Strategic Procurement Manager

Norwich Living Wage City Action Group; Norwich; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Norwich City Council is seeking a Senior Procurement Professional to lead and manage its centralised procurement team, delivering value for money, supporting services, and providing strategic and operational oversight across all procurement activity.

You will develop and oversee key corporate procurement documents, manage change initiatives, ensure compliance with procurement legislation, and guide stakeholders with professional procurement advice.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of procurement leadership and service delivery.
• Experience in managing in a procurement or financial team.
• Strong knowledge of procurement, contracts and legal services.
• Experience in working in a political organisation with elected members.
• Knowledge of performance management and change management.
• Understanding of business relationship management and negotiation.
• Experience in developing and delivering strategic plans.
• Knowledge of procurement legislation and practice.
• Budgeting and financial management experience.
• Experience in staff development and managing change initiatives.
• Experience of supporting or managing change initiatives and programmes.
• Knowledge of processes for legal agreements in procurement practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the provision of high‑quality, professional corporate procurement service across all areas of the council.
• Provide strategic and operational oversight to the council's procurement function.
• Develop and oversee key corporate procurement documents: Procurement Strategy, Contract Procedure Rules, Contract Management Framework.
• Lead on change initiatives within the Council, managing procurement workstreams and projects.
• Maintain an up‑to‑date knowledge of procurement law and liaise with peers and knowledge groups.
• Ensure training for contract managers and commissioners on procurement procedures and the legal environment.
• Plan team work with Procurement Business Partners and escalate risks to senior management.
• Line‑manage staff and ensure an effective, lawful procurement service.
• Promote best practice and share expertise across the authority.
• Manage relationships with legal providers and monitor SLAs and budgets.
• Collaborate with HR, finance, audit and other services to build trusted relationships.
• Improve communication and business efficiency across the organisation.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Contract management

Budgeting

Stakeholder management

Strategic procurement

Team management

Negotiation

Legal understanding

Change management

Performance management

Business relationship management

Education

Degree level or equivalent

CIPS Level 5 or above

Job description

The most Senior Procurement Professional in the Council, leading and managing the centralised procurement Team.

Delivering Value for Money across the Council, supporting Services in all procurement activity,

To lead and manage the provision of high-quality, professional and customer focused corporate procurement service across all areas of the council. Providing both strategic and operational oversight.

To fully understand the business and its customers. Act as a key point of contact for stakeholders taking ownership for all corporate procurement matters to be able to provide appropriate support, insight and challenge, alongside a comprehensive professional procurement advisory service.

To ensure that all procurement activities are carried out consistently across the council in support of fulfilling the legislative duties and Contract Procedure Rules requirements. Including supporting the delivery of:

• Procurement Strategy
• Contract Management Framework
• Any other key corporate strategies and plans

Actively participate and lead on procurement matters in both departmental management teams and project teams, ensuring that all procurement matters are addressed satisfactorily and actions agreed to address any issues. Managing the provision of high-quality, professional and customer focused procurement support to executive and senior leadership teams and service managers.

To manage the Senior Procurement Business Partners and Business Partners.

Key service-related accountabilities

• To lead and manage the provision of high-quality, professional and customer focused corporate procurement service across all areas of the council.
• Providing both strategic and operational oversight to the council.
• Responsible for writing and providing overside of delivery of key corporate procurement documents
  • Procurement Strategy,
  • Contract Procedure Rules
  • Contract Management Framework
• To provide support to major change initiatives within the Council, leading procurement workstreams or required elements of projects and programmes and taking an active role in the management of change within the organisation
• To maintain an effective working knowledge of the legal framework for procurement, liaising with peers and knowledge groups and representing the Council where required
• Responsible for dissemination of information to officers to ensure the councils compliance to relevant legislation such as procurement and transparency regulations
• Ensure that there is adequate training for contract managers and commissioners within services on procurement procedures and practices, including changes in the legal environment
• Lead on the planning of work within the team in consultation with the Procurement Business Partners, ensuring potential risks to delivery are escalated to the Director of Finance and / or Executive Director of Resources
• Line-manage assigned staff, providing regular supervision, appraisal, and personal development planning plus ensure Procurement Business Partners, are performing effectively and delivering an effective and lawful procurement service to the Council
• Ensure that there are clear, efficient and lawful procedures for procurement activity across the council
• Support a culture of continuous improvement within the procurement team, promoting the use of best practice in procurement to support delivery of the procurement and contract management strategy. Communicating this best practice across the authority.
• To manage the relationship with legal providers and monitor performance against service level agreements and targets, negotiating on improving performance where necessary
• To manage the council’s insurance arrangements
  • Ensuring that adequate insurance is in place in respect of the Council’s risks, escalating to senior management terms which leave the council exposed
  • Ensuring claims are being managed and settled and reporting trends and risk to senior management
• Liaise with managers and service users to identify new or amended requirements within the partnership and delegation agreements (or similar) and service level agreements
• To manage the legal, insurance and procurement budgets
• Measure and monitor satisfaction from the council with services provided by legal and insurance
• Liaise with other internal and external services or partner organisations (e.g. HR, finance, audit) as required, to build effective and trusted relationships.
• Work with other council managers to improve communication, business protocol and business efficiency throughout the organisation and to share specialist knowledge as appropriate.

Knowledge and experience

Essential

• A successful track record of working with contractors and/or partner organisations and ensuring continuous improvement in service delivery
• Experience of managing in a procurement or financial team
• A excellent working knowledge of managing business relationships, procurement and legal services
• Understanding of working in a political organisation and working with senior officers and elected members
• Wide ranging and in-depth knowledge of performance management and obtaining improvements
• A detailed understanding of business relationship management and how to build relationships that will deliver excellent service
• In depth knowledge of negotiation techniques
• A sound knowledge of project management
• Experience of developing and delivering strategic plans
• Knowledge of procurement legislation and practice
• Budgeting
• Experience in staff development and managing change
• Experience of supporting or managing change initatives and programmes
• Knowledge of processes for completion of legal agreements in accordance with proper procurement practices

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Excellent financial and performance management skills
• High levels of creativity in problem solving, idea generation and seeking out and disseminating successful practice, in order to effectively deal with diverse, complex and highly sensitive situations and resolve disputes and reach agreements.
• Clear and effective decision maker in a challenging and complex environment
• Logical and enquiring approach
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to establish positive relationships with staff, senior managers, elected members, staff from other organisations and external bodies that generate confidence, respect and trust
• Highly developed influencing, networking, advocacy, oral, written, negotiation and presentation skills
• Persuasive and assertive
• Ability to apply and adapt to different management techniques
• Ability to lead and manage members of staff and constructively contribute to team working at all levels. Demonstrate the ability to work with others to reach a common goal.
• Initiative and ability to plan and organise time and resources to ensure that deadlines and agreed targets are met with the minimum of supervision.
• Ability to provide professional leadership to colleagues.
• Ability to deliver impartial and independent professional advice.
• Ability to maintain high levels of performance under changing conditions, tasks, responsibilities or people

Essential

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience to that level.
• Procurement qualification to level CIPS 5 (or above), or equivalent experience.
• Commitment to continuous development.

Interviews are planned for Wednesday and Thursday the 21st and 22nd of October.