Temporary Principal Procurement Officer

Reference no: Bracknell RQ785485

Pay Rate: £16 per hour PAYE

A Principal Procurement Officer is required to lead on major procurement projects and provide advice to a range of stakeholders.  From market analysis through to contract award and beyond.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead teams to develop and new contracts delivering clear service improvements and real cash savings, including assessment of current needs and expenditure, assessment of markets and early engagement with markets.
• Maintenance of external networks to identify collaborative procurements or innovative approaches.
• Advise senior managers on all procurement and contract management issues; build strong and positive relationships across the organisation and champion a quality and performance related culture to ensure service delivery is effective and responds to identified needs.
• Ensuring compliance with internal procedures and relevant legislation, particularly the Public Contracts Regulations, GDPR and Freedom of Information.
• Promote self-service procurement through training, coaching, written guidance, and use of e-procurement and other procurement related systems.
• Maintain, manage and be the 'systems champion' for e-tendering and associated procurement systems.
• Maintain a full awareness of current issues and challenges facing local government and of best procurement practice through research and networking and where appropriate incorporate changes to enhance and improve practices and procedures.
• Identify opportunities for savings through procurement and provide expenditure analysis and reports using data from the finance system.

“Role Requirements” – to give yourself the maximum chance of success please try and ensure your CV addresses the following essential criteria:

Qualifications:

• Full Membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply or equivalent relevant qualification.
• Educated to A Level (or equivalent).
• GCSE (or equivalent) in Mathematics and English.

Knowledge:

• Advanced knowledge and experience of e-tendering and procurement systems, such as ProContract.
• Knowledge and understanding of the procurement life cycle with significant experience of leading and managing procurement projects.
• Established knowledge and experience of the Public Contracts Regulations.
• Knowledge and understanding of how procurement can contribute to organisational effectiveness, efficiency, and value for money outcomes.
• An advanced understanding and experience in utilising e-tendering systems to maximise its functionality and use.
• A broad knowledge of commercial issues and purchasing techniques.

Experience:

• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Demonstrable experience of producing complex tender documentation and using financial/analytical tools to evaluate tenders.
• Previous public sector procurement experience, particularly services.
• Significant experience of positive stakeholder engagement across a broad spectrum.
• Experience in applying an understanding of market conditions to shape procurement exercises to ensure best value is achieved.
• Experience of applying strategic procurement principles.
• Demonstrable track record of delivering significant cashable savings through procurement or contract management.
• Significant experience of leading procurement projects and producing complex documentation.

Skills/Technical skills:

• Excellent computer skills to include Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Ability to challenge established methods and create innovative solutions to meet business needs.
• Excellent negotiation, persuasion, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong literacy and numeracy skills.
• Analytical skills with attention to detail.
• Good planning and organisational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills – confident and able to persuade but remain approachable to internal customers.
• Enthusiastic team player with the ability to work on own initiative with minimal supervision.
• Ability to advise on multiple projects at once and manage own time.
• Ability to manage conflicting and competing priorities effectively.

NB: Please feel free to apply to us direct via [email protected] by quoting the job reference and job title exactly. SEE DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS AD.

If you have previously applied to one of our vacancies and have already sent the required supporting documentation to us, please make this clear when you re-apply as this will help speed up your application.

To help speed up the process of uploading your CV to the client we would suggest that you send us your CV in Word format (or equivalent) if possible, rather than as a PDF.

If you are successful in securing this role, please note that for the entire duration of this contract, regardless of extension you will be working this role at the PAYE rate that has been advertised. For absolute clarity, we only work on a PAYE basis, rather than entertaining umbrella pay terms, we do not offer Ltd/umbrella or outside IR35 rates. If you wish to understand PAYE vs Umbrella more, please let us know and we can send you some additional information for clarity.