Procurement Officer - Place and Environment (Internal applicants only) in Leicester

PLEASE NOTE THIS POST IS ONLY OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS

Organisation: ESPO

Work Location: Barnsdale Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 1ES

Salary: £35,451 - £39,165 (pro rata for part-time) - pay award pending

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 12th July

Interview Date(s): TBC

Are you an organised, commercially minded procurement professional who enjoys turning stakeholder needs into compliant, value for money solutions? Are you looking for a rewarding role where you can make a difference to public services?

About the Role

By joining ESPO’s Procurement Team as a Procurement Officer, you’ll be part of a highly successful professional buying organisation that provides cost effective procurement and supply services to the public sector. ESPO is owned and governed by a consortium of six local authority members based in the East Midlands, with Leicestershire County Council acting as the employer.

As a Procurement Officer, you’ll manage a varied portfolio of procurement projects and supplier relationships within a designated market/category area, running end-to-end procurements for routine projects and supporting colleagues on more complex, higher value or higher risk activity. You will take ownership of a portfolio of frameworks, products and/or services, delivering procurement projects to agreed plans, timelines and customer outcomes.

In this role, you will lead market engagement and help shape procurement solutions, from national and regional frameworks through to client-specific procurement exercises. You’ll run tendering activity end-to-end, agreeing evaluation approaches, supporting negotiations, managing post-tender clarifications and supplier debriefs, and ensuring contract documentation is accurate and complete. You will also prepare project briefs and business cases for governance panels, setting out the procurement strategy, evaluation methodology, resources, timescales, demand and risk, and you’ll work with stakeholders to develop clear, fit-for-purpose tender documentation.

Alongside delivery, you will manage contracts and supplier performance information, using KPIs and service levels to identify issues early and take action where performance falls short, escalating when required. You will ensure every activity is compliant with internal procedures and Public Contract Regulations, applying transparency and non-discrimination throughout. You’ll maintain a practical working knowledge of the eProcurement system and support colleagues, customers and suppliers with day-to-day queries, while working closely with teams across the organisation (including finance, sales and marketing) to support contract uptake, secure rebates/income and demonstrate value for money. Some flexibility to work outside of normal working hours will be required and you must have access to a vehicle to travel to locations throughout the region.

About You

To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• A relevant degree level qualification (or equivalent experience) and evidence of continuing professional development, plus CIPS membership (or a willingness to work towards achieving it).
• Experience of working in a procurement environment within a medium/large or complex organisation, including experience of a range of purchasing and supply procedures and processes such as sourcing, tendering, evaluation techniques, etc.
• Proven track record in contributing to, conducting and/or managing procurement processes, playing a key role to ensure the process best meets objectives whilst seeking innovation, making savings and delivering value for money.
• Experience of managing a varied workload where projects and tasks are completed on time and to set parameters.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, with experience of providing advice and guidance to colleagues, customers and/or suppliers.
• Working knowledge of contract law and an understanding of the local government environment/landscape and the risks associated with procurement activities.
• Strong IT, analytical and numerical skills, with experience of researching, developing and maintaining knowledge on a specific market/category of spend and of gathering performance and market data to contribute to financial and other business reports.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our customers. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process. Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

What we offer:

• Flexible working opportunities and access to employee benefits portal with car lease scheme.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays (increasing to 32 days after 5 years' service), and a scheme to buy additional leave.
• Local Government Pension Scheme with a generous employer contribution.
• Opportunities for learning and development, including CIPS or CIM.
• Great office location next to Fosse Park, with free on-site parking and easy access to M1 and M69.

Interested in Flexible Working? We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact: Gareth Smith Procurement Service Manager Email: g.smith@espo.org

How to Apply

At ESPO we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raise a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.