Procurement Officer

First Choice Homes Oldham; Oldham; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Private health insurance

Employee Assistance Programme

Pension scheme

Job summary

First Choice Homes Oldham is seeking a Procurement Officer to join our Procurement team and help deliver compliant, value-for-money procurement services across the organisation.

You will work closely with the Head of Procurement and Insurance and Procurement Manager, managing lower-value projects and supporting more complex exercises while ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and internal policies.

Qualifications

• Experience in procurement or contract management.
• Awareness of procurement processes and legislation.
• Ability to work with internal stakeholders and suppliers.
• Commitment to continuous professional development.

Responsibilities

• Lead lower-value, lower-risk procurement projects from sourcing to contract award.
• Support higher-value procurement exercises with the Procurement Manager.
• Ensure compliance with Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Procurement Act 2023.
• Prepare tender packs, evaluation reports and governance documentation.
• Maintain procurement records and supplier performance data.
• Provide procurement advice to colleagues and promote compliant practices.

Skills

Procurement

Contract management

Stakeholder management

Market research

E-tendering

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

MS Office / SharePoint

Education

A-Level qualifications

CIPS studies towards

Tools

Microsoft Excel

SharePoint

Tendering platforms (e-tendering)

Job description

First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) has an exciting opportunity for a Procurement Officer to join our Procurement team and help us deliver high-quality, compliant and value-for-money procurement services that support colleagues across the organisation.

This is an exciting time to join FCHO's procurement team. Procurement is playing an increasingly important role across the organisation, with a new strategy focused on strengthening commercial capability and strategic decision-making. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to that journey and be a part of shaping the future of procurement at FCHO.

Working closely with the Head of Procurement and Insurance and Procurement Manager, you'll manage a portfolio of lower-value, lower-risk procurement projects whilst supporting more complex procurement exercises. You'll help ensure procurement activity is compliant with legislation, delivers value for money and contributes to achieving the best outcomes for our customers and communities.

You'll work collaboratively with colleagues across FCHO, providing professional procurement advice, supporting contract management and helping to embed commercial awareness and best practice throughout the organisation.

Please see the full Job Description attached at the bottom of this page.

The impact you'll make

You'll play an important role in ensuring FCHO procures goods, services and works efficiently, transparently and compliantly, helping us achieve better value for money while supporting excellent services for our customers.

You will:

• Lead lower-value, lower-risk and less complex procurement projects from sourcing through to contract award.
• Support the Procurement Manager on higher-value, higher-risk and more complex procurement exercises.
• Ensure procurement activity complies with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, organisational policies and governance requirements.
• Prepare procurement documentation, tender packs, evaluation reports, award recommendations and governance documentation.
• Maintain accurate procurement records including the contract register, procurement pipeline, savings tracker and procurement systems.
• Support contract and supplier management activities, helping monitor supplier performance, service delivery and value for money.
• Provide procurement advice and guidance to colleagues, promoting compliant procurement practices across the organisation.
• Carry out market research, benchmarking and supplier analysis to identify procurement opportunities and support continuous improvement.
• Develop knowledge of supplier markets, procurement legislation and best practice, sharing insights with colleagues.
• Produce accurate procurement reporting, management information and data to support governance and audit requirements.
• Use procurement systems and e-tendering platforms to support compliant procurement activity.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of procurement processes, systems and service delivery across FCHO.
• Build positive working relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
• Support wider organisational objectives through professional, customer-focused procurement services.

You'll be a proactive procurement professional with excellent organisational skills and a passion for delivering value for money through compliant and effective procurement.

You'll enjoy building relationships, managing competing priorities and supporting colleagues to achieve successful procurement outcomes.

You have:

• Experience of procurement or contract management activities.
• Experience supporting or delivering procurement exercises and tender processes.
• Awareness of procurement processes, legislation and best practice.
• A general understanding of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023.
• Experience working with and influencing internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
• Experience maintaining accurate records, documentation and/or management information.
• Good commercial awareness and analytical skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities.
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office, Excel and Sharepoint.
• The ability to work independently whilst recognising when support or escalation is required.
• A commitment to continuous professional development.

It would also be great if you have:

• Experience working within housing, local government or another public sector organisation.
• Experience using e-tendering or procurement systems.
• Knowledge of contract and supplier management principles.
• An understanding of value for money and procurement governance requirements.
• Experience monitoring supplier or contract performance.
• Experience supporting procurement improvement or value for money initiatives.
• Knowledge of framework agreements and collaborative procurement.
• Knowledge of social value and sustainable procurement.
• Experience applying public procurement legislation in practice.
• Awareness of market analysis and benchmarking techniques.
• CIPS Level 3 Advanced Certificate.

Qualifications and requirements

You'll need:

• Educated to A-Level standard (or equivalent).
• A willingness to study towards CIPS professional qualifications.
• A commitment to maintaining knowledge of procurement legislation, market developments and best practice.
• A commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and FCHO's organisational values.

Why Join FCHO?

First Choice Homes Oldham is a housing association providing safe, affordable and high-quality homes across Oldham and the surrounding areas. We own and manage over 11,500 homes and have the highest regulatory (G1/V1) governance rating.

Every day we're proud to make a real difference in our communities.

Our work is guided by our Corporate Plan, focused on providing quality homes, excellent services and thriving communities. We care deeply about our customers, colleagues and neighbourhoods and are committed to improving lives across Oldham.

What's in it for you?

We offer a fantastic range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance and career development, including:

• 30 days' annual leave plus 8 bank holidays.
• Option to purchase additional annual leave.
• Defined contribution pension scheme with up to 10% employer contribution and salary exchange option.
• Healthcare cash plan covering dental, optical and physiotherapy treatments.
• Private health insurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme offering 24-hour confidential support.
• Doctorline, giving you and your family 24/7 GP access.
• Access to our colleague benefits platform, including retail discounts and wellbeing tools.
• Discounted gym membership.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay.
• Long service awards.

Interested?

If you're looking to develop your procurement career within a forward-thinking housing association and want to help deliver compliant, value-for-money procurement that makes a real difference to our customers and communities, we'd love to hear from you.

Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

We are committed to building an organisation that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. As an equal opportunities employer, FCHO is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective colleagues and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us.

We care that you have a great experience with us at FCHO. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments to make your experience smoother, please let us know and we'll do all we can.