· Provide support and advice to stakeholders regarding any contractual or procurement matters.

· Support the adoption of best practice approaches with the aim of ensuring that the Procurement function is seen as 'best in class'. Ensure policies, procedures, documents and workflows are kept up-to-date and remain best in class.

· Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework., Ambitious people really fit in here so if you are a talented Procurement Assistant Manager then we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website, ensuring you upload an up-to-date CV and provide a supporting statement when prompted.

· Educated to A level with a relevant professional qualification such as MCIPS or working towards such a qualification or equivalent demonstrable work experience with evidence of continuing professional development.

· Knowledge of category management and experience of using this methodology in complex commercial environments to deliver significant cost or service improvements.

· A demonstrable track record of managing strategic contracts in business critical environments. This should include evidence of defining, measuring and improving key elements of supplier performance.

· Evidence of some experience of delivering continuous improvements in strategic arrangements with evidence of generating significant cost and service benefits.

· Evidence of some knowledge of contract law and legislation relevant to the specific category / categories within their control and its impact on market management, finance and contractual arrangements.

· Extensive knowledge of public sector procurement law with an ability to explain the law to non-procurement staff and find pragmatic solutions to potential legal difficulties.

· Comprehensive negotiating skills appropriate to multi million pound contracts and experience of planning and delivering successful negotiations.

· An awareness of working in a political environment.

Make a difference to the local community, be that infrastructure, climate change or social care (adults and Childrens) and help us transform Essex to a circular economy as we redefine growth and focus on positive society-wide benefits.

- We are a very large procurement team with circa 120 staff and have seen the department grow by 25% over the last 18 months. Annual Spend of £1.2 billion.

- We are the only CIPS accredited County Council in the UK.

- We are the largest Local Authority Procurement Team in the UK and have a national reputation for excellence.

- Work for a high performing team with great team morale and friendly, helpful, and supportive colleagues.

- Happy to consider Public and Private sector backgrounds

- Great training pathways. Encouragement to all staff for their continual professional development with full support and guidance towards relevant qualifications.

- Flexible working - with no official start or finish time you can make your work arrangement work around the other elements of your life offering a fantastic work / life balance.

- Local Authority Pension Scheme. For more details please visit: https://www.essexpensionfund.co.uk/

- 27 days annual leave plus bank holiday.

- 37 hour working week.

- Continuous Service - Joining us from another local authority? Then you could benefit from bringing your time served and benefits with you.