Jobs at EA in United Kingdom

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE:

Category Officer

REPORTS TO:

Category Manager, Procurement

RESPONSIBLE FOR: The management and delivery of compliant procurement competitions and supervision of staff involved in Procurement activities.

This job description is intended to provide an outline of the level of duties that the post holder will be expected to undertake across a number of procurement categories in the Operations and Estates Directorate.

Although the post holder may be assigned to a specific procurement category on appointment in view of the nature of work the post holder may be required to undertake duties and or work in other procurement categories to cover peak periods of work or vacancies.

This job description will be subject to review in light of the changing nature of EA Commercial Procurement Services. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

JOB PURPOSE

• To assist the Category Manager in the provision of best practice procurement and contract management services within a category area or manage a specialist area of work within Procurement Services;
• To manage the end to end procurement process to deliver value for money solutions for EA clients
• To organise and manage a team of category assistants providing a best practice procurement and contract management service within a category area or manage a specialist area of work within Procurement Services;
• The post holder will have supervisory responsibilities for staff organised in groups or teams as necessary and will be responsible for the day to day management of functional activities within a category area.
• Specific knowledge of the category area will be required to provide advice and guidance to line managers and school leaders and customers;
• The post holder will be required to exercise judgement or discretion within a framework of rule, practice and precedent and will be required to identify and select the most appropriate course of action from a range of options.
• Undertaking research and investigation, analysis of results and devising recommendations. The post will involve review of existing practices and identification of new solutions to operational problems including analytics of data.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Main Activity Areas:

• Strategic Procurement
• Contract Management
• Supervision of Staff

Provide advice and guidance to clients on procurement and procurement related matters;

Develop commercial tender and contract documentation in line with public procurement policy and best practice;

Implement and manage procurements to deliver Value for Money solutions within the public procurement policy, legal and accountability frameworks;

To develop appropriate sourcing, pricing and assessment strategies in specific category areas.

To develop and implement the most efficient and effective Procure to Pay system for each contract;

Develop procurement strategies which integrate policies in response of sustainability and continuous improvement;

To be responsible for the delivery of procurement services in a specific category to include, tender initiation, evaluation, award and contract management;

To be responsible for the daily management of tender processes ensuring critical deadlines are met and customers obtain works and services on time

Implement and carry out compliance checks on EA Procurement Service Quality Management System and ensure compliance for a particular procurement category.

Verify compliance and completeness checks carried out by Category Assistants;

Interpret and summarise all tender offers received from eTendersNI and produce a comparison of submitted tenders;

Interpret, clarify, assess and make recommendations on, any issues arising out of tenders and ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of any resulting contract;

Prepare reports for the EA’s F&GP meetings regarding the award of contracts;

Prepare letters of award, intention to award and regret letters and quality assure letters prepared by Category Assistants;

Participate in and contribute to continuously improve performance and design new solutions;

Be responsible for, manage the design and production of, contract documents schedules for customers giving complete information on all contract terms and conditions.

Contribute to the Business Plan setting, reviewing, and/or identifying performance measures and targets for the effective and efficient delivery of service.

Collation, analysis and interpretation of spend information from numerous sources in order to identify efficiencies, procurement and contract improvements.

Contract Management

Give advice to customers and other end users relating to contract terms and conditions;

Lead, conduct and participate in contract review meetings with EA Contractors/Suppliers

Resolve disputes that may arise between customers, contractors and EA in relation to the provision of works, supplies and services;

Ensure supplier performance is proactively monitored, contract Management Information is analysed and relevant MI reports on contractor performance and analytics is documented;

Working with clients to drive quality and service improvements at supplier and category levels;

Ensure that all complaints are dealt with promptly and effectively to resolution.

Supervision of Staff

To manage, motivate and develop a team of Category Assistants;

To liaise closely with Category Manager and agree work priorities for the relevant Category Assistants that meet current demands and pressures in the category;

To plan and allocate duties to Category Assistants and ensure that the tasks delegated are carried out efficiently;

To contribute to the development of a positive team ethos and the welfare of staff;

To review the performance of Category Assistants and identify any development or training needs required and to ensure that personal and professional development of Category Assistants is proactively managed.

General

Carry out such training as necessary for all users of the service to ensure effectiveness;

Prepare correspondence, agenda items and take and compile minutes from meetings

Provide statistical data to permit the completion of statistical returns to Government Departments;

The post holder will be required to carry out the duties of any other officer when they are absent or as directed by the Category Manager;

Assist in the review and formulation of policies and procedures and make recommendations as to how the procurement service may be improved or made more effective

Dealing with telephone and email queries and engaging in follow up action where appropriate

Any other duties which may be commensurate to the grade.

Other Responsibilities

Comply with the Authority’s policy on Data Protection (in particular processing sensitive tender information)

Proactively contribute to a culture of excellence within EA procurement service to ensure retention of Centre of Procurement Expertise status.

Undertake other related duties within the grade and competence of the post-holder as required.

The post holder may also be required to work outside normal office hours on occasions.

This job description will be subject to review in light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

In accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), the post-holder is expected to promote good relations, equality of opportunity and pay due regard for equality legislation at all times.

To view the summary of terms and conditions for this post click here .

PERSON SPECIFICATION

NOTES TO JOB APPLICANTS

1. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how, and to what extent you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria, where relevant.

2. You must demonstrate how you meet the criteria by the closing date for applications, unless the criteria state otherwise.

3. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is outlined in the table below.

4. Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form.

5. Please note that the Selection Panel reserves the right to shortlist only those applicants that it believes most strongly meet the criteria for the role.

6. In the event of an excessive number of applications, the Selection Panel also reserves the right to apply any desirable criteria as outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting, in which case these will be applied in the order listed. It is important therefore that you also clearly demonstrate on your application form on how you meet any desirable criteria.

Section 1 - Essential Criteria

The following are essential criteria which will initially be measured at the shortlisting stage and whichmay also be further explored during the interview/selection stage.You should therefore make it clear on your application form how, and to what extent you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted.

Factor Essential Criteria Method of Assessment Qualifications/
Experience

Hold a HNC/HND or above examination qualification and one year’s demonstrable experience working in a procurement, administration or finance environment

OR

Have two year’s demonstrable experience working in a procurement, administration or finance environment

Have one year’s demonstrable experience in supervision and management of staff in a procurement, administration or finance function

Demonstrable experience in the use of Information Technology systems including Microsoft Office Suite, and management information systems

Shortlisting by Application Form

Knowledge Knowledge in relation to procurement and the procurement lifecycle

Shortlisting by Application Form

Other

Willingness to occasionally work outside of normal working hours

Be willing to complete study to achieve full Membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS)

The successful candidate will be required:

to have access to a suitable vehicle (appropriately maintained and insured for Education Authority business) that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner and thus meet this essential criterion;

OR

be able to provide sufficient information on the application form that will satisfy the employer that he/she has access to an appropriate alternative form of transport that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner and thus meet this essential criterion.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Section 2 - Essential Criteria

The following are additional essential criteria which will be measured during the interview/selection stage in line with EA’s Game Changing People Model.

Factor Essential Criteria Method of Assessment Skills/
Abilities

In line with EA’s Game Changing People Model we will look for evidence of:

Good organisational skills and ability to organise a busy workload to deliver effective results on time and flexibility to meet changing demands

Commercially astute and ability to make decisions based on MI and data analysis

Ability to communicate and work effectively with others as part of a team

Ability to use own initiative and judgement to solve problems and respond to others

Ability to take a responsive and customer focused approach to work

Interview

Values Orientation
Evidence of how your experience and approach to work reflect EA’s ethos and values. You will find information about our Values here .

Interview

Section 3 - Desirable Criteria

Some or all of the desirable criteria may be applied by the Selection Panel in order to determine a manageable pool of candidates. Desirable criteria will be applied in the order listed. You should make it clear on your application form how, and to what extent you meet the desirable criteria, as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted.

Factor Desirable Criteria Method of Assessment Professional Membership

Hold Level 4 membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS)

Shortlisting by Application Form

Our Values

Through the selection process we will also seek evidence that the personal values of candidates align with those of the EA. This will include evidence of commitment to equality and excellence in service delivery. These reflect our aim which is to meet the needs of all our children and young people equally, removing barriers to learning and ensuring equality of access to excellent education services so that every child can develop to his or her full potential.

DISCLOSURE OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 defines working directly with children or young people or in specified places as ‘regulated activity’.

In the event that you are recommended for appointed to a post that involves ‘regulated activity’, the Education Authority will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure of Criminal Background.Please note that youWILLbe expected to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. Details of how to make payment will be sent to you at the pre-employment stage.

Further information can be accessed atNI Director theDepartment of Justice.

APPLICANT GUIDANCE NOTES

To view the applicant guidance notes, please click here .

To learn about the many great benefits of joining the Education Authority, click here.

The Education Authority is an Equal Opportunities Employer.