Clinical Procurement Nurse Specialist

Job responsibilities

Clinical

Work closely with the Head of Clinical Products, to support medical colleagues, matrons, ward managers and other staff who order clinical supplies and equipment, to critically review current purchasing policy, practice and procedures and identify opportunities to improve value for money. This will include:

Working as a liaison between the Procurement team and clinicians teams.

Work with the Head of Clinical Products to review all clinical non pay spend and identify and develop divisional medical procurement projects, as part of the annual Procurement work plan.

Develop close working relationships with the relevant internal divisional managers and senior management team.

To rationalise and standardise products where this can be achieved without compromising the quality of patient care / patient outcomes.

Consider all elements of sustainability when reviewing products, stock control and existing and future processes and practices.

Provide expert specialist advice and support to clinical leads, clinicians, matrons, ward managers and other staff in relation to clinical procurement issues:

Work with identified clinical experts within specialities to secure commitment to agreed purchasing plans and or product formularies. Responsibility for making product change recommendations based on high value.

Influence clinical procurement procedures across the divisions and ensuring that change is managed through a quality impact assessment process.

Assist in identifying key risk areas and ensure that these are managed, reported and controlled.

Actively participate in collaborative initiatives at either local, regional or national level.

Lead on a portfolio of divisional clinical projects assigned by the Head of Clincial Products. Work with clinical staff and procurement staff to find, analyse and present highly complex data on clinical products e.g. choice, usage, trends - in order to generate options and ultimately achieve consensus on product compatibility / standardisation.

Liaise with senior category managers to undertake critical analysis of new product and potential suppliers as required from a clinicians perspective.

Provide product and project related support to clinical colleagues to support compliance and project uptake.

Promote best practice and governance across the Trust in procurement matters.

Ensure compliance with Trust procurement policies and procedures across the Trust.

Initiate and manage specific clinical product evaluation projects, taking into account existing local and national guidelines (e.g. NICE) and best practice, involving the product users at every stage.

Promote awareness and understanding within the Trust of the function and usage of products within the materials management (stock control) teams, increase understanding of clinical concerns and issues and the positive impact of effective clinical procurement strategies on the quality of patient care.

Confidently challenge the status quo in a constructive non-confrontational manner and have the ability to influence others to adopt alternative viewpoints and solutions in order to stimulate and embrace change.

Communications and Working Relationships

Communicate with:

Head of Procurement.

Head of Clinical Products.

Procurement Managers.

Materials Management Team.

Associate Directors of Operations.

Executive Directors.

Matrons.

Nurses and Clinical Practitioners.

Clinical Directors.

Surgeons / Doctors.

Business Managers.

Directors and Senior Managers from Supplier organisations.

Clinical Procurement Specialist Networks/ Collaboratives.

Other NHS Trusts.

NHS Supply Chain / Category Towers.

Other agencies with which the Trust contracts or interacts for the provision of Supplies Services.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Analytical and judgment skill at a high level required to fulfil the job responsibilities satisfactorily, e.g. numerical analysis, critical reasoning, interpretation of information and complexity of decision making, negotiation and persuasive skills. Internal and external stakeholder mapping and management.

Working knowledge and understanding of Public Procurement Regulations.

Planning and organisational skills: a high degree of planning from straightforward activities/programmes to long term strategic plans, e.g. the procurement process and methodology.

Responsible for producing procurement dashboards and reports using the NHS Supply Chain system and the spend comparison service.

Manages the process when changing product/services including liaising with all levels of clinicians affected by the change. Deals with any issues of resistance or conflict that may result.

Measurable Result Areas

The post holder will be accountable to the Head of Clinical Products, but will use their own initiative to develop a clinical work-plan which will be managed within Atamis.

The post holder will make recommendations on clinical products.

The post holder will be responsible for influencing annual spend of in excess of £5 million, categories of varying ranges of complexity.

Comply with the trust Standing Financial Instructions and in line with Public Procurement regulations.

Demonstrate a high standard of public accountability and professional conduct at all times.

Carry out specific projects on behalf of the Head of Clinical Products.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse RGN or AHP
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
• Maintenance of clinical registration, ensuring in-depth clinical knowledge/experience
• Experience of purchasing and clinical procurement practices
• Specialist clinical qualification(s)
• Experience of Project or Change Management
• Post graduate qualification or equivalent significant in depth senior level

Desirable

• Procurement qualification (e.g. Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supplies (CIPS)

Experience

Essential

• Extensive, hands on, in-depth knowledge of at least one acute hospital speciality
• Experience of providing strong leadership in complex environment with high level of ambiguity
• Experience of leading projects within multidisciplinary teams to deliver change in a clinical environment
• Clinical product standardisation project work
• Experience of involvement in Trust Wide projects
• Experience of involvement in procurement processes and systems e.g. Products evaluations

Desirable

• Commercial experience in medical device or equipment sector
• Experience of Public sector procurement work

Skills

Essential

• Able to present and received complex information within the multi professional team
• Evidence of negotiation and influencing skills
• Assertive skills
• Can minimise interpersonal conflict and barriers to communication
• Experience of involvement in a team based working environment
• Experience of being able to work independently to agreed outcomes and timescales
• Demonstrate self- awareness and understanding of personal accountability and ability to work within boundaries of defined procedures, guidelines and policies
• Demonstrate effective written and verbal communication skills, computer literacy
• Produce timely, accurate written/electronic records and documents
• Demonstrate leadership for the management of change
• Able to deal with highly complex facts and situations which require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options
• Able to analyse highly complex problems / issues and recommend solutions
• Able to communicate and present complex information and evidence based data
• Able to constructively challenge the status quo to ensure best value from suppliers
• To make an appropriate judgments and recommendations to change product within the Trust and assess the cost/quality benefits to patients
• Ability to undertake option appraisals and trails and evaluations, making recommendations based on findings
• Excellent problem solving skills
• Demonstrate and ability to prioritise own workload and recognise, prioritise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations
• Management skills and ability to meet deadlines

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Flexible, adaptable and confident
• Caring, enthusiastic and well-motivated
• Enhanced CRB clearance
• Ability to work flexibly to ensure that necessary work is completed

Other

Essential

• Competent and capable of using medical equipment and consumables
• Able to undertake manual handling and manoeuvres

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).