Senior Procurement Specialist ( 4999)

Job summary

Are you looking for a role where you can use your procurement and commercial skills and build relationships with a huge range of people? If so, then this exciting procurement opportunity could be for you.

As Senior Procurement Specialist you will play a crucial role in ensuring compliance with the public procurement regulations, identifying opportunities for savings and benefits and contributing to the wider government agenda, including improving business for Small & Medium Enterprises and delivering the sustainability agenda. The level of Delegated Purchasing Authority for this role is £5 million.

Reporting to the Procurement and Contract Services Portfolio Manager you will lead high value regulated tendering projects and manage, vary and extend contracts for a wide range of goods, services and works.

Job description

• Lead the development, planning and implementation of procurement strategies for high-value, high-risk procurements optimising value for money for customers.
• Be able to lead and manage all stages of the end-to-end public sector procurement process. This includes from initial conception, strategy development, through the full procurement delivery cycle, to contract award, ensuring compliance with relevant public procurement legislation and Scottish Government procurement policies.
• Ensure that all stages of your procurement delivery address the Sustainable Procurement Duty and contribute to the government’s sustainability agenda.
• Work effectively with a wide range of key stakeholders, including customers, colleagues and external markets to build professional commercial relationships and deliver credible procurement strategies and contracts.
• Actively manage suppliers and engage with customers advising them on their contractual agreements and options using contract and market knowledge.
• Be required to manage a number of activities and projects concurrently and therefore need to have effective time and task management skills.
• Support procurement initiatives that help NRS deliver and achieve its organisational Procurement Strategy objectives, representing NRS with suppliers and stakeholders, and monitoring the achievement of commercial targets.
• Work flexibly within the team and across the organisation to help deliver the organisation’s wider goals in line with the Directorate and Corporate Plans. This post may in future have an element of staff management responsibility and will require a high degree of stakeholder management.

Person specification

Qualifications

CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma, WCC Advanced Practitioner Certification or relevant equivalent.

* ‘Equivalent’ may include accreditation from another relevant professional body or a relevant academic qualification at degree or post graduate level. Significant evidenced experience operating and delivering at an advanced level may be considered as equivalent when accompanied by a commitment to attaining an accreditation once in post.

This is a specialist role which requires evidence of a commitment towards continuous professional development, including external, advanced level professional accreditation of CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma, WCC Advanced Practitioner Certification or relevant equivalent*; or a commitment to attaining such an accreditation once in post.

Proof of qualifications will be checked at the assessment stage.

Success profileSuccess profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on.
Technical / Professional Skills:

1. Commercial Competence and Business Acumen - Level 3: Practitioner

2. Legislation - Level 4: Expert

3. Contract Law and Terms and Conditions - Level 3: Practitioner

The procurement competency framework sets out the common standard across the public sector in Scotland and details the capability requirements for this post.

Experience

1. Proven track record in the delivery of the full end-to-end public procurement cycle, including sourcing strategy development, tendering, and contract and supplier management.
2. Established interpersonal, influencing and stakeholder management skills with experience of building and maintaining relationships at all levels and working in collaboration with internal and external colleagues.

Behaviours:

1. Making Effective Decisions - Level 3
2. Communicating and Influencing – Level 3
3. Delivering at Pace – Level 3

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
How to apply

Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above. Both the CV and the supporting statement provided will be assessed against the criteria for the role.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and a presentation.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples 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, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 2nd November 2026, however this may be subject to change.

Sponsorship

Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

Recruitment Principles
As a government organisation, we adhere to the and we investigate any received in relation to recruitment cases.

Qualifications

CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma, WCC Advanced Practitioner Certification or relevant equivalent.

* ‘Equivalent’ may include accreditation from another relevant professional body or a relevant academic qualification at degree or post graduate level. Significant evidenced experience operating and delivering at an advanced level may be considered as equivalent when accompanied by a commitment to attaining an accreditation once in post.

This is a specialist role which requires evidence of a commitment towards continuous professional development, including external, advanced level professional accreditation of CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma, WCC Advanced Practitioner Certification or relevant equivalent*; or a commitment to attaining such an accreditation once in post.

Proof of qualifications will be checked at the assessment stage.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Commercial Competence and Business Acumen - Level 3: Practitioner
• Legislation - Level 4: Expert
• Contract Law and Terms and Conditions - Level 3: Practitioner

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,401, Scottish Government contributes £14,311 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.Please apply using link provided.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Charles Kennedy
• Email : Charles.Kennedy@nrscotland.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scotttishgovernemntrecruitment@gov.scot