Head of Procurement

We are looking for an enabler who can drive change and transformation.

LiveWest owns and manages over 38,000 homes across the South West, from Cornwall to Gloucestershire.

Formed in March 2018 through the merger of Knightstone Housing and DCH, it has ambitious plans to invest more than £1bn in the South West economy and to build 7,500 new homes in the region over the next five years.

They offer homes for affordable rent and shared ownership sale. They also build homes for private sale, to generate profits which are then used to provide and build more affordable homes. 

They have recently invested in new build offices in Exeter and Tolvaddon to complement the Weston-super-Mare office. Combined with touchdown points for the many mobile workers, their aim is to offer a contemporary working environment with an emphasis on building a shared culture.

The Head of Procurement role is first and foremost about building and repairing relationships internally.

It's fair to say that procurement has remained a largely tactical function over the years without a strategy in place to drive value both internally and externally.

As a result, the budget holders and various divisions have almost operated separately from the department.

However, with the presence of a strong commercial procurement leader who creates collaboration and value across the business, procurement will be able to integrate and be invited at the onset of commercial discussions.

Procurement is not involved in the development side of the business and you and your team will therefore be brought in to help maintain the sites and buildings in the portfolio.

Reporting to the Director of Financial Services, you will lead and manage a team of 7 to manage c£80m of spend.

The team structure is as follows:

• Supply Chain Manager, Procurement Manager, Fleet Manager, Buyer, 2 x Admin resource

This isn't a complete greenfield site; there is a contract management system in place, IT infrastructure and some policies and procedures. What is missing is a clear procurement strategy.

The key short-term priorities are:

• Establish a new procurement structure and strategy.
• Develop collaborative and engaging relationships with key stakeholders across the organisation.
• Create a high-performance team culture within the Procurement function.
• Optimise spend to deliver value for money in a compliant and efficient manner.
• Supplier consolidation - over 1,200 suppliers at the moment

About you:

You will be based on-site 2 days per week and the rest remote.

Travel between sites and suppliers is expected and down to you to drive this and be proactive.

You will need to be able to evidence how you foster and build strong relationships both internally and externally as the first 12 months will focus largely on stakeholder engagement and demonstrating Procurement's value.

Steering groups with Senior Management will be required as well as regular meetings with the Supplier Contract Relationship Management team (SCRM) that manage the post-contract relationships. Currently, Procurement owns the process and the business owns the relationships.

This can be challenged and changed over time if deemed appropriate.

Gravitas, confidence, leadership, and collaboration are all adjectives that the Finance Director uses when describing this individual and what they need to bring to the organisation.

You will ideally have an understanding of Housing Associations but failing that, Hard & Soft FM, Estates and Facilities Procurement gained within the public or private sector would be hugely helpful. 

The process:

It will be a two-stage interview process:

• 1st interview - on Teams | Technical Interview
• 2nd interview - face to face | Behavioural and Cultural Interview

The package:

• £70-80,000 base salary
• £4.5k car allowance
• Defined Pension Contribution - EE 6%, ER 9%
• 26 days leave increasing to 30
• Relocation package offered if required
• Annual bonus - capped at £2,500 - equal payout for everybody

Please do not hesitate to contact me for an in-depth discussion.