Policy and Governance Officer

Role Responsibility

Help Shape How Kent County Council Spends the Council’s Money

Are you interested in how large organisations make decisions, manage risk and spend public money responsibly? Do you enjoy improving processes, influencing others and helping turn policy into practical action?

KCC’s Commercial and Procurement Division is looking to recruit two Commercial Policy & Governance Officers to join our Commercial Standards Team.

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and embed the policies, governance arrangements and assurance mechanisms that underpin procurement and contract management activity across one of the largest local authorities in the country.

Working across a diverse range of services, you'll help ensure that procurement activity is compliant, well-governed and delivers value for money for Kent's residents. The role will also support the Council's responsible procurement agenda, including support for SMEs and VCSEs and the management of key supply chain risks.

About the Role

As a Commercial Policy & Governance Officer, you'll support the development and implementation of KCC's commercial policies, procedures, governance and assurance arrangements. You'll work across Directorates and corporate functions, helping colleagues understand and apply procurement policy and governance requirements in a practical and proportionate way.

 You will have the opportunity to:

• Support the development and implementation of procurement policies and procedures, including the Council’s spending rules.
• Monitor, evaluate and improve how policies are implemented across KCC.
• Carry out research and horizon scanning to ensure KCC remains aligned with legislative and policy developments and improves its procurement practice.
• Help shape and maintain best practice guidance and support cross-Council compliance with public procurement regulations. 
• Support governance and assurance processes, including senior level procurement boards and Member review panels. 
• Build strong relationships with colleagues across KCC and external partners to support effective governance and continuous improvement.

 This is a varied role combining policy development and implementation, governance and assurance, stakeholder engagement, and project delivery.

About You

We're looking for people who are curious, organised, politically aware and passionate about good governance, public value and continuous improvement. You'll be comfortable building relationships across organisational boundaries, challenging constructively when required, and supporting others to navigate complex requirements in a practical and proportionate way.

You'll bring a strong people-focused mindset, excellent attention to detail, and a genuine interest in how procurement, contract management and commercial governance can be used to improve outcomes for residents and communities.

Whilst this is not a procurement practitioner role, the successful candidate will need sufficient commercial awareness to engage credibly with procurement professionals, commissioners and contract managers and help effectively translate policy and governance requirements into day-to-day practice.

You will ideally have:

• Experience developing or supporting the implementation of policies, procedures, governance arrangements or assurance mechanisms.
• Experience supporting projects, programmes or improvement initiatives. 
• Good organisational and project coordination abilities.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• The ability to analyse information, solve problems and communicate complex information clearly to a wide range of audiences.
• Experience working in, or closely alongside, procurement, commissioning, contract management, governance, assurance or similar functions.
• A good understanding of procurement, contract management or commercial governance and how these support effective decision-making, value for money and service delivery in a large organisation.

A degree (or equivalent experience) and a relevant professional qualification, or willingness to work towards one, would be advantageous.

Why Join Kent County Council?

This is an opportunity to join a high-profile team at an exciting time for the Commercial and Procurement Division.

You'll work on projects and initiatives that have a genuine impact on services, communities and public spending across Kent, while developing your own skills and experience in policy, governance, assurance and improvement activity.

We offer:

• Flexible hybrid working, combining home and office-based working.
• A supportive and collaborative team environment
• Access to learning and development opportunities
• The chance to work across a wide range of services and stakeholders
• Opportunities to build experience in governance, policy, procurement and programme delivery

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.

Make a Difference

If you're looking for a challenging and rewarding role where you can help improve how one of the largest Councils in England operates, we'd love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Katie Smith, Commercial Policy and Governance Lead at Katie.Smith@kent.gov.uk. 

Closing date for applications is Sunday 26^th July, with interviews anticipated in Maidstone on the week commencing 10^th August 2026.

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

Contact Details

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Katie Smith, Commercial Policy and Governance Lead at Katie.Smith@kent.gov.uk. 

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

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, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

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