Procurement Category Manager - Wellbeing

Job Introduction

Role Purpose

We are seeking a proactive and experienced Wellbeing Category Procurement Manager to join our Procurement and Contract Management Service. This is a unique opportunity to lead procurement activities across the Wellbeing Category, ensuring best value procurement and compliance with regulations, while delivering high-quality services that positively impact our communities. Reporting to the Head of Procurement and Contract Management you will collaborate closely with senior management, key stakeholders, and internal teams, contributing to the continuous improvement of procurement processes that support vital council services.

• To ensure that the Wellbeing Category is lead, developed and co-ordinated consistently with the quality standards of the strategic procurement and contract management service ensuring that all procurement activity maximises value for money within a best practice approach.
• To deliver, in partnership with other directorates, significant savings to the Council by means of applying a commercial approach and influencing innovative service redesign and procurement.
• To support the Head of Service in delivering change and innovation to equip the Service for future challenges and budget pressures.

Main Responsibilities

1. Stakeholder management requiring a high degree of persuasion, advocacy and decision making, to identify opportunities for corporate frameworks and organisation-wide contracts, including contentious and complex opportunities, to drive best value procurement. Use effective internal communication methodologies to keep stakeholders well informed and position procurement as a collaborative force driving positive change.
2. Represent Wellbeing Category at Senior Management Team for BCP’s Procurement and Contract Management Service. Work closely with the Head of Service to contribute to service improvement and the planning and delivery of procurement priorities to complement the business planning process for the directorate and the future plans of the council.
3. Lead, motivate and manage staff to deliver a high quality, flexible and responsive service to internal customers and suppliers within different specialist areas of work including Adults Social Care, Children’s Services, housing and accommodation services, adult learning, services within the community, community transport services and travel assistance ensuring that effective arrangements are in place for corporate frameworks and organisation-wide contracts managed by the Wellbeing Category. 
4. Ensure effective budget monitoring arrangements are in place for all centralised buying budgets within Wellbeing Category and that timely corrective action is taken to deal with any variances and eventualities that arise.
5. Ensure full compliance across the Wellbeing Category, with all relevant UK procurement regulations and the Council’s Financial Regulations and the Council’s strategies, policies, procedures and systems including finance, procurement and legal governance, risk management, performance monitoring, information governance and staff performance management.
6. Ensure that data is accurately recorded for all procurement activity, to Service quality standards, to support reporting requirements. Develop, analyse and respond to business intelligence data relating to Wellbeing Category procurement activity.
7. Monitor the external market for Wellbeing Category ensuring, where possible, the Council positions itself appropriately. Ensure appropriate use of early supply market engagement to seek new and innovative ideas to influence the definition of the requirements within Wellbeing Category. 
8. Represent the Service and the Council in inter-council forums, working parties, local and regional bodies to contribute to the exchange of information and the promotion of best practice developments. 
9. To establish and maintain project management arrangements for the delivery of the procurement work programme across the Wellbeing Category, taking responsibility for ensuring project delivery.  

The Ideal Candidate

Specific Qualifications and Experience 

• Relevant degree (or equivalent experience)
• Relevant professional qualification or experience in more than one specialist areas
• Significant experience of procurement and contract management including expertise in a number of specialist areas 
• Experience of developing stakeholder involvement in the strategic sourcing of relevant goods, works and services 
• Knowledge of current relevant legislation and statutory duties, responsibilities and best practice in relation to the procurement of goods, works and services within the Wellbeing Category.  

Personal Qualities & Attributes 

• High level of resilience, advocacy and persuasion
• Ability to carry out work of a complex nature across a range of specialist areas including Adults Social Care, Children’s Services, housing and accommodation services, adult learning, services within the community, community transport services and travel assistance and any other specialist areas as may be required.
• An in-depth knowledge across a range of these specialist areas  
• Decisions have major impact on the sourcing of goods, works and services and carry a high level of legal and financial risk for the Council. 

Job Requirements 

• Must be able to travel, using public or other forms of transport where they are viable, or by holding a valid UK driving licence with access to own or pool car. 

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 are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation and colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. This is expected to be in place in 2024 or early 2025.

Application Requirements

Please structure your application as follows:

1. Personal Summary - please provide an overview of your procurement experience within the wellbeing category
2. Skills and competencies - please describe how you meet each criteria detailed within "The Ideal Candidate"
3. Experience - please describe your experience against each of the numbered criteria detailed within "Main Responsibilities"

For an informal discussion regarding the role please contact Stuart Bickel on 01202 817805, stuart.bickel@bcpcouncil.gov.uk