Senior Procurement Officer

North Northamptonshire Council; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

North Northamptonshire Council is seeking two experienced Senior Procurement Officers to lead strategic procurement across various services. This role involves managing high-value projects, ensuring compliance, and providing innovative solutions that align with the council's objectives, ultimately making a significant impact on public service delivery.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Pension scheme

Generous leave entitlement

Flexible working arrangements

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Degree and/or working towards MCIPS.
• Strong knowledge of procurement legislation.
• Proven experience in procurement within a complex organisation.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage end-to-end procurement projects.
• Develop procurement strategies in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Monitor supply markets and manage supplier relationships.

Skills

Negotiation

Analytical skills

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree or MCIPS

Tools

E-procurement tools

Office 365

Job description

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About the role

We are looking for two highly motivated and experienced Senior Procurement Officer to join North Northamptonshire's Procurement team. This is a key role supporting strategic procurement across a wide range of services including care, construction, transport, highways, and ICT.

You will lead on high-value procurement projects (from £100K to £10 million), ensuring compliance, value for money, and innovative procurement solutions that support the Council's strategic objectives.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage end-to-end procurement projects.
• Develop and implement procurement strategies in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Monitor supply markets and manage supplier relationships.
• Balance commercial, legal, and social priorities including local economic growth.
• Mentor and support junior procurement staff.

What We Offer

• A supportive and collaborative working environment.
• Opportunities for professional development and career progression.
• The chance to make a real difference in delivering high-quality public service

We may close the vacancy earlier than the advertised deadline if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered for the role..

What will you be doing?

The Senior Procurement Officer will help in shaping and delivering the council's procurement strategy across a diverse range of services. This individual will be responsible for managing high-value procurement projects, and will be expected to provide expert advice and support to ensure that procurement activities are efficient, compliant, and aligned with the council's broader objectives.

A key part of the role involves designing and managing procurement project plans. This includes developing tender documentation, overseeing evaluation processes, and identifying potential risks to ensure that contracts are delivered on time and within budget. The senior Procurement Officer will also be expected to research and implement innovative procurement solutions, drawing on best practices from both the public and private sectors.

Market analysis is another important aspect of the role. The Senior Procurement Officer will monitor supply markets to identify areas of over- or under-capacity and will implement supplier rationalisation strategies where necessary. They will also be responsible for developing new sources of supply to enhance competition and ensure value for money.

The role requires a careful balancing of priorities. The successful applicant will need to navigate the often competing demands of cost savings, local economic development, risk mitigation, and legal compliance. They will work closely with internal stakeholders to develop procurement strategies that reflect these priorities and deliver tangible benefits to the council and its residents.

Overall, this is a challenging and rewarding role that offers the opportunity to make a significant impact on the delivery of public services in North Northamptonshire.

The application period may end earlier than the stated deadline if the maximum number of applications is reached.

About you
We are seeking someone with:

• A degree and/or working towards MCIPS (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply).
• Strong knowledge of Procurement Legislation and contract law.
• Proven experience in procurement within a complex organisation.
• Excellent negotiation, analytical, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proficiency in e-procurement tools and Office 365.
• You must be able to travel between Council sites and occasionally work outside normal office hours.

Desirable

• Relevant IT qualifications.
• Experience in procurement category management.

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we're transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You'll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 which highlights the Council's pledge to support the Armed Forces community. The council obtained the silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now currently working towards achieving Gold status.

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)