procurement agent Nottingham, England
Job description
NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Full time
- Home or remote working
Job overview
Our Team is growing! We have two new Deputy Head of Procurement roles.
You will be a part of the senior Procurement & Supply Chain team, leading either the clinical or non-clinical team to ensure we deliver a first class professional procurement service.
The Procurement Team at NUH is keen to attract and retain the best talent in NHS Procurement and as such are able to offer an additional £3,000 on top of the starting salary for any MCIPS qualified candidates. There is also an annual £3,000 retention bonus paid as a lump sum after 12 months service. We are happy to discuss this in more detail with any potential candidates
We are offering hybrid working with the option to work from home up to three days per week.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced senior procurement professional to join the Procurement team at NUH and really make a difference. We are one of the largest teaching Trusts in England and have an ambitious forward thinking procurement and supply chain strategy.
In addition to the below summary you need to familiarise yourself with full Job Description and Person Specification documents attached to this advert.
Main duties of the job
As Deputy Head of Procurement you will work closely with the Head of Procurement in the leadership and direction of the Trust’s Procurement department and for the ongoing development and execution of our procurement and supply chain strategies.
The relationships that you build with stakeholders will be key to your success, which is why we are seeking someone with well-developed interpersonal skills that can quickly gain credibility amongst senior stakeholders.
You will be MCIPS qualified with a strong background in delivering commercial success, as well as being a great team player, strong communicator, experienced negotiator, innovative thinker and a patient and motivational leader.
You will have a strong background in leading teams through change. Looking for ways to continually improve.
You will be experienced in delivering complex OJEU tenders and have a sound knowledge of EU procurement legislation.
Previous NHS experience is not essential but a strong track record in delivering savings in a stakeholder driven organisation will be.
If you are ready to embrace this exciting opportunity to make a difference and contribute to the performance and strategic development of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, we would like to hear from you.
Working for our organisation
We are an award winning Trust with an award winning Procurement Team! We have a national and international reputation for many of our specialist services, including stroke, neurosciences, cancer services and trauma. We are at the forefront of many research programmes and new surgical procedures.
You would also be joining one of the largest teaching Trusts in England. With 17,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population.
Our Procurement Team is growing in order to be able to fully support the organisation and deliver a first class service. We have a number of new roles in addition to our already large team, which creates great opportunity for progression.
We currently have a Director of Procurement and Supply Chain, Head of Supply Chain and a Head of Procurement. Within the Procurement Team we have:
2 x Deputy Head of Procurement (New roles, currently being recruited)4 x Senior Category Managers1x Clinical Procurement Matron8 x Category Managers1 x Assistant Category Manager2 x Category Support Officers (With 5 additional being recruited)3 x Clinical Procurement Specialists
The Operational Procurement Team consists of Buying Team (10) and a Data Team (2).
The Category Management Teams are split into Clinical, Non-Clinical, Capital and Operational/Systems.
You would be supported by highly qualified, experienced, friendly and supportive team and have a wealth of peer support.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership
- To support the Head of Procurement to provide overall expert leadership and direction across the department, influencing the procurement strategy and developing Trustwide policies which are affected by Procurement matters.
- Deputise for the Head of Procurement and under the scheme of delegation, take responsibility for contract and other procurement approvals.
- Act as the Procurement Account Executive for a nominated range of Directorates to provide:
- Expert strategic procurement advice to the Directorate and to relevant Executive Members
- A comprehensive procurement advisory and planning service to key Directorate staff
- Support for staff in their role in managing non-pay resources efficiently and effectively
- Help to co-ordinate category management for categories used across Directorates
- Support to ensure rigorous compliance with current European legislation and toprovide the Directorates with appropriate advice in relation to Standing Financial Instructions, Standing Orders and governance.
- Take a pivotal role in the development and monitoring of the Trust’s Non-pay Cost Improvement programme, developing productive working relationships with Directorate management teams, Programme Management Office and Assistant Directors of Finance. The role will involve highly complex market and economic analysis using data from a number of sources and systems.
- Take responsibility for high profile projects as delegated by the Head of procurement or as may fall under the direct responsibility for Post holder’s category portfolio.
- Provide support to the Head of Procurement in the delivery of the Trusts Procurement strategy including contribution to regular strategic reports to the Directors Group, Finance Investment Committee, Audit Committee and the Procurement steering group.
- To develop and lead a specific strategic sourcing programme for defined categories, across a number of Directorates, taking the lead on specific/allocated portfolio of sourcing categories, and contributing significantly to the delivery of allocated procurement projects within key markets. This will include challenging and influencing both the level of demand, and the specification of demand to take full advantage of supply market opportunities and partnership arrangements.
Operational
- To support the Head of Procurement and Supplies in the delivery of cost and efficiency savings across a large portfolio across Directorates, by analysing current spend information and undertaking market analysis to develop procurement strategies. To ensure that Directorate proposals for non-pay savings and workstream management are robust and reported appropriately.
- Gaining competitive advantage for NUH by identifying best practice and leveraging the Trust spend within the category
- To consistently meet best value for money by the effective sourcing of goods and services.
- To maximise contract compliance across all the stakeholders within the Trust.
- To ensure all procurement activities operate in full accordance with legal, environmental and sustainability requirements – providing expert opinion in such matters.
- Running complex above threshold procurements, managing multiple senior stakeholders and reporting and presenting as required via Prince 2 methodology in both written and verbal formats
- Ensure that local, regional and national purchasing (including national outsourced provider) plans are integrated within category management.
- Awareness and implementation of national procurement initiatives.
- To be responsible for developing, implementing, monitoring and reviewing procurement strategies for allocated categories, through detailed demand/market analysis, to ensure continual improvement and innovation in service delivery.
- To meet customer requirements by demonstrating best value for money, through compliance with category priorities and contracts, and by actively managing the market place through development of key strategies for supplier and contract management. To undertake rigorous and widespread benchmarking activity to support on-going negotiation and market intelligence.
- Plan, develop, create and deliver a strategy for Demand Challenge across the Category. Liaise with the necessary clinical leads and medical staff to understand the processes and controls in place to enable a successful challenge, recommending change where necessary to affect and enable efficiencies and savings. To take the lead in implementing policy changes within Directorates to affect greater efficiency.
- Challenging and influencing both the level of demand, and the specification of demand from the perspective of a thorough understanding of the supply market.
- To ensure contract compliance across the Trust in particular where commitment contracts are placed, pursuing procurement excellence through the implementation of efficient and effective procurement projects within key markets.
- Putting in place the most appropriate commercial arrangements to help ensure the right quality and least total cost to the Trust.
Communication
- Senior activity in liaising with colleagues at all levels to ensure compliance in the use of agreed standardised products, ensuring the range of items within catalogues is rationalised to an optimum level.
- Working with the Senior Category Managers and the Clinical Nurse in developing procurement Networks by providing input into appropriate network projects.
- Setting up and/or working with established Product Evaluation Groups to evaluate products and fast track product rationalisation decisions.
- Identifies and works with other public bodies in the integration of purchasing/product service standardisation for health & government related services e.g. home care.
- Preparation and presentation of Category Strategy and Contract Award Papers to the Director of Finance and Procurement and other Executives.
- To ensure Clinicians and Managers are engaged in the end to end process encompassed within category management to include demand challenge, appropriate planning and strategy development, evaluation and selection and ongoing contract management and review.
- Engaging and working closely with the senior stakeholders and practitioners who provide healthcare and support services to help identify improvements and changes in practice arising from supply market opportunities
- Documenting, communicating and influencing Directorate Management Groups, Commercial Executive Members, and other senior stakeholders to ensure effective “buy-in” to the proposed category strategies
- Additionally, the post holder will be expected to take a wider customer service role and champion Procurement as a Business Partner throughout NUH.
Management
- To produce regular capacity and performance reports, verbal and written to the Head of Procurement and present the same when required, to Trust executive committees.
- To ensure that key performance objectives are identified and strategies are in place to enable procurement performance to be monitored across the local health economy.
- Imparting skills and transferring knowledge to the buying team in order to assist in skills development.
- To ensure the implementation of the strategic plan and that performance management systems are operating effectively to meet governance and achieve goals.
- Ensure processes are in place so that effective, collaborative equipment purchases, trials, and long term plans to allow for standardisation using evidence base and innovative practice across the health economy of the region.
- To manage the category products on the catalogue and liaising with the external catalogue provider to ensure accuracy and effective utilisation of the contract.
- Recognise and act on any non-compliance in relation to contract/catalogue usage.
- The Deputy Head of Procurement / Senior Category Manager will manage a number of direct reports and will take responsibility for their appraisals and ongoing development consistent with National expectations and in line with the Trusts Procurement strategy.
Professional
- Lead by example, maintaining professional integrity and upholding the Trust values and behaviours at all times.
- Promote best practice procurement outside the procurement function and promoting change and development as required.
- To be a member of the Procurement Senior Management Team advising and supporting the Directorates Management Teams on service design and provision.
- To ensure key relationships with other purchasing professionals and Category and Procurement Specialists to enable key management decisions to be made - exerting confidence particularly where an obvious solution may not be immediately evident.
- To provide expert advice on local and regional purchasing activities.
- Taking timely decisions that display expert leadership and instils high levels of confidence
- Implementing and developing a number of Trustwide procurement systems
- Trustwide educational support to Executives, General managers and Clinical leads in matters relating to procurement policy, strategy and legislation.
- Be an ambassador for NUH at National and regional procurement events.
Person specification
Training & Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Fully qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS)
- MBA or similar qualification
- Evidence of Continuous professional development (CPD)
- Evidence of having undertaken:, supply chain management training, Procurement legislation training, additional specialist procurement courses
- Demonstrable advanced IT skills including specialist software for contract management, e-tendering, e-auction, mathematical, logical formulas and functions and to generate accurate charts/graphs and good knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.
- Leadership skills training
- Project management training
Desirable criteria
- Project Management ( Prince 2 Practitioner desirable)
- Fellow member of CIPS
Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial experience in a senior procurement management (or equivalent) role within a large and complex organisation.
- Experience of managing large budgets and delivering extensive cost improvement programmes leading to multi-million £ savings.
- Demonstration of solid achievement in their current role.
- Expert and extensive hands on experience of current EU procurement directives and UK legislation.
- Expertise in managing complex projects to time and on budget.
- Experience of applying principles of change management.
- Knowledge of health service management, including interpretation and application of national policy frameworks and the political environment within which they are applied.
- Experience in people management – ability to influence and lead people in a complex and dynamic organisation.
- Experience of providing strong leadership in a complex, dynamic environment with a high level of ambiguity.
- Significant previous commercial experience in the private and/or public sectors and excellent account management skills.
- Demonstrable experience of purchasing within key category areas.
- Experience in whole life contract management delivering best value.
- Demonstrable experience of : - advanced negotiation skills, knowledge of strategic sourcing methodologies, knowledge of supply chain theory, contract law and dispute resolution, statistical and data analysis skills, knowledge of market areas related to specific work categories, finance and leasing knowledge, risk assessment/analysis
Desirable criteria
- Experience in NHS senior management.
- Experience of Demand management
Communication and Relationship Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate effectively at senior level including to the Trust Board.
- Knowledge and ability to influence and develop procurement strategy and policy.
- Ability to support Trust-wide knowledge of Procurement principles and guidance and involvement in management induction and development programmes as a Trust expert in Procurement policy and procedures.
- Ability to undertake appraisals for a group of staff as defined in the Departmental management structure.
- Well-developed interpersonal skills, e.g. influencing and negotiating, team member.
- Ability to delegate and empower.
- Able to build relationships of trust with stakeholders and has credibility with senior managers and clinicians.
- Experience in managing requests relating to the Freedom Of Information act and similar policies.
- Potential to develop and change within the changing NHS.
- Articulate with practised and developed interpersonal communication and presentational skills.
Analytical and Judgement Skills
Essential criteria
- Able to act / take confident decisions necessary to provide continuous services – within governance controls.
- Take decisions and actions that display leadership and exert confidence particularly where an obvious solution may not be immediately evident.
- Demonstrates the ability to analyse complicated requests and determine the urgency of a situation and appropriately.
- Ability to reach timely and effective decisions based on the appropriate use of conflicting information where opinion may differ.
- Ability to interpret, analyse, communicate and present highly complex information and evidence based data
- Able to determine the appropriate method to present new and/or complex information to internal and external stakeholders - sometimes in a hostile environment.
- Ability to undertake option appraisals and trials and evaluations for clinical and non-clinical products and services where the balance between cost and quality may require very careful consideration and consultation, making recommendations based on findings
- Able to influence clinical and non-clinical staff to achieve compliance of the Procurement and Trust organisational aims and objectives
- Experience of highly complex evaluation and market and economic analysis
- Research into current best practice Procurement techniques and projects and adaptation of the team to meet published NHS Procurement standards, striving to meet the highest standards.
- Able to work with suppliers to implement innovative products and solutions.
- Implement develop and use up to date systems in support of best practice procurement including but not exclusively the following Trust-wide systems; Electronic tendering tools, Supplier / Contract management systems, Benchmarking tools, End to end procurement ordering systems
- Collate, interpret and provide management information to National and other bodies in support of Trust obligations e.g. EU statistical returns, DH benchmarking, historical contract information.
- Analyse and respond to Freedom of Information requests for procurement information where the information may require correlation and corroboration from a number of sources
Planning & Organisational Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to influence and develop strategic thinking including development of the Trusts Procurement strategy in order to deliver best in class procurement practices
- Capability and capacity to develop procurement projects that support delivery of an annual savings programme based on control of a £300m Non pay expenditure.
- Ability to develop and implement associated organisational strategy and policy
- Ability to project manage several complex projects with competing deadlines
- Experienced in making cases of need and recommendations for future requirements.
- Evidence of ability to prioritise and plan own work and work of others effectively
- Potential to develop and change within the changing NHS.
- Ability to manage a team to meet strategic and operational targets relating to the timely delivery of services.
- Understand the best use of national and regional framework contracts and option appraise against local tendering and contract options in order to deliver the most effective and timely procurement service.
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Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at the NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!
We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.
Closing Dates: Please submit your application form as soon as possible to avoid disappointment; we reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the published closing date if we receive a sufficient number of completed application forms.
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Salary: The quoted salary will be on a pro rata basis for part time workers.
Disability Confidence: All applicants who have declared a disability and who meet the essential criteria for the post will be shortlisted.
At Risk of redundancy: NHS employees within the East Midlands who are ‘at risk’ of redundancy will be given a preferential interview where they meet the essential criteria of the person specification.
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Consent:
- Transfer of information: If I have previous NHS service - I consent to the transfer of my Electronic Staff Record (ESR) data between this and other NHS Trusts. I also consent to the Occupational Health Department confidentially accessing my occupational health records from my current or previous employer in order to check the status of my vaccinations, immunisations s and screening tests as relevant to the post. I understand this is an automated process and the information will only be used for these purposes prior to me taking up the position at NUH.
- Disclosure and Barring Service: Your post maybe subject to a DBS check which incur a cost dependent on the level of check required (£41.90 for enhanced and £21.90 for standard). I agree to reimburse Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust the cost of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if it is required (by deduction from first month’s pay). Should I decide to withdraw from my job offer, I agree to reimburse Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust the cost of the DBS check undertaken by cheque or other agreed method.
