Commercial and Procurement Manager

Somerset County Council; Taunton; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading council in Somerset seeks a Procurement Manager responsible for managing procurement and contract compliance in the housing service. This role is pivotal in ensuring effective service delivery and value for money, with a supportive team culture and flexible working options. The ideal candidate has a relevant degree and experience in the construction sector, is a strategic thinker, and possesses excellent communication skills.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Generous annual leave allowance

Staff discounts in gyms

Employee Assistance programs

Pension scheme with enhancements

Flexible Benefits Scheme

Discounts via My Staff Shop

Qualifications

• Familiarity with procurement regulations.
• Experience with contractor performance monitoring.
• Understanding of capital improvement projects.

Responsibilities

• Managing procurement process and creating key objectives.
• Overseeing contract management and compliance audits.
• Ensuring best value from contracts.

Skills

Strategic Thinking

Strong Communication

Contract Management

Education

Degree in a construction-related field

Job description

• Full time, 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday.
• 30 of days annual leave, not including bank holidays.
• Flexible and hybrid working available.

What will I be doing?

Ever think that it might be rewarding to use your skills and influence to help look after some of the most vulnerable people in your community?

In this role, you’ll be the go-to person for managing costs in our Housing service, for both in-house teams and external contractors.

You’ll have two key areas of responsibility:

• Leading on and managing our procurement process, by creating key objectives and identifying best value contracts;
• Senior quantity surveying and commercial contract management, by monitoring compliance, auditing contracts and ensuring the value of work is met.

Simply put, you will be the person responsible for ensuring our processes are resilient, effective and getting us the best value possible.

Yes, you’ll wear a few different hats – but we think it’s the range and breadth of the work involved can make this job so interesting for the right person. It also means that there are plenty of areas you can make a positive impact in.

You’ll be the person constantly asking “how can we do this better?” and working with others to make it happen.

The impact of your work? Better homes and a better service for some of the people who need us most.

You’ll be joining a team with similar values and a supportive culture - people who join us from the private sector can often enjoy the culture shift and focus on delivering for our tenants.

There’s some flexibility around how and where you work as well, including a mix of working from home, the office and our sites.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be.

A few of the key requirements are:

• A degree in a construction-related field (or equivalent relevant work experience).
• Familiarity with procurement regulations and construction contracts.
• Experience with capital improvement projects and contractor performance monitoring.
• Strong communication and strategic thinking skills.

You’ll need to be a good all-rounder who has some level of experience in each dimension of this job, rather than somebody who excels in one specific area. It’s fine if you feel you need to develop a bit in some areas; the main thing is that you understand and have had at least some exposure to all of them.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What's in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more...

Anything else I should know?

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button - we can’t wait to hear from you.

DBS information

This role requires DBS clearance via the online disclosures procedure.

Supporting documents and information

Please read any attached documents before applying for this job