Remote Contract: Children's Services Procurement Lead

Positive Employment; United States; Remote; USD 124,000 - 136,000; Full time

Job summary

Positive Employment is recruiting a Procurement Consultant for a UK local government client based in Shropshire. The role focuses on Children’s Services, developing category plans and procurement strategies to deliver value for money and outcomes for children and families.

You will lead high-value procurements, engage with commissioners, and work across Adults and Public Health to align activity. This is a 3‑month contract with potential extension and fully remote working.

Qualifications

• Significant procurement and category management experience within Children’s Services, ideally within local government.
• Strong understanding of commissioning environments and the ability to work collaboratively with commissioners.
• Proven experience developing category plans, sourcing strategies and procurement pipelines.
• Knowledge of provider markets, potentially including children's social care, SEND, early intervention, specialist placements and third-sector services.
• Track record of leading complex and high-value service procurements.
• Strong commercial awareness and knowledge of public sector procurement processes and governance.
• Confidence to challenge and influence senior stakeholders constructively using evidence and market insight.
• Ability to connect Children’s Services procurement requirements with wider Adults and Public Health activity.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Pragmatic, proactive and outcome-focused approach, with the ability to work autonomously in an evolving environment.

Responsibilities

• Engage with Children’s Services commissioners to understand service priorities, pressures, procurement pipelines and intended outcomes.
• Develop and implement a clear Children’s Services category plan, linking with relevant procurement activity across Adults and Public Health.
• Translate commissioning requirements into commercially robust procurement and sourcing strategies.
• Lead and support complex and high-value procurements from initial market engagement through to contract award and mobilisation.
• Use provider market knowledge and intelligence to assess market capacity, test assumptions and identify commercial risks.
• Provide specialist procurement advice and constructive challenge to commissioners and senior stakeholders.
• Support stakeholders in balancing compliance, value for money, provider capacity, service quality and outcomes for children and families.
• Develop and prioritise the procurement pipeline, ensuring projects progress at pace and follow appropriate governance.
• Strengthen collaboration between procurement, commissioning, finance and operational teams.
• Support the development of sustainable procurement and commercial capability across the organisation.

Skills

Procurement

Category management

Public sector procurement

Stakeholder management

Commercial awareness

Negotiation

Job description

Positive Employment is recruiting a Procurement Consultant for a UK local government client based in Shropshire. The role focuses on Children’s Services, developing category plans and procurement strategies to deliver value for money and outcomes for children and families.

You will lead high-value procurements, engage with commissioners, and work across Adults and Public Health to align activity. This is a 3‑month contract with potential extension and fully remote working.