Procurement, Policy and Performance Officer

About the job

Salary: £39,152 - £41,771 a year
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent

We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Procurement Policy & Performance Officer to join our team. This is an exciting opportunity to lead and provide support to colleagues and external partners across the Council in applying the Procurement and Contract Management Policy, ensuring that our tendering and purchasing systems are effective, compliant, and efficient.

In this role, you will review and interrogate existing processes, identifying opportunities to implement performance improvements. You will work closely with Finance and Audit teams to validate internal controls and ensure they are effective and aligned with organisational standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide guidance and support to internal teams and external stakeholders on the application of the Council’s Procurement and Contract Management Policy.
• Review current procurement processes and procedures to identify opportunities for efficiency and improvement.
• Collaborate closely with Finance and Audit colleagues to assess and validate internal controls.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives within procurement operations, ensuring compliance and value for money.
• Monitor and report on procurement performance metrics, highlighting key insights and recommendations.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About you

You will have strong experience and understanding in the use of e-procurement and P2P technologies, with the ability to provide guidance and training to colleagues on their effective use. You are experienced in managing back-office infrastructure, systems, and procedures, ensuring compliance with organisational policies, and proactively identifying opportunities to develop and implement continuous improvements in procurement processes.

With excellent analytical and data manipulation skills, you are highly organised, able to manage multiple tasks, work under pressure, and prioritise effectively, with exceptional attention to detail. You have outstanding interpersonal and teamworking abilities, communicating clearly and positively with colleagues across the organisation and with external suppliers.

Confident in the use of office IT systems, spreadsheets, and e-procurement and finance systems, you have demonstrable knowledge of their functionalities and how they support effective procurement operations. You can offer support, guidance, and training to colleagues on best practice usage of these systems. Additionally, you have a sound knowledge of current UK procurement legislation and EU directives, and are working towards CIPS membership status, hold an NVQ Level 3 - 4 qualification, or can demonstrate equivalent knowledge through experience.

This is a public facing role so you’ll need to show off your fluency in speaking and writing English

About us

Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Application Process

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel

How to apply

We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!

Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: NEW M1 Procurement Policy & Performance Officer _FINAL.docx
• download: Luton Values Flyer.pdf