Procurement Partner

We have an opportunity for a Procurement Partner - Senior Associate, to join the Procurement team which is part of the Corporate Enablers Directorate.
The Procurement team currently consists of 4 posts: A Head of Procurement (Principal), a Strategic Procurement Partner and 2 Procurement Business Partners. The team provides commercial advice, guidance and procurement support to the organisation, with all members acting as a partner to two or more of the 7 directorates.
We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales. We are at the source of everyday life. We help the sector build trust and confidence with customers, the environment and wider society: keeping water flowing, bills affordable and helping ensure the health of our rivers and waterways.
Our work is high-profile and fast-moving, within a dynamic and agile environment. The work that you’ll be involved in every day will help us to deliver our strategy, to make us the regulator we want to be and help the sector to deliver for customers and society.
You can find out more about why you should join Ofwat, our strategy, values and our framework for success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack., Acting as a partner to assigned directorates you'll provide professional customer-focused procurement direction, advice and guidance and practical support to a range of stakeholders within Ofwat. At the same time, you'll work with colleagues to develop a procurement pipeline of activity, monitoring and reviewing to ensure it is in line with financial budgets and aligned with directorate and corporate objectives.
Supporting the Head of Procurement, you'll assist with the development and maintenance of the Procurement Strategy, procurement policies, templates and training materials for all our commercial activities.
In all aspects of the role, you'll ensure that value for money is given the highest priority and that we are transparent in doing so. You'll maintain expert, up-to-date knowledge on all legal, policy and best practice procedures for public sector procurement; interpreting and making recommendations for implementation within Ofwat.
Key Deliverables
In this role you will be expected to:
+ Ensure Ofwat adheres to its requirements on procurement and compliance, using transparency, fairness and proportionality as tools to build trust and confidence in Ofwat internally and across the regulatory sector
+ Ensure that the day-to-day commercial activities and processes operate effectively and efficiently in accordance with documented policies and procedures
+ Acting as a strong ambassador and role model of Ofwat’s SAILOR values. playing a leadership role in commercial management and upskilling stakeholders across the organisation
+ Create and/or maintain a procurement pipeline for all commercial activity within allocated directorates
+ Liaising with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders by building strong relationships whilst being comfortable to challenge in order to deliver effective commercial management
+ To personally maintain an effective logging and monitoring system of procurement requests from allocated directorates
+ To produce regular performance reports on the volume, nature and turnaround time of requests for procurement
+ To manage the delivery of procurements and contract management activity in a proportionate manner that is timely, effective and efficient
+ To encourage and assist stakeholders with the delivery and completion of low risk contracts and tenders. This will be achieved by explaining procedures, coaching, training, high level process reviews and constant refinements
+ To ensure accurate records are kept for audit purposes and the reporting of procurements performance indicators
+ Interacts using discretion & customer-facing skills with a range of contacts outside & inside Ofwat
+ Proactive management of internal and external relationships
+ Responsible for the efficient and effective use of commercial resources, demonstrating sound procurement management and planning to ensure cost effectiveness and value for money in the delivery of all services
+ Provide effective challenge to deliver improvements whilst maintaining adequate controls, Please see the candidate guidance on our website for more detail and tips on how to best make your application.
Selection timetable
o Closing date: 23.55 on Sunday 20 October 2024
o Sifting: Week commencing: 21 October 2024
o Interview date(s): Week commencing: 04 November 2024
Assessment process
Sift Stage
We operate a blind sifting model to eliminate bias. All candidate identifying information will be removed from applications.
At sift stage we assess your application (CV and personal statement) against criteria 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 listed in the professional requirements section above.
Use your personal statement to address the Lead criterion (criterion N2) and tell us about your experience of Public Sector Procurement at an operational level.
You may find the STAR method useful in structuring your personal statement.
In the CV section of your application, please state clearly how your skills, experience, and knowledge meet essential criteria 1, 3, 4 and 5.
In the event of receiving a large number of applications, a pre-sift will take place on just the lead criterion.
Ensure that anything submitted as part of your application is factually accurate, and you are not presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by AI, as your own.
Please note that if a high volume of candidates meet the minimum pass mark at sift stage, we will only progress the highest scoring candidates to interview. Candidates not invited to interview, who have achieved the minimum pass mark, will be placed 'on hold' until the final stage of the assessment process is completed. Should the role/s remain unfilled, candidates placed 'on hold' may be invited to interview in merit order.
Interview Stage
Our transparent interview process involves candidates receiving a list of attribute-based questions in advance. This has been proven to help neurodiverse candidates and others to perform better at interview and is part of our inclusive culture.
At interview stage we will test against attributes, as well as skills, experience, and knowledge (set out in the professional requirements section). You can read more about Attributes in Ofwat’s Framework for Success.
Please note that the interviews will be conducted via video conferencing software (MS Teams).
If the assessment process identifies more appointable candidates than roles available, a reserve list will be created for 12 months from which further appointments in merit order can be made.
If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, selection process, or you require any reasonable adjustments please email recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk
Please read the attached "Candidate Information Pack" for details on terms and conditions.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment., o UK nationals
o nationals of the Republic of Ireland
o nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
o nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
o nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
o individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
o Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

1. CIPS qualification (any level) or working towards
2. Experience of Public Sector Procurement at an operational level (lead criterion)
3. A working knowledge and understanding government frameworks and under-threshold procurement
4. A general understanding of procurement and contract legislation and, specifically, where they pertain to a public sector environment
5. Ability to plan ahead and prioritise work effectively
6. Managing relationships
7. Ability to manipulate and analyse information and present key conclusions

Why You Should Join Us:
We’re forward-thinking, creative, innovative, and ambitious. We constantly push the boundaries and embrace new ways of working.
With us, your work matters, your voice is heard, and your impact is felt. Ours is a culture of trust, flexibility, autonomy, collaboration, and innovation. We all want positive change for water customers, the environment, and the future of water.
But for us, change is more than what happens on the outside – we’ve always pushed boundaries internally, too. From becoming the first Civil Service organisation to achieve ‘Smarter Working’ status, to gaining our prestigious ‘Smarter Working Maturity’ award, we’ve consistently demonstrated our commitment to embracing innovative ways of working. Our people do their best work when given freedom over where, when, and how they work. Which is why we trust our teams to balance meaningful collaboration in the office with the flexibility of working from home.
You will also benefit from:
o Ofwat will fund and support study for Level 5 CIPS if required.
o Excellent employer pension contributions, for this role ranging from £10,695 to £11,588.
o You can find further details about pension schemes in the terms and conditions below.
o 25 days’ annual leave (increasing to 30 with each year of service) plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave
o Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership
o Flexible working arrangements that suit your lifestyle
o Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies
o Up to 3 volunteering days per year
o Recognition vouchers scheme
o Generous shared parental leave and pay
o Enhanced sick pay
o Regular development opportunities
o Cycle-to-work scheme
o Season ticket loan for home-to-office travel
o Free eye tests and contribution to lenses/spectacles for VDU users