Procurement Technical Services Lead in Ipswich

About the Company

OCS UK & Ireland is a leading facilities management company with 50,000+ colleagues and a turnover in excess of £2bn. We deliver innovative, award‑winning services within facilities management, hard services, cleaning, security and catering. Our mission is to make people and places the best they can be for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve. Our commitment to doing business the right way is rooted in our TRUE values – Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment.

About the Role

Reporting to the Head of Hard FM Procurement, the Procurement Technical Services Lead will take strategic and commercial ownership of all Technical Services within Hard Services. The role will lead sourcing, supplier management and commercial strategy across hard FM and technical services categories, delivering value creation, compliance, resilience of supply and high‑quality service delivery to operational stakeholders and customers. The role acts as the senior procurement interface for technical services, business partnering closely with operations, commercial, bidding, mobilising and finance teams to deliver cost savings, risk mitigation, innovation and service improvements. The role has line‑management responsibilities for category managers and manages approximately £250m of supply chain spend.

Key Tasks & Responsibilities

• Own and deliver the end‑to‑end category strategy for Technical Services, aligned to overall procurement and business strategy.
• Support all M&A activity, delivery of synergy post‑acquisition and ensuring positive, sustainable and effective integration.
• Grow spend under management within Technical Services and increase preferred supplier compliance, including ensuring and building the PSL.
• Lead complex, high‑value and high‑risk sourcing initiatives, frameworks and contract renewals.
• Partner with the technical services team, participating in their SLT, providing high‑quality reporting and insight on spend, supplier performance, risk and value delivery.
• Identify and deliver cost savings, value creation and commercial benefits, tracking performance against agreed targets.
• Drive supplier performance through structured governance, SLAs, KPIs, SRM and continuous improvement plans.
• Provide market and supplier insight, drive innovation through the supply chain into OCS and ensure regular reporting is shared with key stakeholders.
• Support bidding, mobilisation, contract transitions, variations and change‑management activities from a procurement perspective, ensuring decisions support service quality and customer outcomes.
• Support transformation within the Procurement team and increase maturity, focusing on margin improvement, risk reduction and revenue generation.
• Act as a senior escalation point for supplier performance or contractual issues.
• Lead and motivate a team managing multiple sourcing projects, including personal development and succession planning.
• Assess and mitigate supplier, commercial and operational risk across the technical services supply chain.
• Ensure all sourcing and contracting activity meets internal governance, policy, audit and statutory compliance standards.
• Monitor compliance with ethical practices and standards that apply to supply chains and take appropriate actions if breaches occur.
• Support ESG, sustainability and ethical sourcing objectives within technical services categories.
• Comply with the CIPS Code of Conduct by enhancing and protecting the standard of the profession, maintaining the highest standard of integrity in all business relationships, promoting the eradication of unethical business relationships, enhancing the proficiency and stature of the profession, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Results‑driven with exceptional negotiation skills.
• Experience in procurement within hard services/technical services environments.
• Strong understanding of technical services categories such as M&E, engineering maintenance, compliance services and specialist FM services.
• Commercially focused.
• Excellent leadership skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, plan personal workload effectively and delegate appropriately.
• Excellent strategic planning skills.
• High level of integrity and dependability.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at senior operational and commercial levels.
• Proven track record of delivering cost reduction through synergy post‑acquisition.
• Experience working in M&A procurement (desirable).
• CIPS qualification.
• Experience managing a high‑performing team in hard FM procurement.
• Previous experience in senior‑level procurement roles.
• Experience utilising Coupa for e‑sourcing.

Core Expectations

• Uphold OCS TRUE values.
• Show flexibility in working arrangements to ensure a high level of service is delivered.
• Be self‑motivated and able to work effectively in a fast‑paced environment.
• Have a positive and focused attitude when dealing with all colleagues.
• Take personal responsibility.
• Maintain a flexible and positive attitude towards work.
• Continuously improve own learning and development.
• Support and embed the UK & Ireland group’s corporate values.
• Exhibit a can‑do attitude and promote a supportive culture.

Key Performance Indicators & Working Arrangements

• Full time (37.5 hours per week) with additional hours as required.
• Hybrid working arrangement.
• National role with travel dependent on business needs from time to time.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an equal opportunities employer and rely on a diverse workforce with a broad range of knowledge, skills, and backgrounds to deliver our goals. We offer an inclusive and welcoming environment and actively encourage applications from all individuals regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age.