Procurement Specialist in Highland, Inverness

Venesky-Brown’s client, a public sector organisation in Inverness (remote working), is currently looking to recruit a Procurement Specialist for an initial 9 month contract on a rate of £500/day (Inside IR35).

Responsibilities:

• You will act as the key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders on all procurement activities associated with your Category area of focus but will include other functional areas as required.
• You will work closely with the Procurement Team to ensure that lessons learned are embedded in the development of procurement and contract processes.
• The post holder will be expected to operate confidently in a developing procurement environment, exercising professional judgement, prioritising workload effectively, and constructively challenging stakeholders where required to ensure compliance and value for money.
• You will conduct a proactive Category Management approach to our ongoing spend commitments within your allocated categories by working closely with colleagues to utilise economies of scale and buying power in the aggregation of demand for common goods and services across all airports and corporate functions.
• You will provide expertise within the Procurement Team to support a more strategic approach to buying on the basis of risk and cost.
• You will support the capital project programme planning and annual revenue budget planning processes.
• A key aspect of the role will be supporting stakeholders with varying levels of procurement knowledge and experience.
• You will expertly co-ordinate, lead and execute end-to-end procurement activity from early engagement and strategy development, through tender preparation, publication and evaluation, to contract award and post-award support.
• You will advise stakeholders on appropriate procurement routes, governance and compliance requirements, and manage procurement exercises in line with Procurement Policy and relevant legislation.
• You will identify strategic sourcing opportunities and support the development and implementation of suitable and compliant corporate agreements.
• You will evaluate and implement cost/resource saving initiatives and define and lead development projects within the Procurement function.
• Provide specialist procurement support for capital works projects, including advising on appropriate contract terms and contract models, ensuring adherence to these and compliance with public procurement legislation.
• You will consider the application of sustainability aims as an intrinsic element of each procurement project.
• You will encourage project teams to engage early with Procurement and consider ‘circular economy’ approaches in the planning stages of procurement projects.
• You will work closely with legal advisors to prepare, review and comment on draft contracts for inclusion in tender packs and support the negotiation of terms with suppliers.
• Support contract management processes for a variety of contracts ensuring that all contractual obligations, risk allocations, and early warnings are managed effectively.
• You will work with internal stakeholders to achieve strategic objectives and ensure adherence to procurement policies.
• You will review tender specifications and requirements against a range of areas including fair work practices, carbon monitoring and reduction, delivery of community benefits, data protection and cyber security.
• You will support the process to review and update the procurement strategy and policies.
• You will support and contribute to the roll-out of training, engagement and knowledge development for procurement and operational staff on procurement processes and policies.
• Ensure procurement strategies for infrastructure projects incorporate risk mitigation measures.
• You will contribute to infrastructure governance and compliance processes.
• You will utilise a range of internal and external tools and systems during the procurement cycle.
• You will contribute to the development, implementation and maintenance of digital procurement tools.
• You will contribute to the ongoing review of corporate procurement risks and be responsible for mitigation actions.
• You will contribute to the development and update of procurement templates.
• You will analyse expenditure data on commodity demand across the business for common items and procurement spend.
• You will be a role model for highest standards of independence and objectivity during all procurement activities.
• You will monitor economic, social and governance matters, and be alert to ethical issues in the supply chain.

Essential Skills:

• Strong working knowledge of public sector procurement and Procurement Regulations.
• Working knowledge of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and The Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.
• Demonstrable experience in a professional Procurement role.
• Member of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS) qualification or working towards it.
• Demonstrates a good understanding of procurement and sustainability best practice relevant to the role.
• Demonstrates experience in developing robust commodity strategies.
• Working experience of data analysis, including financial data and reports.
• Able to identify and respond appropriately to emerging business risks and complex procurement issues.
• Understands, carries out and implements risk assessments and control measures.
• Understand basic project management principles.
• Coaches and supports colleagues and team members.
• Strong working knowledge of MS Office systems.

Desirable Skills:

• Degree qualification or equivalent experience in the fields of business, management or a related discipline.
• Working knowledge and understanding of basic contract law.
• Experience of procurement within a multi-site organisation.
• Demonstrable experience with NEC contracts.
• Ability to manage procurement exercises involving NEC contracts.

If you would like to hear more about this opportunity please get in touch.