Head of Procurement and Contract Management

Job Introduction

Role Purpose

Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole is a place where people and nature, coast and towns come together to offer a wealth of potential, and at BCP Council we want to realise these possibilities. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced leader to join a progressive large unitary authority which has recently seen its Children’s Service Ofsted rating move from Inadequate to Good and has recently been shortlisted by the Municipal Journal for Local Authority of the Year.

This is a key role, and we are looking for a candidate with the experience to develop and deliver a robust procurement and contract management service, who is professionally curious, and who has significant leadership qualities including the ability to motivate others. You will understand what value for money and best practice looks like as you will be setting professional standards, and you will lead by example. 

We have a strong, collaborative, and supportive culture that enables everyone to grow and develop. Ensuring employees have a positive work life balance is really important to us. We have an agile working policy, which enables our people to work flexibly either at home or in a number of locations principally at the Bournemouth Civic Centre but also Civic Hubs as part of the main libraries in Poole and Christchurch.

Main Responsibilities

• Provide dynamic leadership, strategic direction, and effective management to lead the delivery of the Council’s procurement and contract management service.
• Lead the development of strategies and governance arrangements which ensure the procurement of high-quality goods, works, and services which also drive operational efficiencies.
• Keep continually updated with all new government legislation and sector best practice to implement both service and council-wide changes when required to ensure compliance. 
• Work proactively with members and staff across all directorates and services
• Negotiate, evaluate and manage contracts on behalf of the Council.
• Provide insight, advice, and challenge alongside peers as part of the directorate’s senior leadership team
• Motivate, manage, empower, and develop staff to support a culture of wellbeing support, high-quality performance, and continuous improvement.
• Represent the service and BCP Council, locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Manage the delegated budget effectively and flexibly to deliver service objectives and in line with the council’s finance policies – monitoring financial activity, risks and opportunities and reforecasting regularly.

The Ideal Candidate

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
• Advanced professional qualification or post-graduate qualification in a relevant subject or management (or equivalent management experience).
• Evidence of continuous professional development and understanding of best practice.
• Ability to act as BCP Council’s subject matter expert on procurement and contract management.
• Substantial level of senior level leadership experience, providing a depth and breadth of knowledge to act with credibility at this level.
• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills and the ability to build relationships at a political, senior and management level.
• High level of personal credibility, integrity, and emotional intelligence.
• Strong leader, persuasive and engaging who can hold people to account but also coach and develop a high performing team.
• Be a role model for the Council’s values and behaviours.

For a conversation about the role, please contact Adam Richens, Director of Finance at adam.richens@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

About BCP Council

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

Our Benefits

We offer an excellent benefits package to colleagues. Find out more on our website.

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We have been in a process of collective bargaining since 2019 and have positively worked forward to reach an agreed position with the unions for the new contractual offer. This has taken longer than we hoped and therefore we are having to consider all alternative avenues available to enable us to remove inequality in the organisation as a result of bringing together 3 councils. 

We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation, and all colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. We want to reassure everyone that whichever route is taken to reach the new terms and conditions, we can honour continuous service and there will not be any job reduction as a result of the implementation of Pay and Reward.  If you have any questions at all about this process, please feel free to raise this with the hiring manager.