Procurement Advisory Consultant

Bytes is a top provider of premium IT solutions and services, working with SMEs, corporations, and public sector organizations to modernize and digitally transform their IT infrastructures. Founded in 1982, Bytes has experienced significant growth, now employing over 750 people across seven locations in the UK and Ireland, with a turnover surpassing £1.8 billion in 2023.

At Bytes, we nurture talented individuals to achieve remarkable outcomes and are dedicated to supporting our employees through continuous training, guidance, and development to help you advance and fulfil your career goals. We foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, recognition and inclusivity and offer a wide range of benefits to support staff wellbeing.

PURPOSE OF JOB: Bytes works with our customers to help them achieve their business outcomes through delivering a comprehensive range of technology-focused support/professional/managed services. We actively seek to drive consumption, adoption, and customer satisfaction with the objective of tangibly contributing to customer success and growth.

The Procurement Advisory Consultant will join our growing diverse team of experienced IT procurement professionals to deliver commercial and procurement advisory, renewals management and transaction services for software assets by defining and implementing a professional, structured, and repeatable process resulting in optimal commercial routes for renewals and new purchases, based on existing and planned Customer strategies. These activities will be delivered to a portfolio of mid-size UK-based business through to global enterprises through a managed service framework.

The overarching function of the role is to drive savings into our customers by removing operational overhead and optimising spend. The Consultant will also provide ad-hoc support to pre-sales/sales effort as an evangelist for the potential range of Procurement related services that may address a specific customer need.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Proactively review renewal and new-purchase transactions for Customers with a managed service to ensure that the activity results in the optimal financial and strategic outcome for the customer;
• Review existing software on the estate for functional overlaps with a view to discontinuation of one product thereby reducing volume of transactions;
• Consider alternative products, versions, editions, or suites where that would provide added value/reduced costs;
• Review software contracts for alignment with future strategy;
• Engage with vendors and internal vendor specialists to secure competing quotations and demonstrate that the quotation offering greatest value is selected – through creation and update of tracker;
• Attempt to co-term to reduce volume of transactions and secure discounts based on larger single transactions;
• Analyse historic spend to identify opportunities for consolidation or shift in structured commercial agreements that would provide the customer with lowest costs and/or increased benefits;
• Create Service Review contributions demonstrating volume of activity and evidence of value delivered and suggest service improvements;
• Build and maintain strong relationships with the procurement and SAM functions within the Customer business;
• Ensure timely delivery of a quality service as defined in the contract between Bytes and the customer meeting and exceeding SLAs;
• Provide ad-hoc procurement/commercial advice and services to individual customers;
• Maintain and continually develop knowledge of software contracts and vendors;
• Contribute to the delivery of related programs of change from an Asset Management perspective;
• Identify opportunities for Bytes where Bytes may propose new/additional Services;
• Escalate potential service issues within the business and to Bytes management.

The description above reflects the core responsibilities/activities of the role but is not intended to be all-inclusive; other duties may be required in addition to changes in the emphasis of duties as required from time to time. There is a requirement for the post holder to recognise this and adopt a flexible approach to work. Job descriptions will be reviewed regularly and where necessary revised in accordance with organisational needs. Any major changes will be discussed with the post holder.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES: You will at all times maintain open communications with the Customer, your Services team colleagues and the Bytes Account Management teams throughout an engagement. You will be both accountable and responsible for the successful and complete delivery of the defined services.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, & SKILLS:

Educational Qualifications: Minimum A-Level Certified - ESSENTIAL; Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant subject - DESIRABLE

Professional Qualifications: CIPS Diploma (Standard, Advanced or Professional - ESSENTIAL); ITAM/SAM Certification/Accreditation i.e., CSAM - DESIRABLE; ILIL Foundation - DESIRABLE; Project Management Accreditation i.e., PRINCE2 - DESIRABLE

Years of Experience: Greater than five (5) years demonstrable experience of delivering Software Procurement/Contract Management services, specifically focused on contract optimisation - ESSENTIAL; Detailed and comprehensive exposure to legal and commercial negotiation of software contracts - ESSENTIAL; Demonstrable experience in delivering Procurement services and delivering savings (cost avoidance and cost savings YoY against budget) within a complex organisation - ESSENTIAL; Knowledge of key vendor licensing schemes and contract offerings/structures - Must include Microsoft and at least one of the following; Oracle, IBM, SAP, Adobe, RedHat, Veritas and Symantec - DESIRABLE

Other Experience: Legally able to work in the country in which the position is based - ESSENTIAL