Head of Supplier Relationship Management

This is a unique opportunity for an innovative and driven senior commercial professional to lead the Supplier Relationship Management team within the newly established single procurement function across seven police forces.

The 7 Force Procurement Team is a new shared service supporting the seven police forces across the East of England (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk). This collaboration is responsible for third party spend of approximately £230m per annum, making the 7 Force Collaboration the second largest police procurement collective after the Metropolitan Police.

You will be an expert in the field of supplier relationship management and a key part of the role is to develop and implement a supplier relationship management Team across the 7 Force Region. You will lead a team of Supplier Relationship Managers and Contract Managers who will directly be responsible for managing strategic suppliers on behalf of the forces and also providing advice, guidance and training to local force contract managers.

As a senior commercial leader, you and your team will also be expected to lead and/or support complex commercial negotiations with key suppliers, promoting innovation and ensuring best value is achieved, as well as addressing and enforcing sanctions for poor performance, and assisting in defending the relevant Force(s) from contractual claims.

You will be responsible for promoting a commercial and contract management culture across the 7 Forces (and wider blue light organisations where applicable) to enhance levels of service and minimise costs, and to promote innovation and positive, proactive supplier relationships.

You will form part of the 7 Force Procurement management team, reporting to the 7 Force Head of Strategic Procurement, and working alongside the Head of Category Management and Head of Governance and Standards.

You must be MCIPS qualified or be able to clearly evidence equivalent levels of experience, technical knowledge and expertise by having worked as a leading Procurement professional in these categories for a complex, public sector organisation. You should possess significant knowledge and understanding of current contract law and the application of EU Public Procurement Regulations and legislation, as well as be able to demonstrate significant experience of strategic supplier relationship management.

Your personal skills must comprise strong leadership, negotiation and influencing combined with the communication capabilities to liaise with and influence stakeholders within the 7 Forces internally and externally at all levels.

Able to show sound judgment, you will provide expert advice to the seven Chief Officer teams, Police and Crime Commissioners and their Chief Executives, enabling delivery of their Policing Plans and overseeing the delivery of local commissioning work for the Office of Police and Crime Commissioners.

The postholder for this role will be employed by Hertfordshire Constabulary, but the base location of the postholder could be within any of the seven police forces listed above (i.e. local to you) and is therefore open to candidates across all regions.

Travel Requirement: Whilst the role will be based at the local force location and conferencing technology is coming to the fore, you will be required as part of the role to travel to other establishments across the seven forces and more widely to fulfil the role requirements.

Closing date: 15^th January 2021.

Short-listing date: 29th January 2021.

Interview date: w/c 8th or 15th February 2021.

Whilst the short-listing / assessment dates have been provided, these may be subject to change due to business requirements.

For further information please contact Dave Levy, 7 Force Head of Strategic Procurement David.levy@essex.police.uk

External applicants should ensure that their current CV is uploaded and provide a statement not less than 500 words against the minimum entry requirements and competencies as stipulated in the job description. To ensure the recruitment process is fair and equal, please do not include personal details on your CV other than your name.

This force is a Disability Confident employer. Should you require any reasonable adjustments for your application process, please contact the HR Service Centre on 01438 75(7777) or the manager for this role directly. We also offer the guaranteed interview scheme; this means that all candidates with a disability covered by the Equality Act 2010, who meet the minimum entry requirements for the role, will be invited to attend an interview.