Procurement Assistant Manager (multiple vacancies)

Permanent, Full Time, 37 hours per week. Salary: £36,531 - £42,977 per annum plus Flexible Working & Local Gov Pension. Location: Chelmsford / Hybrid. Working Style: Anywhere worker – expectation to attend the office (County Hall, Chelmsford) once a week based on business needs. Closing Date: 17th June 2026.

Overview

Do you want to make a difference to real people and real lives? Do you want to be part of shaping the future of our Procurement service at Essex County Council (ECC)? ECC spends approximately £1.2 billion per annum on third‑party commissioned services, making it the 2nd largest spending Authority in the UK. The Procurement Team at ECC is award‑winning and supports the organisation to deliver services to 1.4 million residents. We aim to lead the profession on initiatives such as social value, climate action and supporting local businesses through procurement and our size and scale to support the Levelling Up Agenda. We are looking for experienced procurement professionals to fulfil these wide‑ranging roles spanning both category and contract work. You will deal with the full procurement lifecycle, touching all elements of the process from cradle to grave.

Roles

• Procurement Assistant Manager – Highways & Transport team: This exciting role works with committed Procurement professionals in the Highways and Transport team, supporting Place and Customer. The role involves sourcing, category and contract management activity, primarily in the Home to School Transport, Adult Social Care Transport and Sustainable Travel categories, to a value of up to approximately £50 million per annum. The successful candidate will take responsibility for end‑to‑end procurement activity, including sourcing for planned tender rounds and ad‑hoc requirements, contract change control, management of tier 1 suppliers and planning for safe transition of services to new local government structures in Essex.
• Procurement Assistant Manager – Older People Accommodation Team: Assist with the annual refresh of the Older People Residential and Nursing contractual framework, valued at approximately £150 million per annum. Ensure delivery of high‑quality care that meets the needs of older adults, working with over 200 care homes in Essex and internal stakeholders to maintain safe, effective, person‑centred services while remaining cost effective and compliant with regulatory standards. Responsibilities include developing and managing contracts, monitoring provider performance and quality, supporting continuous service improvements, and ensuring sufficient affordable capacity within the market. Foster strong relationships with providers to maintain reliable services and drive ongoing improvement across provision.
• Procurement Assistant Manager – Mental Health Team: Manage strategically important contracts that support residents with mental health conditions in the workplace. Support the Procurement Manager in procuring and managing accommodation‑based services that form a vital part of the recovery pathway and offer longer‑term support for those who need it. Experience in managing high‑value and complex contracts is required; category specific knowledge is welcomed but not essential.
• Procurement Assistant Manager – Contract Management Hub: Work as part of the Procurement Strategy & Assurance Team, managing a number of contracts across a variety of areas in line with agreed processes. Support the management of lower‑risk contracts, ensuring performance is optimised, risk is managed and benefits delivered throughout the life of the contract. Use strong contract‑management skills to ensure compliance, best practice and optimisation. Use stakeholder‑management skills to establish valuable relationships with wider internal stakeholders and contracted suppliers.
• Procurement Assistant Manager – Essex Procurement Partnership: The Essex Procurement Partnership is a collaboration of councils that have chosen to create a shared procurement team covering the full scope of sourcing activity in those authorities. Work across district and borough councils while being part of the ECC team, leading a large number and variety of sourcing projects. Existing knowledge of public‑sector sourcing and experience in leading above‑ and below‑threshold procurements is a must. Gain experience working with stakeholders across councils and foster collaborative procurement within partner authorities.

Accountabilities

• Lead the development, maintenance and implementation of category strategies, ensuring alignment to commissioning objectives.
• Develop and implement innovative approaches and solutions in the delivery of complex projects to enhance service levels and minimise costs, working collaboratively with colleagues internally and externally.
• Collaborate with Senior Managers and Members on the commercial and financial viability of differing commercial options for specific projects within complex and sometimes contentious environments.
• Manage suppliers to ensure they consistently meet performance standards set in contracts and that adequate controls protect the Authority’s interests.
• Identify and investigate contractual, commercial and market risks to ensure continuity of supply and protect the Authority’s interests.
• Operate a continuous improvement approach to identify and deliver on-going changes, while leading the negotiation of commercial and contractual changes to ensure they meet business requirements.
• Lead projects and tenders, ensuring all sourcing activity complies with legislation, regulation and ECC policies.
• Work collaboratively with incumbents and potential new entrants to identify gaps in market provision and explore opportunities to close those gaps.
• Provide support and advice to stakeholders on any contractual or procurement matters.
• Support the adoption of best‑practice approaches with the aim that the Procurement function is seen as 'best in class'.
• Keep policies, procedures, documents and workflows up to date.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Educated to A level with a relevant professional qualification such as MCIPS or working towards such a qualification, or equivalent demonstrable work experience with evidence of continuing professional development.
• Knowledge of category management and experience using this methodology in complex commercial environments to deliver significant cost or service improvements.
• A demonstrable track record of managing strategic contracts in business‑critical environments, including evidence of defining, measuring and improving key elements of supplier performance.
• Evidence of delivering continuous improvements in strategic arrangements, generating significant cost and service benefits.

Benefits

• Make a difference to the local community, contributing to infrastructure, climate change, adult social care and transforming Essex to a circular economy.
• Large procurement team (circa 120 staff) with annual spend of £1.2 billion and 25 % growth over the last 18 months.
• The only CIPS accredited County Council in the UK and the largest local authority procurement team in the UK.
• High‑performing team with great morale, friendly and supportive colleagues.
• Flexible working – no official start or finish time, enabling a fantastic work/life balance.
• Local Authority Pension Scheme.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• 37 hour working week.
• Continuous Service – existing staff can bring time served and benefits with them when joining from another local authority.