Senior Commercial and Procurement Officer

Role Responsibility

Senior Commercial and Procurement Officer – Corporate Category, Commercial and Procurement Division

Exciting changes are afoot at the 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 £1.6b of contracted spend. By ‘best value’, we mean much more than value for money and delivering savings. We are committed to delivering wider social, environmental, and economic benefits to Kent communities and supporting the Kent economy.

We are looking for an ambitious and motivated professional to join our new Division as a Senior Commercial and Procurement Officer in the Corporate category, specifically within the Property and Facilities Management area but there will be some flexibility into other areas including Core Corporate, Professional Services and ICT.

Our core purpose is to support the delivery of minor works projects and significant Property Infrastructure including new builds, extensions, refurbishments and alterations to its estate. The majority of this is existing schools; however, any type of building work to any property including housing, and associated construction services such as hard or soft landscaping is included. 

As a Senior Commercial and Procurement Officer, you will be responsible for providing professional commercial and procurement expertise, advice and guidance using a risk-based approach, to assist stakeholders to plan, develop, source and manage procurement arrangements, to effectively meet organisational and business objectives.

The focus of the role will be to support the procuring and subsequent letting of all contracts to ensure compliance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015, which will be replaced in February 2025, by the Procurement Act 2023, and the Council’s Spending the Council’s Money policy.

To join us, you will have:

• Achieved CIPS level 5 or a demonstrable commitment to work towards this required level.
• Previous commercial or procurement experience either in the private or public sector.
• An excellent work ethic, be organised and able to manage and lead on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong procurement knowledge to support clients in delivering their commercial pipeline.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with internal stakeholders and suppliers.
• The ability to research, analyse and interpret data/information to support development of procurement plans and category strategies.

In this role, each day will offer a chance to build on your experience and skills which will help shape the future of Kent.

The Kent County Council is a fully inclusive Employer, and we take our values and behaviours very seriously and are looking for employees who are equally passionate about the right values and behaviours.

The Person Specification in the Job Description will be used for the purpose of shortlisting applicants. If you intend to apply for this position, please refer to the criteria in the Person Specification and demonstrate how you meet these requirements from your work experience, including any voluntary work or internship, as well as through any formal or informal training undertaken.

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 sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Contact Details

Lyndon Smith, Commercial and Procurement Manager, 03000 419653 or lyndon.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 as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.