Procurement Buyer

Procurement Buyer

Location: Norwich

Job Type: Temporary

Proposed start date : ASAP

Sector: Healthcare

Base: Head office not a hospital

Parking: No parking on site, there is a park and ride service available

Duration: Expected to last till up to 6 months

Band: 4

Remote working option: No

Pay Rates:

GBP11.00 to GBP12.35 paye including holiday pay per hour

GBP12.00 to GBP13.35 umbrella per hour

Depending on skill and experience

Working Days and Hours: Monday to Friday, start between 08:00am - 09:00am, finish between 16:00pm - 17:00pm would be on a rota to do 9 - 5 for one week in four

Job Purpose:

* To provide an effective and efficient purchasing service that delivers on-going cost efficiencies/benefits to the Trust in line with departmental objectives. To manage Incoming requisitions and progress through to official orders.

* The key purpose of this role is to deliver procurement support to the Procurement team within a busy office environment. This will be achieved by the role working closely with other members of the procurement team including the Category and Corporate Managers and Buyers to deliver department responsibilities.

* These responsibilities will include a variety of procurement activities, including contract administration, placing orders, administering procurement information systems as well as more general office functions as required.

Key duties and responsibilities

Stock and Non-Stock Purchase Order Management

* Purchasing Activity associated with purchase requisitions, purchase orders and vendor communications. Optimising cost & delivery

* Coordination of call-off orders, standing orders and services and maintenance orders. Manage adequate filing and administrative routine to service the above

* Respond to customer enquiries on product details, availability, return etc.

Tender

* Support individual tender processes by providing management reporting data on cost, past usage and forecasted usage.

Systems

* General housekeeping of vendor information & product information for e-Procurement systems

* Management Information reports. Support colleagues in Powergate functions & features

Communication

* Regular contact with end users and suppliers to ensure customer satisfaction. Regular contact with Finance to ensure effective information flows within the commercial service of Purchase & Supplies

* Delivery scheduling and issue resolution. Sourcing alternative suppliers or items

* Escalation to the Senior Buyer on issues, queries and complaints that cannot be resolved within the Buyers capability

Further Details

* Use judgement to identify root cause issues that needs to be dealt with and liaising diplomatically with suppliers / customers to facilitate resolution. Advise the Procurement Team of issues that need their support to be addressed. Use tact and persuasion to resolve supply chain issues to the advantage of the hospital customer, ensuring the supplier understands need and urgency where required

* Provide advice and instruction to hospital colleagues on how to order goods compliantly with Trust policies, using Trust mandated systems

* Provide general non-clinical advice to hospital colleagues on where best to source products for patient care using the available suppliers / catalogues

* Support customers in progressing non-standard requests. Assist in the management of Nexus catalogues to ensure the optimum product set is available to customers

* Assure purchase requests and approvals from customers are compliant as guided by Trust Standing Financial Instructions. Provide client advice to put in to practice new or amended Standing Financial Instructions

* Place orders up to GBP25,000 with suppliers on the basis of assurance undertaken. Provide briefing on assurance undertaken for orders requiring higher level authorisation

* Prepare orders over GBP25,000 ensuring all relevant information and aprovals have been gained and appropriate governance has been followed. Once prepared, advise the Senior Buyer that the order can be sent

* Re-direct/amend orders on Powergate as required. Escalate critical orders / supplier performance issues if unable to resolve, providing a succinct summary of the issue at hand

* Assist with the evaluation of clinical products and report to relevant groups of progress

* Record actions and actively assist in the management of any Groups that require product evaluations. Reconcile routine complex invoices and price queries so that invoices can be paid promptly

* Assist Accounts Payable in the urgent resolution of invoices where the invoice does not match the order sent to the supplier and the account is now on STOP so no more goods will be despatched until the query has been resolved (Check pricing, obtain POD's or copies of quotations)

* Use business administration and procurement tools, including the hospitals selected purchase-to-pay and other procurement systems, to manage the ordering process. Ensure data entry and storage of relevant information to provide a precise and auditable record of procurement transactions that are compliant with hospital policies

* Provide ad hoc reporting from procurement system using standard report templates. Enter data onto a procurement systems/database ensuring up-to-date and accurate procurement information

* Liaise with suppliers and customers to confirm multi-faceted order details including price queries, delivery dates, technical requirements etc

* Use the work plan and procurement systems to capture up to date work progress

* Listen to the needs of stakeholders and engage with them about their available options to achieve their aims whilst remaining compliant with hospital policies. Minute taking for various meetings as required