Procurement Officer - Procurement , Grants and National Contracts - ( Ref : 6468 )

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

his role sits within Natural England’s Procurement, National Contracts and Grants team, part of the Planning and Performance Directorate. The team supports organisation‑wide procurement activity, ensuring compliance with procurement policy, Public Contracts Regulations and internal processes, while also providing insight, guidance and escalation routes through Defra Group Commercial.

As an Officer, you will work closely with the Senior Specialist in Commercial Contracts and other Seniors to deliver essential administrative and coordination tasks. This includes managing two shared mailboxes on a rota basis, supporting transparency and other reporting through data analysis and trend identification, supporting contractual administrative tasks such as dealing with customer queries and processing invoices linked to Purchase Orders. You will play a key role in helping the team maintain high standards of compliance, customer service and operational efficiency across commercial activities.

Job description

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities Note: Enter a brief description of what the job entails and identify and describe up to five key tasks. These tasks and key responsibilities should be based on the relevant SFR Distinct Role Description.

• Provision of various team support activities and projects, including but not limited to: second line assurance, data analysis, sign posting and advocating, etc.
• As part of a rota, deal with national contact, procurement and general grant enquiries through the multiple mailboxes.
• Carry our administrative and data analysis tasks to support the smooth running of various Commercial Contracts including Enterprise Car Hire, GPC, CTM etc.

Knowledge and Skills: Note: Identify and describe the key technical or specialist skills that are required for the role, and if they are essential or desirable.

Please list using bullet points.

Essential

• Good data management and data analysis skills and knowledge of working with data.

• Good communications skills (verbal & written), including an ability to build trustworthy partnerships with others and to convey technical information to non-specialists. Work safely and in accordance with compliance regulations including good data handling and GDPR.
• Effective use of Microsoft applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams) and other systems for day-to-day work
• Build working relationships and work effectively as part of the immediate team, with both internal and external customers.

Desirable

• Whilst it is desirable that applicants have a strong commercial awareness and have handled data sets previously, it is important to note that flexibility and keenness to learn is just as important.

• A knowledge of Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Forms and adaptability to apply these IT skills to other systems such as those managed by our commercial partners (Bank of Scotland/NatWest) or a willingness to learn with training and support.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Technical Skills

Description

• Experience of working with Stakeholders
  • Experience of working with excel and other Microsoft applications
  • Experience of analysing data and communicating this via appropriate methods.

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Personal Effectiveness

Description

• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)
  • Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (Practitioner)
  • Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Basic)

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

Putting People at the Heart of the Environment

Description

• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)
  • Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (Practitioner)
  • Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Basic)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Work Delivery

Description

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Practitioner)
  • Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies, and procedures (Practitioner)
  • Consider the financial implications of your work and seek income from our products and services (Practitioner)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,590, Natural England contributes £7,992 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Paul Jubb
• Email : Paul.Jubb@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07789770847

Recruitment team

• Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

https://networkrecruitment.tal.net/vx/appcentre-7/brand-4/spa-1/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/8/opp/6468-6468-Procurement-Officer-Procurement-Grants-and-National-Contracts/en-GB

Attachments

DEF-001h - Candidate Pack Natural England v2.5 Opens in new window (docx, 424kB)