Procurement Specialist (Bournemouth and Dorset)

Are you an experienced Procurement professional with public sector experience looking for an exciting new role? An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Procurement Specialist to join our expanding team and organisation. We are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and we are interested in you as an individual. We are looking for a highly organised 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 charity that gives back to the education sector and a one-stop procurement shop, with a vision of being the first-choice procurement services charity that gives back to the education sector. Combining professional support, expert guidance, and resources with FREE training and development opportunities via Crescent Learning.

CPC provides a range of services which include, 80+ compliant frameworks, with several approved by the Department for Education (DfE), consultancy services which can aid with every aspect of an institution's procurement journey from facilitating flexible procurement outsourcing, five days a week, to designing a strategic procurement package to maximise your savings.

Each year CPC's Board of Trustees review the level of reserves our charity has and any surpluses are reinvested back into the education sector via the 'Giving Back' initiative. To date over £2 million has been designated for re-investment in the form of various projects with the largest amount being used specifically for awarding non-refundable grants to CPC members supporting SEND learners, wellbeing and absenteeism in colleges, schools, academies, and universities nationwide.

What makes us different? We're an award-winning organisation 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!

This role is offered as a full-time or part-time position working with our clients based in the Bournemouth and Dorset region and the surrounding areas. Please state your preference when making the application on your cover letter. This role will require regular travel to our clients’ premises and involves working onsite directly with our educational clients to provide a fully comprehensive procurement and tendering service. Successful applicants must be able to travel and must have public sector tendering experience.

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.

Person Specification: We are looking for someone who has procurement experience within the public sector or the education sector and knowledge of public sector Procurement Act 2023. 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.
• Remote working with visits to clients onsite when required.
• Access to a local government pension scheme which includes death-in-service and ill health.
• Opportunities to develop through our in-house development programmes and through external learning with full support given to achieve MCIPS.
• 41 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 7th June 2026. Following successful application, we will invite selected candidates to meet for an interview via Teams with our hiring managers. 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.