Sourcing Lead

Birmingham City Council; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Strategic sourcing

Senior leadership

Professional development

Flexible/hybrid working

LGPS pension

Wellbeing initiatives

Public service impact

Job summary

Birmingham City Council is seeking an experienced Sourcing Lead to join our newly established Commercial and Procurement Services. You will lead a specialist sourcing team, develop innovative procurement strategies and strengthen supplier relationships to deliver value for money.

Working in a regulated environment, you will shape how the Council procures goods and services, ensuring ethical, commercially robust practice and alignment with strategic priorities.

Qualifications

• Significant experience developing procurement and sourcing strategies.
• Knowledge of procurement legislation, governance and best practice.
• Experience using market intelligence and supplier data to inform sourcing decisions.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills.
• Ability to coach and develop procurement professionals.
• Commitment to achieving value for money in a regulated environment.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing a high-performing Sourcing Team, creating a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Developing sourcing strategies that respond to organisational priorities, market opportunities and emerging commercial trends to deliver value for money.
• Building strong relationships with internal stakeholders and suppliers, providing expert commercial advice throughout the procurement lifecycle.
• Leading supplier performance management, using commercial and performance data to improve quality, manage risk and deliver measurable benefits.
• Driving the development of catalogue-based sourcing solutions and modern procurement approaches that improve efficiency and accessibility.
• Championing the effective use of procurement systems, technology and digital solutions to enhance commercial performance and service delivery.
• Ensuring all procurement activity is delivered in accordance with procurement legislation, governance requirements and robust project management principles.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Strategic sourcing

Stakeholder management

Contract management

Supplier relationship management

Data-driven decision making

Negotiation skills

Team leadership

Education

Level 6 CIPS Diploma or equivalent

Job description

Are you an experienced procurement leader with a passion for strategic sourcing, commercial innovation and delivering value for money? Birmingham City Council is looking for a Sourcing Lead to join our newly established Commercial and Procurement Services. This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a specialist sourcing team, developing innovative procurement strategies that improve efficiency, strengthen supplier relationships and maximise public value. You'll play a key role in shaping how the Council procures goods and services, ensuring procurement is ethical, commercially robust and aligned with the Council's strategic priorities.

• Leading and developing a high-performing Sourcing Team, creating a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Developing sourcing strategies that respond to organisational priorities, market opportunities and emerging commercial trends to deliver value for money.
• Building strong relationships with internal stakeholders and suppliers, providing expert commercial advice throughout the procurement lifecycle.
• Leading supplier performance management, using commercial and performance data to improve quality, manage risk and deliver measurable benefits.
• Driving the development of catalogue-based sourcing solutions and modern procurement approaches that improve efficiency and accessibility.
• Championing the effective use of procurement systems, technology and digital solutions to enhance commercial performance and service delivery.
• Ensuring all procurement activity is delivered in accordance with procurement legislation, governance requirements and robust project management principles.

We're looking for an experienced procurement leader who combines commercial expertise with excellent leadership and stakeholder management skills.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience developing procurement and sourcing strategies within a regulated procurement environment that deliver measurable commercial value.
• Strong knowledge of procurement legislation, governance and commercial best practice, with experience managing complex supply chains and contracts.
• Experience using market intelligence, supplier performance data and commercial insight to inform sourcing decisions and drive continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across senior stakeholders and supplier organisations.
• Strong analytical skills, using performance data to identify opportunities, manage risks and improve procurement outcomes.
• Experience leading, coaching and developing procurement professionals to build capability and deliver high performance.
• 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 procurement across one of Europe's largest local authorities.

In return, we offer:

• The opportunity to shape strategic sourcing and commercial delivery across a diverse and complex organisation.
• 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.

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.

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.