Procurement Specialist (North West England) in Manchester

Are you seeking an exciting new role in Procurement and would like to make a real difference in the education sector? Come and join our team! An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Procurement Specialist to join our expanding team and organization. We are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and we are interested in you as an individual. We are looking for a highly organized professional with a positive attitude, dedicated to achieving excellence in public sector procurement.

Who are we? Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) is a not-for-profit purchasing consortium and we produce compliant purchasing frameworks and provide specialist advice on spending practices and value for money. Our longstanding history and dedication has earned CPC a reputation for excellence, which has allowed us to support public sector organizations with a combined non-pay spend of £441m throughout the 2023/24 financial year alone.

What’s the role? The role is offered full‑time working with our clients based in the North West/ Greater Manchester area. This role sits within our Crescent Managed Services. They specialise in offering procurement consultancy services to the education sector. They offer bespoke procurement solutions to suit individual client needs and budgets, from one‑off tendering to onsite managed services. Our aim is simply to be the best at what we do. You will be responsible for leading the process for procuring contracts for a variety of categories, including facilities, estates, finance, curriculum and ICT and other projects and services. This role will contribute to embedding best practice, efficiency and effectiveness within procurement processes and decisions, ensuring compliance with UK procurement regulations and legislation and assisting us to achieve savings. Reporting to the Procurement Manager, you will be responsible for offering a proactive and comprehensive service and advice on all aspects of procurement to all levels of personnel and manage relationships between our client and their diverse range of suppliers.

What makes us different? We’re an award‑winning organization recognised and certified as a "Great place to work". We offer a collaborative, exciting environment where your ideas are heard and valued. We provide competitive salaries, benefits, and opportunities for career development. We’re making a real difference and you can be a part of it!

Person Specification: We are looking for someone who has extensive procurement experience within the public sector or the education sector and knowledge of public sector procurement legislation. If you are a skilled and an experienced procurement professional with the ability to deliver all aspects of this role, then we would love to hear from you!

In return for your dedication, we offer a wide range of benefits including:

• Salary of up to £45,000 FTE per annum depending on experience.
• Generous yearly discretionary bonuses following successful probation.
• Hybrid working at client site.
• Access to a local government pension scheme which includes death-in-service and ill health.
• Opportunities to develop through our inhouse development programmes and through external learning with full support given to achieve MCIPS.
• 38 days holiday (including three days additional leave for Christmas holiday closure and bank holidays).
• Time off for volunteering opportunities.
• Enhanced leave packages such as paid sickness, carers leave, bereavement and compassionate leave and maternity pay.
• Support for wellbeing with access to 8 mental health first aiders and the opportunity to join an Employee Assistance Programme.
• The chance to get involved in a number of working groups, such as Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing and Sustainability.
• The opportunity to join our Women’s, Men’s and Carer’s employee support networks which provide safe spaces for colleagues to share their experiences.
• Social and employee events throughout summer and at Christmas.
• Has a programme of 'giving back' to the communities in which it is based and which it supports.
• Travel expenses paid for any additional required travelling outside of your contracted place of work.

Next Steps: The deadline to apply is Sunday 21st December 2025. Due to the Christmas period, interviews for this role are expected to take place in January 2026. Following a successful application, we will invite selected candidates to meet for an in‑person interview with our hiring managers at our head office in Salford. If you like what you’ve read, please don’t delay in applying as we may close vacancies early where we receive lots of applications.

Please note that VISA sponsorship is not offered for this role. We are a disability confident employer so if you need any adjustments made to support your application, for example, if you require information in different formats or if you have any accessibility issues, we’re more than happy to review our processes. Please feel free to get in touch with us at peopledevelopment@thecpc.ac.uk.

As an equal opportunities employer, Crescent Purchasing Consortium is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us.