Procurement Business Partner

Job responsibilities

Category Management & Sourcing

Use specialist category and procurement knowledge and expertise to produce and implement 3-5 year procurement strategies for assigned product/service areas of the strategic procurement plan and ensure that performance management systems and operating effectively to meet governance and achieve goals.

Project manage and co-ordinate all activities, agencies, suppliers and personnel to successfully undertake a number of strategic and tactical sourcing projects, from initial scoping through to contract award, and ongoing contract management.

Gather and analyse comprehensive data available on national benchmarking systems, on products, services and suppliers to support portfolio and category analysis.

Manage high value strategic sourcing projects which impact on stakeholder organisations service delivery and beyond.

Establish the immediate and future procurement requirements of stakeholder organisations and produces strategies and solutions to these.

Identify and manage risk throughout the procurement process.

Maintain work-plan and contracts database to ensure it is always up to date and effective reports are available as and when required.

Proactive responsibility for the development and review of strategies, policies and procedures based upon best practice.

Deliver Cash Releasing Savings, Added Value Benefits and Value

Manage projects effectively to ensure the savings within the Trust are delivered in line with the work plan.

Consistently deliver value for money through the effective sourcing of goods and services.

Undertake benefits tracking/compliance to monitor the levels of savings being achieved within the Trust.

To initiate and develop new ideas and methods in consultation with end users and within the procurement team.

Enables and encourages others to suggest change and share good practice with other areas of the Trust.

Evaluates the changes made and suggests further improvements where needed.

Strategy & Organisation

To act as the support for Procurement workstreams and systems. This will include implementation and design responsibility and also the maintenance and management of the systems.

To support with other areas of strategic development, in line with the NHS Procurement & Commercial Standards and any central or regional mandate.

Stakeholder Management

Use highly developed persuasion and influencing skills to engage with and influence key stakeholders at all levels within all parts of the organisation in order to facilitate participation in high value and strategic procurement activity.

Provide advice and expertise in all aspects of procurement activity to stakeholders across the Trust. This advice and expertise can be in highly complex areas and involve detailed knowledge of areas such as Procurement legislation.

Manages the interface for a number of Trusts, including regular face to face meetings.

Supplier Management

Regularly reviews strategic and high value contracts with the Trusts stakeholders and suppliers in order to deliver the appropriate procurement solution.

Undertake contract management and reviews with stakeholders to ensure contracts deliver against agreed strategies and continue to meet Trusts requirements.

Lead effective contract management and provide high level contractual advice.

Maintains effective supplier and provider partnership and relationship strategies.

Legislation & Policy

Undertake all procurement activities in full accordance with legal (EU legislation, commercial and contract law), environmental and sustainability requirements.

Be responsible for ensuring that accurate legible records are kept in accordance with Trust policies and legal requirements.

Participate in research, audit reviews and other initiatives in accordance with Procurement and financial governance policies across the Trust

Communication

Communicate with individuals and groups and prepare and deliver presentations throughout the procurement process (e.g. tender award process; contract award; briefing suppliers of stakeholder requirements).

Responsible for organising, facilitating and participating in regular meetings with key Trust stakeholders and suppliers. These include fact finding, problem solving, negotiations, contract performance and service delivery meetings.

Leading in (and obtaining support where required) communications that will involve highly complex and sensitive information where persuasive, negotiating skills are required and will be:

• Face to face and by telephone
• Within formal and informal meetings
• Written, letters, memorandum, e-mail, and reports
• Presentations

Personal and Team Development

Ensure that own knowledge and skills are constantly updated.

Actively takes part in own and others appraisal and PDP process, suggesting ideas for personal and career development opportunities.

Contributes to development in the workplace as a learning environment.

Actively creates opportunities to enable everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice.

Uses a coaching approach to encourage others to develop.

Raise quality issues and related risks with senior manager.

Evaluate the quality of own work, making improvements when necessary.

Service Improvement

To initiate and develop new ideas and methods in consultation with end users and within the procurement team.

Participate in research, audit reviews and other initiatives in accordance with Procurement and Financial Governance policies across the Trust

Actively contribute to the development and review of policies and procedures based upon best practice.

Presents a positive role model in times of service improvement supports and works with others to help them understand the need for change and to adapt to it

• Enables and encourages others to suggest change, challenge tradition and share good practice with other areas of the Trust

Evaluates the changes made and suggests further improvements where needed

Participates in the evaluation of policies and strategies and feeds back thoughts on impacts on users and the public.

Responsible for applying departmental procurement policies and implements procurement procedures across the organisation.

Quality

To understand and practice all relevant Trust and local policies and procedures

Raise quality issues and related risks with senior manager.

Evaluate the quality of own work, making improvements when necessary.

Have a good understanding of the Trusts Service User Led Standards and how it impacts on the performance of the ward.

Be responsible for ensuring that accurate legible records are kept in accordance with Trust policies and legal requirements.

Report all complaints and or incidents in accordance with Trust procedures and ensure that the line manager is informed.

Cooperate with any investigation within the Trust.

Initiates, implements, supports and monitors quality and governance systems and processes

Enables others to understand, identify and deal with risks to quality and actively promotes quality in all areas of work

Education / Qualifications

Essential

• High standard or general education including English and Mathematics
• Relevant first degree, equivalent relevant vocational qualification, training or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Must have or be prepared to work towards the completion of becoming a Qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (MCIPS). Evidence of Continuous Professional Development; post education learning, or post graduate equivalent accreditation

Desirable

• Management qualification
• Project / Change Management qualification
• Higher level of competency with Excel and procurement Systems

Knowledge

Essential

• Procurement, tendering and contract management experience
• Extensive experience of competitive tenders/quotations
• Reviewing and negotiating with suppliers and stakeholders across an organisation and a track record of achieving cost reductions and cost avoidance
• Demonstrable knowledge of public sector procurement
• Experience and training in contract & category research and source planning
• Specialist day to day procurement knowledge relating to a range of categories of non-pay spend
• Understanding and experience of how business case development and approvals add value to the procurement function and inform investment decisions
• Expertise in public sector procurement and contract management obtained via further training and experience or the equivalent.
• A working knowledge of contract law

Desirable

• Knowledge of products and services relative to the NHS
• Awareness of Government Commercial Function (GCF), CCIAF (Continuous Commercial Improvement Assessment Framework)
• Awareness of ICS (Integrated Care Systems) procurement landscape and NHSE CCF (Central Commercial Function) development
• Experience of drafting contracts based on standard NHS Terms & Conditions

Skills / Experience

Essential

• Experience of a customer service environment
• Managing projects to time and budget, using appropriate tools and methodologies
• Experience of managing staff and/or resources
• Experience of leading projects within multidisciplinary teams to deliver significant change
• Training and mentoring experience
• Basic awareness of IT and IT skills
• Understanding and ability to apply project management tools and techniques to procurement activities where appropriate
• Clearly manage priorities for self and others in order to meet specific deadlines
• Encourage and provide feedback to staff to aid their development
• Willingness to develop additional technical and specialist knowledge and skills in operational and procurement functions
• Communicate effectively and confidently across all clinical and non- clinical disciplines
• Proactively manage stakeholder requests in a timely manner, and manage expectations
• Learn and develop self and others

Desirable

• Working knowledge of NHS and the issues facing procurement teams

Personal qualities

Essential

• Good Communication: written & oral at senior manager level
• Interpersonal, able to work as part of a large team
• Able to use initiative and work independently
• Well organised, able to prioritise workload
• Strong customer service skills
• Create, develop and maintain working relationships with client managers to achieve corporate and team objectives
• Perform as a good team player and demonstrate interactive working with financial managers
• Ability to understand and operate effectively within potential political sensitivities of an organisation
• Demonstrable skills in managing and optimising procurement systems such as Procure to Pay (P2P) and eSourcing systems

Desirable

• Stakeholder analysis, engagement and management
• Understanding of NHS procurement landscape

Additional qualities

Essential

• Ability to travel across sites and across Trust boundaries to attend meetings, etc.

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).