The starting salary for this role is £53,918 per annum for working 36 hours per week.

Are you looking for an opportunity to join a forward thinking, flexible and supportive procurement team, where you can build on your procurement career and make a difference?

Following the successful expansion of commercial activities and opportunities, we are seeking a Strategic Procurement Manager to lead the procurement portfolio for one of our commercial partners. You will act as a trusted advisor and key account manager across all spend areas liaising with and influencing with Chief Officers and Members.

As a Strategic Procurement Manager, you will be required to develop strategic approaches that align to a regulatory framework reacting to maximise value for money through timely adjustments to changing markets conditions. Successful delivery of the role means improving outcomes for residents and services users, driving value through our local economy and social value strategies, and aligning supply chain activities with our sustainability ambitions.

About us

Overall, the Council's and its commercial partners' expenditure is in excess of £2 billion per annum with external suppliers for everything from software to social care services and from cleaning products to sports equipment.

Our Policy teams strive to work with the Council to leverage our spend for the public good and our Commercial team help services manage their contracts and deliver service improvement for our residents. Above all, we aim to be a centre for procurement excellence by ensuring that we manage public money in a way people trust and deliver better value from our contracts in a responsible manner.

Our administrative bases are in Reigate (Woodhatch Place) and Woking, and travel to our other offices will be required on a weekly basis.

Orbis Procurement

You will also work closely with colleagues in the other functional teams that sit within Orbis Procurement; cross-functional working and matrix management is key to how we function as a service. Orbis is a shared services partnership between East Sussex County Council, Surrey County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council. Orbis also provides Procurement support to a number of other Borough and Districts commercial partners across the Southeast.

About you

To be considered for interview, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• Ability to lead across a portfolio of spend areas, within a complex commercial environment.
• Substantial procurement expertise with experience leading significant projects across a range of commercial, category and sourcing activities.
• Experience in building strong stakeholder relationships with major service areas at a senior level.
• Knowledge of the principles of change management, project management and continuous improvement, and their practical application, with a focus on delivery.
• Excellent communication skills across a full range of media.
• A strong understanding of commercial risks.
• Public sector experience; sound knowledge of EU procurement regulations is essential.
• Ability to build and develop category strategies across a wide range of spend areas.

Additional Information

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 02/04/2023.

Interviews will take place in April 2023.

This post has been designated as a politically restricted post in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 26 days' annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit MyBenefits for Surrey County Council staff.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer of first choice reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all under represented groups.