Procurement Manager

About Us

We are an arm’s length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:

• further education
• higher education including research and innovation;
• apprenticeships
• adult community learning; and local authority maintained school sixth forms.

We work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.

Our values really matter to us, they help shape the culture of our organisation:

• Dysgu (to learn; to teach; to educate) - learning is at the heart of everything we do. We believe curiosity fuels innovation and helps expand our horizons.
• Cydweithio (to work together; to collaborate; to co-operate) - we can achieve far more together than we ever could alone.
• Cynnwys Pawb (to include everyone; to involve everyone) - we are passionate about inclusion, seeking to create the right conditions for everyone to achieve their full potential.
• Rhagori (to exceed; to excel) - we have high aspirations for tertiary education and research in Wales and always set high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Location

Our headquarters is in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff, which has been specifically designed to meet our needs. This is where most colleagues will meet to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.

As we operate across Wales, we also have limited office and collaboration space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.

Main purpose of the role

As part of a small Procurement team, you will be responsible for Medr obtaining value for money for the goods and services it procures. You will oversee compliance with all relevant procurement regulations and help Medr adopt procurement best practice, taking on board Welsh and UK government procurement policy and legislative requirements. You will develop and communicate Medr’s procurement policies and procedures to staff, suppliers and stakeholders; and interact with various internal and external stakeholders, building strategic relationships.

What you’ll be doing

• Responsible for the management of procurement processes, which will include contract and award notices, setting and agreeing tender strategies, supplier engagement, tender evaluation, contract award, and handling contractual changes, whilst ensuring clear approval mechanisms and controls are in place to demonstrate value for money.
• Provide advice and support to our staff and teams on procurement policy, procedures, procurement requirements and contract management.
• Supporting the Head of Procurement and both Senior Procurement Managers in the strategic implementation of changing legislation, ensuring that Medr’s processes and procedures are compatible with existing legislation.
• Taking the lead on Medr’s corporate contracts, ensuring contracts are re tendered or extended in a timely manner.
• Utilise e-procurement sourcing tools and provide analysis of data and reporting information to aid strategic and senior decision making.
• Team Lead running Medr’s small purchasing card scheme.
• Develop your professional knowledge both on the job and by working towards and completing professional procurement qualifications.
• Developing Medr’s procurement intranet and website pages considering UK and Welsh procurement legislation and using the latest information relating to procurement best practice.
• Although there is currently no managerial or supervisory responsibilities for this role, it is hoped that as the team develops a graduate trainee or apprentice will join the team. In order to develop staff and ‘grow our own’ we would hope that this position would line manage them. This would provide further development opportunities for the Procurement Manager role and help with succession planning.

Key challenges

• Maintaining attention to detail in a challenging and changing environment, including as a result of new procurement legislation in the UK and Wales.
• Challenging the conclusions of others while maintaining effective working relationships with staff, suppliers, and stakeholders.
• Leading small projects and producing reports/data independently while keeping your key stakeholders and colleagues informed.
• Having confidence when imparting procurement knowledge, and providing support, guidance and training on various aspects of procurement in an affective and timely manner.
• Managing the expectations of internal and external stakeholders.

About your team

Medr’s Procurement Team currently consists of a Head of Procurement and two Senior Procurement Managers who have extensive public procurement experience and knowledge. You will be working closely under the guidance and direction of the Senior Procurement Manager within the wider Procurement, Payroll, and Finance Directorate.

This is an exciting time to be joining the team and learn from our experienced managers, as we continue to roll out new procurement policies and procedures and develop systems to support the procurement process for Medr, becoming a vital part in the development of this newly established team.

About your line manager

Loren Williams, Senior Procurement Manager.

Loren has worked in public sector procurement for 7 years along with 2 years in the private sector. They have a degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management as well as having a master’s in Strategic Procurement while also being MCIPS qualified.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

• MCIPS qualification or actively working towards MCIPS
• Business degree or equivalent

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)

The above statement and link do not apply to Medr, this is only for Civil Service vacancies.We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation. We are happy for you to make use of AI tools, but please do not overly rely on AI so that we can get to know the real you.

Our assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.

If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application and personal statement through Civil Service Jobs.

The following attributes/experience will be assessed at sift stage:

Attributes

• Agile - You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.
• Resilience – You create a culture of adaptability and resourcefulness as part of the team and the wider organisation, offering support and encouragement to colleagues.

Experience

• Knowledge and experience of working within procurement environment and legislative constraints, being able to impart information in a clear and concise manner, identifying risks and implementing mitigating actions.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills, able to deal with staff at all levels within an organisation and have experience of dealing with external stakeholders and suppliers specifically.
• Work independently on projects and procurements, developing ideas and implementing improvements, whilst working collaboratively across an organisation or organisations.

Qualification - Minimum Eligibility Criteria

• MCIPS qualification or actively working towards CIPS/MCIPS
• Business degree or similar

To be fair to everyone who applies, we won’t accept:

• Late applications
• Applications with missing or incomplete information
• Personal statements over 1,250 words

The deadline for application submission is Wednesday 18 November.

Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.

All applications will be notified of their outcomes via Civil Service Jobs at sift and interview stage.

Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.

Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview which will be conducted on Wednesday 9 December.

In addition to the attributes assessed at sift stage, the remaining attributes will also be assessed at interview:

Attributes

• Act with Integrity – You consistently act in the best interest of the team, organisation and its stakeholders and take responsibility for your decisions.
• Drive - You demonstrate strategic thinking and a results-oriented approach.

We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact swyddi@medr.cymru

We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our headquarters in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don’t usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know in advance by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.

Next steps

Interested…? Want to find out more?

We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a virtual information session/meet the team for candidates on Monday 9 November at 10am on Microsoft Teams. This session will not be recorded.

This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.

If you would like to attend, register by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru.

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