Procurement Officer in Edinburgh

Obsidian T/A CTRD is a company registered in England & Wales (Company #13597753). Obsidian is a specialist professional services firm working in complex and challenging environments around the world. We partner with governments, intergovernmental organisations and third sector actors to address security, stability and resilience challenges, delivering practical and ethical solutions with real-world impact. Our work combines deep contextual understanding with on-the-ground delivery, often in places where others cannot operate effectively. Our team draws on experience from government, military, private and third sectors, united by a strong purpose and professional integrity. We value judgement, collaboration and delivery over hierarchy. Following a period of rapid growth, Obsidian continues to expand its geographical footprint and scale of its work, while strengthening the foundations that support our people and long-term impact.

The Procurement Officer plays a key role in supporting the organisation’s procurement processes by ensuring goods and services are procured efficiently, cost-effectively, and in compliance with established policies and procedures. Positioned within Group Operations reporting to the Group Operations Manager, the role will assess procurement requests and deliver the end-to-end procurement life cycle and governance. The role operates at the intersection of Procurement, Finance, and Operational teams, helping to ensure procurement activities are well coordinated, accurately documented, and aligned with business requirements. Through a strong understanding of procurement processes, systems, and controls, the Procurement Officer supports business continuity, value for money, and compliance with internal and external requirements.

Location: UK - hybrid working, the remainder WFH. International travel - typically travel abroad for circa 3-5 days every 6 weeks.

Hours of Work: 40 hours per week (evening and weekend work occasionally required)

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract, Full Time

Role Responsibilities:

• Review and triage procurement requests to ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance with organisational procurement policies.
• Categorise requests against defined scope, business justification, risk, and value thresholds, and assess alignment with strategic and operational objectives.
• Route requests to the relevant Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for technical, commercial, security, or compliance review as required.
• Liaise with Finance stakeholders to confirm budget availability and funding approval, including validation against project budgets, operational expenditure, capital expenditure (CapEx), cash flow forecasts, and wider group financial constraints.
• Ensure all purchases are financially authorised prior to commitment.
• Process purchasing activities end to end, including requesting purchase orders, managing approvals, and coordinating supplier confirmations.
• Handle cancellations, amendments, credits, and returns efficiently, ensuring accurate financial reconciliation and audit traceability.
• Coordinate delivery tracking and logistics, monitoring order progress, shipment status, and receipt of goods.
• Manage import and export activities where applicable, ensuring compliance with customs, duties, and international trade requirements as required, and resolving delivery issues in collaboration with suppliers and logistics partners.
• Maintain accurate procurement and asset records, ensuring all purchased items are correctly logged in and tracked.
• Uphold data quality standards and provide traceability across the procurement and asset lifecycle.
• Act as a financial liaison for capital assets, supporting Finance with CapEx classification, depreciation schedules, and asset capitalisation.
• Ensure timely and accurate recording to support financial reporting and audits.
• Manage asset lifecycle and asset data, maintaining up-to-date records including purchase details, ownership, location, maintenance schedules, depreciation assessments, and indicators for repair, replacement, or upgrade.
• Flag risks related to asset condition, continued requirements, or non-compliance.
• Oversee end-of-life asset processes, identifying appropriate disposal routes in line with company policy and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure disposal confirmation is obtained and recorded, including safe and compliant disposal of controlled, hazardous, or sensitive assets through approved channels.
• Ensure process and regulatory compliance across all procurement and asset management activities.
• Monitor adherence to internal controls, procurement procedures, and applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations within the jurisdictions in which the organisation operates.
• Support audits and continuous improvement of procurement governance.

Requirements:

Essential:

• Experience in procurement purchasing, and asset management
• Strong analytical skills
• Confident liaising with Finance teams to confirm budgets (CapEx/OpEx)
• Understanding of CapEx, asset depreciation, and lifecycle management
• Strong record-keeping skills and attention to detail
• Confident communicator, able to liaise with SMEs, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work effectively as part of a remote/virtual team
• Good understanding of procurement processes and regulatory compliance

Desirable:

• Familiarity with import/export or logistics coordination
• Experience using asset management or procurement systems (e.g. Setyl)
• Relevant qualifications or training in procurement or finance or working towards (e.g. CIPS)