Procurement Specialist

ELECTORAL COMMISSION; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization is seeking a Procurement Specialist to lead end-to-end tendering activities ensuring compliance and value for money. This role involves advising stakeholders, managing procurement exercises, and promoting procurement capability. Candidates should have strong organizational and analytical skills, with public sector experience being desirable. The position offers a hybrid working model with outstanding benefits, including a Civil Service Pension Scheme and flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Flexible working

28+ days holiday

Ongoing learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience managing end-to-end tenders, preferably in the public sector.
• Knowledge of procurement law and compliance requirements.
• Strong analytical and project management skills.
• Ability to engage and influence stakeholders effectively.

Responsibilities

• Manage competitive procurement exercises from requirement development to contract award.
• Develop tender documentation and evaluation frameworks.
• Conduct market analysis and advise on optimal routes to market.
• Support risk management and maintain robust audit trails.
• Promote procurement capability by training colleagues.

Skills

Organisational skills

Analytical skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

MCIPS (or equivalent)

Tools

E-tendering platforms

Procurement tools

Job description

Basis

Permanent, full time, 36 hours per week

Location

London, Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh (Hybrid – minimum 2 days in office) or Remote (UK)

Benefits

Outstanding benefits including Civil Service Pension Scheme, flexible working, 28+ days holiday, and more.

About the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the UK’s independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process.

About the role

As a Procurement Specialist, you will lead end-to-end tendering activities that ensure compliance, transparency and value for money. You will advise stakeholders on commercial best practice and apply public-sector procurement regulations to secure contracts that support the Commission’s strategic objectives.

Day-to-day, you will

• Manage competitive procurement exercises from requirement development to contract award.
• Develop tender documentation, evaluation frameworks and market engagement materials.
• Conduct market analysis and advise on optimal routes to market.
• Support risk management and maintain robust audit trails.
• Promote procurement capability by training colleagues and improving processes.

This role is pivotal in ensuring our procurement activity delivers fair, transparent and value-driven outcomes.

About the team

You will join our Finance and Corporate Services Directorate, working closely with colleagues across all areas of the Commission. Our team is collaborative, supportive and committed to continuous improvement. We value knowledge sharing and innovation, and we are passionate about delivering procurement excellence that underpins our democratic mission.

Who we’re looking for

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and sectors. If you have strong organisational skills, a keen eye for detail and a passion for delivering value, this role could be for you.

If you do not meet every requirement but believe you have the skills and potential to succeed, we encourage you to apply.

Essential skills and experience include

• Experience managing end-to-end tenders (public sector experience desirable)
• Knowledge of procurement law and compliance requirements.
• Strong analytical and project management skills.
• Ability to engage and influence stakeholders effectively.

Desirable

• Working towards or holding MCIPS (or equivalent).
• Familiarity with e-tendering platforms and procurement tools.

Why work for us

We offer a strong total reward package, including:

• Flexible working and hybrid model (40% office minimum)
• 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution)
• Study support for professional qualifications
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Ride2Work, eye care vouchers and more

How to apply

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To help reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process.

When applying, please provide an anonymised CV which omits your protected characteristics and any personally identifiable information:

Do not include

• Your name, address, phone number, email or other contact details
• Your date of birth or age
• Gender, ethnicity, nationality or other personal identifiers
• A photo of yourself
• Educational dates (as these indicate age)
• Primary education details

Do include

• Your employment history including employers and dates of employment
• Explanation for gaps in your history
• Your duties, responsibilities and achievements

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of this commitment, we aim to prioritise interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

There may, however, be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. For example, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or seasonal recruitment activity, the Commission may need to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants.

If you have a disability and would like to be considered under this commitment, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process or within the workplace.

Key dates

• Application deadline: 19th Jan 2026 (23:59)
• Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 2nd Feb 2026
• Interviews (2nd stage): TBC
• Anticipated start date: April 2026 (TBC)

Applicants applying for a London-based role should expect to attend interviews in person. For applicants in devolved nations, interviews may be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams.