7 Force Head of Category Management

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an innovative and driven senior procurement professional to direct and lead all procurement and tendering activity across seven police forces; Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk.

The new 7 Force Head of Category Management will be responsible for overseeing the procurement pipeline for the 7 Forces, leading the strategic development, implementation and monitoring of all contracts for all 7 Forces in order to achieve significant savings.  The overall spend is approximately £200m per year and you will have a team of approximately 20 staff.

You will have significant experience of procurement and commercial management having worked as a leading Procurement professional for a complex organisation, developing and delivering category strategies across a range of sectors including but not limited to IT, Estates and Indirect Spend. 

You will be technically excellent, possessing extensive knowledge and understanding of current contract law and the application of Public Contracts Regulations and associated legislation. You must be MCIPS qualified or evidence equivalent levels of experience, technical knowledge and expertise.  You should be able to demonstrate the ability to think commercially and develop creative solutions whilst maintaining compliance with procurement legislation.

You should be able to demonstrate strong negotiating, influencing and communication capabilities along with effective leadership and change management ability.

You should have strong interpersonal skills to represent the function and act as senior advisor to the seven Chief Officer teams, Police and Crime Commissioners and their Chief Executives, so proven senior stakeholder engagement and political awareness is crucial.  You will be joining the 7 Forces Procurement team at the beginning of its journey as a single team so you will be able (and expected to) influence and contribute to the strategic direction of the procurement function across the collaboration.

Whilst the role is based at an agreed location, you will be required to travel regularly to other establishments across the seven forces. 

Applications are invited by way of CV and covering letter submission to Christine.nicholls@essex.pnn.police.uk.

Please do not submit an application via this online recruitment platform.

Interviews will take place on Thursday 25 July 2019 in Dunmow, Essex.

For further information please contactChristine Nicholls on 07850 215194.