Senior Procurement Manager

Health Data Research UK (HDR UK)

Flexible. Primary base could be anywhere in the UK, but must be willing and able to travel to London and elsewhere (mainly UK) in connection with the role

The Senior Procurement Manager role will be responsible for providing an efficient and compliant procurement service, for both below and above threshold contracts. The successful candidate will work across the entire organisation to support HDR UK to deliver a range of high-profile public health initiatives including cutting edge efforts to coordinate UK health data infrastructure and facilitate COVID research in the UK and abroad. The role will also assist with a variety of business matters including maintaining and updating internal policies, processes, and training in relation to procurement. This role will involve regular contact with internal and external stakeholders.

The successful candidate will share our values, have strong influencing and collaboration skills, in depth knowledge of UK public procurement legislation, find practical solutions to complex issues, and be comfortable with working at pace.

Main responsibilities

Reporting to the Head of Contracts, Procurement, and Policy and working alongside and providing mentorship and guidance to the Procurement and Funding Call Manager, this fast-paced role will provide key support for HDR UK’s strategic priorities in the categories below:

Procurement Processes

• Provide an effective procurement service, alongside the Procurement and Funding Call Manager, relating to all aspects of procurement management ensuring compliance with HDR UK’s policies, funder requirements, and Public Procurement Legislation (Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023)
• Act as a professional adviser on procurement, contract management and commercial matters
• Manage complex procurement projects, from inception through to contract award, ensuring timely and successful outcomes
• Advise, design and execute appropriate procurement processes throughout the procurement lifecycle to achieve intended outcomes based on estimated contract value, HDR UK policies and procedures, and Public Procurement Legislation
• Work with relevant HDR UK teams to prepare tender and other procurement documents in compliance with the relevant Procurement Legislation, including but not limited to scoping documents, technical specifications, invitations to tender, evaluation criteria, procurement reports, contract award letters/standstill notices
• Ensure all required notices are published on the government central platform within the required timeframes
• Provide training and guidance to stakeholders and staff involved in procurement activities to ensure awareness and compliance with Procurement Legislation
• Work closely with relevant teams and postholders such as finance, budget holders, contracts, data protection and technology teams to ensure relevant requirements are incorporated into tender documents
• Be responsible for ensuring all documentation is appropriately maintained and recorded, developing and improving on information and document management processes
• Maintain and develop appropriate procurement management strategies, ensuring compliance with and reporting on audit requirements, Public Procurement Legislation, value for money, and HDR UK policies and procedures
• Maintain up to date procurement pipeline information and proactively engage with relevant teams and key stakeholders to agree procurement priorities and deliver on the support and processes required to achieve these on time and within budget
• Analyse expenditure records, seeking opportunities to reduce duplication and inappropriate sourcing; identifying areas for consolidation and savings
• Keep up to date with relevant Procurement Legislation and procurement best practices through attending training and self-guided learning as necessary
• Use experience and knowledge of procurement best practice to assess and improve processes using a continuous improvement approach

Relationship Management

• Build and maintain excellent relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to deliver HDR UK’s priorities in a timely and efficient manner
• Communicate deadlines, contract terms, and commercial/funding positions to internal and external stakeholders
• Interact with and assist external legal counsel at the direction of the Head of Contracts, Procurement and Policy and/or the Head of Legal, Trust & Ethics

Process, Policy and Training Development

• Maintaining and improving HDR UK’s existing procurement processes, policies, and templates
• Assist with the development of policies adjacent to HDR UK’s procurement policies as needed-e.g. contracts, finance
• Alongside the Procurement and Funding Call Manager, establish and improve best practices for procurement, information and document management in relation to procurement processes
• Develop and deliver training in relation to procurement lifecycle, HDR UK policies and processes, and Procurement Legislation
• Monitor and manage the risk profile of procurement activities ensuring appropriate mitigations are put in place for identified risks and escalating matters as appropriate to the Head of Contracts, Procurement, and Policy.
• Assist the Head of Contracts, Procurement and Policy to advise and report to HDR UK’s Senior Leadership Team and Board on key procurement risk management issues.

Other

• Provide mentorship and support development of Procurement and Funding Call Manager
• Alongside the Procurement and Funding Call Manager, support HDR UK teams in running grant calls for funding, providing advice, guidance and supervision on appropriate processes, and assist with drafting call documents, and evaluation criteria, and chairing assessment panels. Full training will be provided
• Assist the Head of Contracts, Procurement and Policy with coordination of annual policy review and updating HDR UK’s suite of policies. Full training will be provided
• other related duties and responsibilities as they arise commensurate with the level of the role

Experience and Skills

• Significant public sector procurement experience with an in depth understanding of UK Public Procurement Legislation (PCR 2015 and the new Procurement Act 2023) and its application
• Significant Experience in developing and delivering procurement and contract management strategies and plans
• Professionally qualified: CIPS Level 6 (or working towards obtaining), relevant business qualification, or significant experience demonstrating substantial vocational experience
• Excellent communication, negotiation, influencing, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team, with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Proven ability to prioritise and manage a large, complex workload, taking ownership of tasks, react to shifting priorities, and meet deadlines across multiple projects.
• In-depth understanding of strategic sourcing methodologies
• Ability to engage with technical underlying subject matter as required for effective delivery of procurement activities and risk management.
• Excellent commercial knowledge
• Ability to use experience and commercial knowledge to apply best practice in structuring procurements to obtain intended outcomes and value for money

Please note, as we are a UK-based organisation, applicants must be living in, and eligible to work in, the UK. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

We politely request no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We do not accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

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