Job Details
Hours: 35 hours per week. Other flexible arrangements will be considered.
Disclosure Level: Basic.
This role involves no direct or indirect work with children.
Team: Legal and Governance.
Reports to: General Counsel.
About the Team
The Legal and Governance team is recently formed and brings together professionals from across the organisation to support UNICEF UK to achieve its growth ambitions. It is a team of trusted partners spanning Procurement, Legal, Governance, Data Protection, Income Generation Quality & Compliance, Environmental & Social. The team provides a strong governance framework alongside proportionate risk management.
About the Role
The Procurement Manager plays a central role in strengthening how UNICEF UK delivers procurement in a decentralised environment. This role combines hands‑on delivery of strategic and complex procurements with responsibility for developing the policies, tools and support that enable colleagues across the organisation to carry out procurement activities confidently, ensuring that procurement is compliant, commercially robust and achieves value for money. It is a high‑impact role for a commercially minded and collaborative individual who will shape procurement practice, influence senior stakeholders and ensure strong governance while enabling operational flexibility.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement a pragmatic procurement strategy and forward plan that drives value and is aligned to organisational priorities and a decentralised operating model.
- Plan and lead high‑value, complex or strategically significant procurement exercises end‑to‑end, including requirements gathering, specification development, tendering, evaluation, supplier selection and contract negotiation.
- Own and continuously improve the procurement policy, processes and controls, leveraging AI and tech automation to streamline and optimise procurement practices while ensuring they remain practical, proportionate, compliant and aligned with legal requirements and best practice.
- Design and deliver clear, user‑friendly procurement guidance, training, templates and toolkits that support budget holders and teams to make effective, compliant purchasing decisions.
- Work closely with colleagues in Legal, Data Protection, Cyber Security, Finance and other specialist areas to embed appropriate due diligence and risk assessment into procurement activity.
- Identify and deliver value creation opportunities through strategic sourcing, demand management, market insight, specification challenge, whole‑life cost analysis and value‑based procurement approaches.
- Support colleagues to improve supplier relationship and performance management activities for key contracts, driving continuous improvement, innovation, service enhancement and measurable added value.
- Maintain an accurate and up‑to‑date central contract register, and support proactive management of contract renewals, extensions, variations and exits.
- Build strong relationships with stakeholders across the organisation, providing confident commercial and practical advice with constructive challenge to improve procurement planning and decision‑making.
- Monitor procurement activity and produce clear management information on compliance, pipeline activity, contract status, savings, value for money and supplier risk.
- Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, strengthen controls, reduce risk and increase consistency across the organisation.
- Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices in all aspects of your work.
Success in this Role Will Look Like
- Procurement activity is better planned and more visible across the organisation.
- Colleagues understand when and how to engage procurement support.
- Procurement processes are practical, proportionate and consistently followed.
- Strategic and higher‑risk procurements are well managed and well documented.
- Contract information is reliable, accessible and actively used to support renewals and planning.
- Stakeholders view procurement as a supportive, credible and value‑adding function.
- There is stronger evidence of value for money, compliance and risk management.
- Collaborative and enabling: Works constructively with colleagues across the organisation and helps others make informed, compliant and value‑driven procurement decisions.
- Results focused: Prioritises activity that will have the greatest impact and sees work through to completion.
- Decision‑making: Applies sound judgement, handles confidential information appropriately, and balances commercial, operational and governance considerations.
- Information and data aware: Protects UNICEF UK’s reputation by considering legal, regulatory, ethical, privacy and information security risks in procurement activity.
- Supporter driven and mission aligned: committed to children and their rights and motivated to work towards achieving a better world for every child.
Qualifications and Experience
- Proven experience managing end‑to‑end procurement and sourcing activity, including tendering, supplier evaluation, negotiation and contract award.
- Experience of developing or improving procurement strategy, processes, guidance and controls.
- Experience of supplier relationship management and contract management, including performance monitoring, service reviews and resolution of supplier issues.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience partnering with budget holders and operational teams to deliver compliant, value‑for‑money procurement outcomes.
- Experience of operating within procurement policies, governance frameworks and internal controls, ensuring compliant and well‑documented procurement activity.
- Strong commercial acumen, with experience analysing costs, negotiating value for money and delivering savings or efficiency improvements.
- Experience managing procurement activity across a range of spend categories, ideally including marketing and creative agencies, technology tools and platforms.
Specific Knowledge and Skills
- Minimum CIPS Level 4 (or equivalent demonstrable experience).
- Strong working knowledge of procurement best practice, contract management and supplier relationship management.
- Able to analyse information, identify opportunities and make clear, evidence‑based recommendations.
- Strong commercial judgement to balance cost, quality, risk and wider organisational value.
- Confident using digital tools and AI to improve procurement insight, efficiency and decision‑making.
- Produces clear written guidance, reports and management information.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver to deadlines.
- Strong communication and influencing skills, able to explain procurement requirements clearly and pragmatically to non‑specialists.
