Senior Buyer

NHS; Bristol; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

An excellent opportunity at NHS Blood & Transplant for a procurement professional to manage contracts and ensure compliance with regulations. Join a dedicated team and develop your career in a state-of-the-art facility in Bristol.

Qualifications

• Willingness to study for MCIPS or equivalent qualification.
• Experience in formal contracting processes.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate and manage business-critical commercial contracts.
• Ensure compliance with Public Contract Regulations and NHSBT Standing Orders.

Skills

Teamwork

Analytical Skills

Education

GCSE standard including Mathematics and English

MCIPS or equivalent qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

An excellent development opportunity has arisen within the Sourcing and Procurement Team at NHS Blood & Transplant to build on your skills working on contracts in a range of categories and sub-categories initially in the Corporate Services sub-team. This role provides you with an excellent opportunity to develop your procurement career whilst working in a professional procurement team. This role is based at our Blood Centre in Filton, Bristol. This is a purpose-built, state-of-the-art building which is the largest blood manufacturing centre in the world. You will undertake an extensive induction and training programme and receive ongoing development to support you in your role and achieving your career ambitions.

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will be part of a dedicated team of procurement professionals responsible for negotiating and managing a variety of business-critical commercial contracts and framework agreements for the provision of goods and services to NHSBT. Working with the Senior Commercial Managers, suppliers, and internal directorate customers, you will manage the contracting process end-to-end to ensure all parties' needs are met. You will assist the National Contracts Managers and National Procurement Manager in delivering contracts that are robust, legally binding, cost-efficient, and effective. Ensuring NHSBT demonstrates value for money through audits and achieves savings targets is also key. You will carry out supplier management to ensure delivery of expected benefits and monitor supplier performance, fostering supplier development where relevant. Additionally, you will ensure compliance with Public Contract Regulations, The Procurement Act 2023, NHSBT Standing Orders, and Financial Instructions.

About us

It takes all types of people to deliver the service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you'll join over 6,000 people making a difference across the UK. We play a vital role in the NHS by facilitating blood, organ, tissue, and stem cell donations. Our core values—Caring, Expert, and Quality—guide us in delivering exceptional service and in creating an inclusive workplace that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Job responsibilities

Please view the attached recruitment profile, which summarizes the detailed Job Description and Person Specification outlining the personal attributes required for this role. You will need to demonstrate these attributes throughout the recruitment process.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE standard, including Mathematics and English Language, or equivalent experience.
• Willingness to study for MCIPS or an equivalent qualification.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development (CPD).

Experience

• Experience using Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint) in a professional setting.
• Experience working in a computerised office environment, preferably within procurement or logistics.
• Understanding of legislation related to goods and services procurement.
• Experience working effectively within a team.
• Experience in formal contracting processes.
• Ability to analyse and interpret financial data.