Organisation: Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) 

Work Location: Barnsdale Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 1ES

Salary: £46,404 - £50,865 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)  - Grade 13

Working Hours: 37 hrs per week – Full time 

Worker Type:   Hybrid Worker

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date:   11th July 2024

Are you looking for a rewarding career where you can make a difference? 

Do you want a job where no two days are the same?

About the Role

Working alongside the Head of Procurement & Compliance, Heads of Service Commissioners and Commercial Solicitors, to develop and embed a rigorous commercial approach to procurement of goods and services intrinsic to ESPO’s operational requirements, so that commercial risks are addressed and the best outcomes are achieved for ESPO.

• Responsible for leading and managing the procurement activity pertaining to all ESPO departments’ requirements for equipment and support services while retaining a strategic and operational perspective when establishing formal contracts with an annual procurement spend of circa £24 million.
• Increase awareness of statutory obligations amongst all ESPO staff involved in commissioning through an ongoing Internal Procurement Learning and Development plan.
• Always maintain a strong understanding of public procurement regulations in force and how they influence and shape procurement activity.
• Manage the quality of documentation issued to mitigate procurement risk and challenge.
• Manage response to supplier complaints about and challenges to contract awards.
• Responsible for procurement strategies and category work plans relevant to a diverse range of public sector markets.  Be able to justify, present advice and conclusions to Chief Officers and Elected Members, as appropriate.
• Ownership of the development of the procurement pipeline for ESPO and the establishment of a corporate contracts register to enable a planned programme of procurement activity and reporting of corporate spend patterns.
• Implement a supplier relationship management strategy and contract management procedures for strategic contracts.
• Work strategically with other public bodies, including Central Governments ‘Crown Commercial Services’ to respond to Government agendas on current ‘best practice’ in public procurement, including savings agendas.
• Build powerful relationships across stake holders, peers and partners creating and fostering open and transparent relationships.

About You

To apply for this post, you must have:

• Business or other relevant Degree and Membership of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS qualified)
• Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development
• Extensive experience of managing complex, high value procurement in the wider public sector
• Proven experience of providing high level professional advice
• Experience of taking a leading role within a category management environment
• Proven track record in influencing and managing procurement improvements
• Experience of commissioning services and contract management, service level agreements and key performance indicators and of managing complex projects in a multi-disciplinary team

We’d also expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the interview process.

What we offer:

• Flexible working opportunities and access to employee benefits portal with car lease scheme.
• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays (increasing to 33 after 5 years’ service), and a scheme to buy additional leave.
• Local Government Pension Scheme with a generous employer contribution.
• Great office location next to Fosse Park, with free on-site parking and easy access to M1 and M69.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual’s personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of ESPO. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term-time working, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc. 

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Mark Ewen, Head of Procurement & Compliance

Email: m.ewen@espo.org 

How to Apply

ESPO is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity, and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services we offer our customers. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the customers we serve. Applicants with a disability who meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme.

To apply for this job, please visit our careers site and click ‘Apply Now’. You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. For more information, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.