Assistant Procurement Manager - Main Contractor - London

Assistant Procurement Manager
Permanent / Full Time
Location: London
Salary: Basic upto £32,500 plus Package

Company Summary:

Our client is a leading construction and civil engineering group which invests in, builds, maintains and renews the places where we work, live and play. They operate across a range of sectors including defence, education, housing, industrials, power, transport and utilities.

We currently have opportunities for Assistant Procurement Managers working on major projects within Rail & Infrastructure in London and the surrounding areas.

The role will require you to provide comprehensive procurement strategies, manage the effective sourcing, tendering and negotiation of contracts with the clients while maintaining positive relations with customers, implement appropriate controls and audit regimes that enable and reflect the company’s policies and procedures.

The main responsibilities are the purchasing activities for the commercial and corporate functions, mainly relating to indirect services. As part of the purchasing management team, the performance in this role is key to delivering on KPI's set by the UK business and at HQ level.

• Drive forward initiatives to raise the profile of the Purchasing function
• Initiating, co-ordinating and supporting any Cost Reduction Program initiatives
• Integrate Purchasing into sourcing projects at earliest point possible.
• Ensure purchasing process is followed and is auditable.
• Implement HQ led purchasing projects into UK business
• Work with other UK departments to ensure supplier agreements are implemented in a timely manner
• Reviewing and checking commercial contractual documentation in conjunction with the Legal team
• Scouting for and introducing new suppliers into the business
• Helping to identify process improvement opportunities
• Working at a strategic and operational level, ensuring the success of the Purchasing function

Experience

• Relevant experience in a senior purchasing role within a larger organization
• Significant experience of indirect / services purchasing
• Able to demonstrate legal knowledge and experience of writing, checking and understanding commercial contracts / terms and conditions
• Ideally CIPS qualified (preferably L4 and above)

Skills

• Excellent level of communication, able to influence and persuade others, whilst building strong working relationships with both internal and external customers, at all levels
• Negotiation skills essential
• Able to demonstrate resilience, and comfortable in challenging existing suppliers to drive costs down for a better deal
• Flexible approach to work with an ability to adapt to change
• Able to demonstrate analytical skills (understanding and interpreting information)
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload, working comfortably to ensure tight, and often changing, deadlines are achieved
• Ability to work alone unsupervised and as part of a team.
• Strong IT knowledge and skills, must include Excel. SAP experience required
• Presentation skills

Candidate Profile:

• Good communication skills when dealing with key stakeholders
• Able to prioritise workload into manageable packages
• Intermediate Excel knowledge with the ability to progress to advanced skills
• Proven knowledge of an MRP procurement system SAP or equivalent
• Construction or manufacturing background preferable but not essential
• Operational procurement management of specific trade packages for a particular project experience would be preferable but not essential.
• Knowledge and understanding of one recognised contract type preferable but not essential.
• Experience of the use of preferred suppliers and strategic manufacturers applicable to the package they are working on.

Requirements:

• Knowledge and experience of working with or for publicly funded bodies, including central government departments;
• Skilled in compiling robust tender and commercial documents;
• Knowledge of applicable EU and UK procurement legislation;
• Experience (not essential) of procurement in planning stage of UK publically funded infrastructure projects;
• Awareness of government initiatives and policies and ability to assess relevancy and defend applicability;
• Knowledge of different forms of contract and risk allocation;
• Good appreciation of supply market for technical services;
• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (or actively working towards);
• Understanding and experience of cultivating strong relationships with existing and potential suppliers.

Key Skills and Qualifications:

• Good level of education, ideally looking to work towards the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (or equivalent).
• Computer skills (Microsoft packages, Oracle).
• Excellent organisational, planning and time management skills.
• Able to work to demanding deadlines.

Key words: Construction, Procurement, Supply Chain, FM Procurement, Real Estate, Property, Buyer, Sub Contract, Civils Engineering, NEC, GCT, Supply Management, Purchasing, Sourcing, Public Sector Construction, Procurement Manger, Rail, HS2, Supply Chain Manager, Main Contractor, M&E. Procuring, Contracts