Sourcing Lead

Birmingham City Council; West Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Birmingham City Council is seeking a Sourcing Lead to join our newly established Commercial and Procurement Services on a permanent basis. This senior role leads strategic sourcing, shapes procurement strategies and strengthens supplier partnerships within a large local authority.

The role offers flexible and hybrid working opportunities and a commitment to professional development, with a Grade 6 salary of £54,495–£64,811 for 36.5 hours per week.

Qualifications

• Significant experience developing procurement and sourcing strategies within a regulated procurement environment.
• Strong knowledge of procurement legislation, governance and commercial best practice.
• Experience using market intelligence and supplier performance data to inform sourcing decisions.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills.
• Strong analytical skills to identify opportunities and manage risk.
• Experience leading and developing procurement professionals.
• A Level 6 CIPS Diploma or commitment to work towards qualification.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing Sourcing Team, creating a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Develop sourcing strategies that respond to organisational priorities and market opportunities to deliver value for money.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and suppliers, providing expert commercial advice.
• Lead supplier performance management using commercial and performance data to improve quality and risk management.
• Drive the development of catalogue-based sourcing solutions and modern procurement approaches.
• Champion the effective use of procurement systems, technology and digital solutions.
• Ensure procurement activity is delivered in accordance with procurement legislation and governance requirements.

Skills

Procurement strategy

Governance & legislation

Market intelligence

Stakeholder management

Negotiation skills

Analytical skills

Team leadership

CIPS Diploma

Education

A Level 6 CIPS Diploma

Tools

Procurement systems

Catalogue-based sourcing

Data analytics tools

Job description

Grade 6 - £54,495- £64,811

Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Equal Pay Programme

Working 36.5 hours per week

Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.

Lead strategic sourcing that delivers value for Birmingham

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.

Permanent

Grade 6 - £54,495- £64,811

Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Equal Pay Programme

Working 36.5 hours per week

Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.

Lead strategic sourcing that delivers value for Birmingham

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.

About The Role

As a Sourcing Lead, you'll provide strategic leadership across sourcing and procurement by:

• 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.

About You

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.

Why Join Us?

Role

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. This may mean that recruitment times are a little longer, but we think this is worth it to achieve our aim.

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.

For any informal enquires please contact: [e-mail]

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.