Commissioning and Contracts Officer

Birmingham City Council; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Local Government Pension Scheme

Annual leave entitlement

Well-being initiatives

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Birmingham City Council is seeking a Category and Strategic Relationships Lead to provide strategic leadership across category management and supplier engagement. You will lead a high-performing team, partner with directorates, and develop evidence-based strategies that maximise value for money and social outcomes.

In this senior role you will drive complex procurement, negotiations, and governance-compliant activities while using data and market intelligence to continuously improve procurement

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading category management, strategic sourcing or commercial procurement in a regulated environment.
• Strong knowledge of category management methodologies, procurement governance and legislation.
• Experience developing evidence-based sourcing strategies using spend data and market intelligence.
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation skills with senior partners.
• Strong analytical capability, interpreting complex commercial information for decisions and benefits.
• Proven experience coaching and developing high-performing teams.
• A Level 6 CIPS Diploma or equivalent professional expertise.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing category management team with a collaborative culture.
• Act as the strategic commercial partner for Directorate-levels across the Council.
• Develop evidence-based category strategies aligned to priorities and market opportunities.
• Lead market engagement, supplier relationship management and strategic sourcing activities.
• Use spend data and supplier performance to identify opportunities and manage risks.
• Lead complex procurement, including negotiations and governance-compliant engagements.
• Drive continuous improvement through technology, insights and modern procurement practices.

Skills

Category management

Strategic sourcing

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Leadership

Data analysis

Governance

Coaching

Education

A Level 6 CIPS Diploma (or equivalent)

Job description

As the Category and Strategic Relationships Lead, you'll provide strategic leadership across category management by:

• Leading and developing a high-performing category management team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.


• Acting as the strategic commercial partner for a portfolio of Council directorates, providing expert advice across the full procurement lifecycle.


• Developing and delivering evidence-based category strategies that respond to organisational priorities, market intelligence and emerging commercial opportunities.


• Leading market engagement, supplier relationship management and strategic sourcing activities to improve competition, innovation and long-term value.


• Using commercial, supplier and spend data to identify opportunities, manage risks and measure financial, social value and sustainability outcomes.


• Leading complex procurement activity, including negotiations, structured dialogue and supplier engagement, ensuring compliance with governance and legislative requirements.


• Driving continuous improvement through the use of technology, performance insight and modern procurement practices to enhance commercial outcomes.

Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.

Lead strategic category management that delivers lasting value for Birmingham Are you an experienced procurement leader with expertise in category management, commercial strategy and stakeholder engagement? Birmingham City Council is looking for a Category and Strategic Relationships Lead to join our newly established Commercial and Procurement Services. This is a unique opportunity to lead the development of evidence-based category strategies that maximise value for money, strengthen supplier relationships and support the Council's strategic priorities. Working closely with senior leaders across the organisation, you'll act as a trusted commercial partner, helping directorates deliver better outcomes through innovative, ethical and commercially focused procurement., We're looking for an experienced commercial leader who combines strategic thinking with exceptional stakeholder management and leadership skills. You'll bring:

• Significant experience leading category management, strategic sourcing or commercial procurement within a regulated procurement environment.


• Strong knowledge of category management methodologies, procurement legislation and governance, with experience delivering value for money through strategic procurement.


• Experience developing evidence-based sourcing strategies using spend analysis, market intelligence and supplier performance data.


• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across senior leadership teams and external partners.


• Strong analytical capability, interpreting complex commercial information to inform strategic decision-making and benefits realisation.


• Proven experience leading, coaching and developing high-performing teams to deliver organisational objectives.


• A Level 6 CIPS Diploma (or equivalent professional expertise), or a commitment to work towards the qualification.

Working for Birmingham City Council is more than just a job; it's about making life better for the 1 million plus people who live and work in the city., The Council is a fantastic place to work. You will find an organisation that is both challenging and supportive; with a leadership impatiently adventurous in its pursuit of excellence.

There is a clear vision which is ensuring that the Council is working for communities today and building for tomorrow, we focus our resources on five key priorities:

• A Prosperous Birmingham: through a focus on inclusive economic growth, tackling unemployment, attracting inward investment, and maximising the benefits of the Commonwealth Games.


• An Inclusive Birmingham: through a focus on tackling poverty and inequality, empowering citizens, promoting diversity and civic pride, and supporting and enabling all children and young people to thrive.


• A Safe Birmingham: through a focus on making the city safer, safeguarding vulnerable citizens, increasing affordable housing, and tackling homelessness.


• A Healthy Birmingham: through a focus on tackling health inequalities, encouraging physical activity and healthy living, supporting mental health, and improving outcomes for adults with disabilities and older people.


• A Green Birmingham: through a focus on street cleanliness, improving air quality, continuing the route to net zero, and becoming a city of nature.

We see the Council's role as providing strategic leadership - that's being able to visualise a new future for the city and equipping others to share our vision. We want to ensure the provision of services for all, so we can support those least able to support themselves by working with partners and putting citizens and neighbourhoods at the heart of our decision-making. We are always looking for people who put the customer at the centre of their approach, with a commitment to excellence to help us achieve our vision. We will support you to develop and thrive in your role, building a pathway for long-term success, with lots of development opportunities, such as apprenticeships.

At Birmingham City Council, you'll play a leading role in transforming how procurement supports one of Europe's largest local authorities. In return, we offer:

• The opportunity to shape strategic category management across a diverse portfolio of services with significant commercial impact.


• A senior leadership role within an ambitious Commercial and Procurement Service committed to innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.


• Opportunities to further develop your leadership, commercial and strategic procurement expertise through ongoing professional development.


• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities where service needs allow.


• A competitive Local Government Pension Scheme and generous annual leave entitlement.


• Access to a wide range of employee wellbeing initiatives and staff benefits.


• A rewarding career where your leadership will help deliver better value, stronger supplier partnerships and improved public services for the people of Birmingham.

In return, we offer you excellent terms and conditions, generous annual leave, a great pension scheme, well-being support, annual travel passes and discounts at a number of city centre establishments.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities we serve. Our data tells us that for this level of role, ethnic minorities are underrepresented and therefore we will use positive action to support us to achieve diverse shortlists. This may mean that recruitment times are a little longer, but we think this is worth it to achieve our aim. Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people. We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.