Luton, Bedfordshire
University of Bedfordshire

A fantastic opportunity with numerous public sector benefits
Offers agile/hybrid working approach

About Our Client

The Uniersity of Bedforshire are proud to be an internationally recognised and award winning institution with a heritage of quality education going back more than 100 years.

We appear in the Times Higher Education World University rankings, ranked as one of the top 300 universities in the world under 50 years old in the Young University rankings.

In 2021 we were extremely proud to have received a first class award in the People and Planet University Green League, obtaining 2nd place out of 154 UK institutions. In 2020 we launched our Target Zero campaign with the aim to become carbon neutral by 2050 and our commitment to sustainability has been recognised with an Eco Campus Platinum award for two years running.

At Bedfordshire we have a vibrant and cosmopolitan student population that includes around 20,000 students from over 70 countries. We are a modern university that believes in nurturing our students to become educated, employable and entrepreneurial global citizens.

We lead the way in expanding educational opportunity; with more than 40% of our students coming from families with no history of participation in higher education. Around 70% are returners to education and over half are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, under-represented in higher education.

In 2021, we were named in a report by the Sutton Trust as one of England’s Top 25 universities to have successfully contributed to an increase in social mobility amongst disadvantaged young people in England. We have also rated highest in the East of England for ‘access to education’ and are in the Top 10 of this category for the whole country – one of only two universities situated outside of London.

Job Description

The University of Bedfordshire is working to grow our procurement services and prepare for the added challenges of implementing the Procurement Act.The University is seeking a procurement professional to join our progressive, fast paced and supportive team.

Postholder will report to the Head of Procurement and will be deployed to support procurement activity across different categories within the University.Key areas of focus will include: advising and supporting internal stakeholders when procuring goods and services; procurement systems administration and development; managing the contracts register; and supporting the development of procurement reporting.To succeed in this role you will have demonstrable procurement experience; the ability to build, influence and sustain service-led relationships with internal stakeholders; ambition to progress in your procurement career; excellent communication skills and strong numeracy and literacy skills.

The Successful Applicant

Experience in managing end to end procurement processes, and achieving value from spend
Ability to lead multiple, complex, concurrent, procurement projects to a recognised methodology and within a very busy working environment
Experience of advising and reporting to senior stakeholders
Experience of leading effective contract management and managing relationships with suppliers
Proficient in use of IT applications to manage procurements including e-tendering, e-evaluation, contract management and e-auctions.
Understands Universities, including the practices, policies and law that govern public sector procurement activities
Able to plan and prioritise effectively
Able to work independently with minimal supervision
Thrives in a fast paced and dynamic environment

What’s on Offer

Basic Salary £38,205 – £45,585 depending on experience.
Generous pension schemes: We offer two different pension schemes for staff, the Teacher’s Pension Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions of 23.6% and 17.8% respectively.
Generous annual leave including 5 concessionary days, when the University is closed. These additional paid leave days are typically three at Christmas and two at Easter.
Hybrid and flexible working
Great in-house training and professional development courses including mentorship schemes, Aurora Program and our suite of in-house training including our Manager’s Toolkit
Discounts and savings across a range of products and services
Fee Waiver for Children of Staff. If your child enrols, or is already enrolled, on a full time undergraduate course with us, then we will waive their fee for the Honours Year of their degree.

Where specific UK qualifications are required we will take into account overseas equivalents. All third party applications will be forwarded to Michael Page.

Ref Code: MPREJN44831Z

Closing Date: 25/03/2024

Procurement Officer Full Time

Job Overview