Commercial Policy and Governance Lead

Role Responsibility

Exciting changes are afoot at Kent County Council. We have recently formed a new Commercial and Procurement Division, which will be driven by its mission to ensure the Council is delivering ‘best value’ for residents across £1.2b of contracted spend.

We are looking for an ambitious and enthusiastic professional to join our new Division and to lead as a champion for sound and effective procurement practice compliance across one of the largest local authorities in the UK. The Commercial Policy and Governance Lead will be responsible for developing and implementing KCC’s key procurement policies and procedures and establishing robust governance arrangements to ensure ongoing compliance. This will be a key enabler to ensuring the delivery of savings, value for money, and the mitigation of risk through effective procurement practice across KCC. It will also be a pivotal role with important public procurement reforms on the horizon, including the introduction of the Provider Selection Regime and the new Procurement Act in 2024.

To join us, you will have an established track record of developing and implementing procurement policies and procedures and assurance arrangements. You will be an excellent communicator and able to inspire positive change across organisational boundaries. In this role, each day will offer a chance to build on your experience and skills, and to put your expertise into action and help shape the future of Kent.

KCC takes our values and behaviours very seriously and we are also looking for someone who is equally passionate about the right values and behaviours.

This role is a temporary post covering maternity leave for up to 9 months.

We are currently a hybrid working organisation and, as a result, the expectation will be that the post holder attends the office one day per week, currently Tuesdays.  This can vary from time to time, eg for whole service days or meetings that require face to face attendance. 

Interviews will be held the week commencing 18th December 2023

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Contact Details

Michael Bridger, Commercial Standards and Improvement Manager

tel 03000 410110

Michael.Bridger@kent.gov.uk

About the Company

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.