Category Specialist

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth; Greater London; On-site; GBP 44,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

40 days annual leave

Flexible working

Generous pension plan

Job summary

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth is seeking a Category Specialist to lead procurement activities across divisions, ensuring value for money and compliance with public sector standards.

The role covers end-to-end procurement lifecycle, developing tender documents, evaluating bids, and building Excel-based evaluation models while maintaining strong stakeholder relationships. Hybrid work includes 1 day in the office.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience of UK Procurement Law in practice and current best practice for the public sector.
• Ability to write formal reports and present findings clearly.
• Experience managing workloads and meeting changing deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide procurement expertise across the lifecycle, including commissioning and tendering.
• Develop compliant tender and quotes documents in line with policy and regulations.
• Support Excel-based evaluation models for procurement exercises and evaluations.
• Ensure compliance with Contract Standing Orders and external regulations.

Skills

UK procurement law

Literacy & Numeracy

Workload management

Education

CIPS Diploma

Job description

Job Title- Category Specialist

Salary Range-SSAPO3 – PO4 £43,545 to £55,992

Permanent,Full Time

Location-Wandsworth

Other Essential Information- Hybrid working including 1 day a week in the office.

Objective of role

To provide procurement expertise at all levels and at all stages of the procurement lifecycle including commissioning, appropriate routes to market and tendering.

About the role

Provide effective procurement support for the divisions and functions within Residents Services and other commissioning teams as required.

Provide specialist support to ensure procurement exercises comply with internal and external Contract Standing Orders and Regulations.

Develop tender and quotes documents which are compliant with policy and regulatory requirements whilst taking account of emerging best and innovated commissioning and procurement approaches.

Support the development of Excel based evaluation models appropriate to each procurement exercise as necessary.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge and experience of UK Procurement Law in practice, the current best practice procurement as it relates to the public sector . understanding IT systems and current procurement advances, i.e. e-Procurement, marketplaces etc.

Literacy and Numeracy Skills-Able to display a good level of numeracy and literacy with strong attention to detail and be able to write formal reports, presentations and other documents in a clear and concise manner

Workload Management- Significant experience of successfully managing own workload and that of others in an environment where deadlines and priorities frequently change and are often conflicting.

Qualifications-Diploma Member of CIPS or currently studying towards Diploma Member status or relevant procurement experience within the public sector.

Closing Date: 2nd September 2026

Shortlisting Date: W/C 7th September 2026

Interview Date: W/C 14th September 2026

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments

throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.

• 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays)
• flexible working
• a generous pension plan.