Category Buyer - Public Sector in Chester

Governance Buyer | Leading Food Services Organisation

Location: Hybrid:1-2 days per week in either Surrey, London, Birmingham, Cheshire, or Leeds

Salary: £35,000–£40,000 + up to 10% bonus + exceptional benefits package

Our client, a renowned name in the food services sector, is seeking an experienced Governance Buyer to join their high-performing procurement team.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced procurement professional with strong public sector procurement experience to make a meaningful impact in a business committed to best practice and continuous improvement.

In this role, you’ll play a key part in ensuring compliance with the Procurement Act 2023 and Public Contracts Regulations 2015, supporting end-to-end procurement activities while driving efficiency, consistency, and best practice across the business.

A key requirement of this role is the ability to demonstrate experience of managing a full tender procurement process from initial requirement through to contract award, ideally within a public sector or NHS environment. You will be responsible for managing the governance aspects of procurement exercises, ensuring they are compliant, efficient, fair, transparent, and aligned with strategic objectives.

You will also utilise the Jaggaer eProcurement portal to run tenders, DPS/Dynamic Markets, e-auctions, and further competitions, while supporting process improvement and identifying ways to enhance the use of Jaggaer for greater efficiency.

What the role involves:

• Manage and support full end-to-end tender procurement processes, from initial sourcing and tender preparation through to evaluation, governance, and contract award.
• Ensure procurement exercises comply with the Procurement Act 2023, Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and relevant public sector procurement policies and procedures.
• Utilise tendering expertise to shape consistent, professional, and compliant tender and further competition documentation.
• Manage procurement exercises through the Jaggaer eProcurement portal, including tenders, DPS/Dynamic Markets, e-auctions, and further competitions.
• Create SOPs and user guides, and compile and deliver training and awareness programmes to relevant stakeholders to ensure ways of working are aligned across teams.
• Provide input into Category and Sourcing Strategies, helping to develop effective strategies for each category.
• Support the delivery of savings KPIs and cost-saving objectives while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and value.
• Ensure procurement governance, processes, and documentation are maintained to a consistently high standard.
• Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes and maximise the functionality and efficiency of Jaggaer.
• Ensure team KPIs are met to deliver value and drive cost savings.

The person we hope to find:

• Proven experience in public sector procurement, ideally within an NHS, healthcare, local government, or similarly regulated environment.
• Demonstrable experience of managing a full end-to-end tender procurement process, from requirement definition and tender preparation through to evaluation and contract award.
• Strong knowledge of public sector procurement regulations and governance, including the Procurement Act 2023 and/or Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
• Experience using Jaggaer or a similar eProcurement/tendering platform.
• Experience across sourcing, tendering, further competitions, DPS/Dynamic Markets, or e-auctions would be highly desirable.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver against deadlines.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder relationship management skills.
• A proactive approach to process improvement, governance, and compliance.
• Degree qualified and/or CIPS qualified or currently studying towards CIPS is desirable.

Salary & Benefits:

£35,000–£40,000 per annum + up to 10% bonus + flexible working + competitive benefits package + CIPS sponsorship

If you are a Buyer, Governance Buyer, or Category Buyer with proven public sector procurement experience and a track record of managing full end-to-end tender procurement processes, and you’re looking for a new challenge within a renowned food services organisation, I’d love to hear from you.

Please apply or email