Senior Procurement Specialist; Procurement

Help shape the future of public sector procurement across Scotland.

Scotland Excel is a recognised centre of excellence for public sector procurement, delivering innovative procurement solutions and expert support to local authorities and public sector organisations across Scotland.

As demand for our specialist services continues to grow, we're looking for an experienced and motivated Senior Procurement Specialist to join our busy and expanding Flexible Procurement Services Team on a 24-month fixed-term contract.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced, client-focused environment where no two days are the same. If you're passionate about procurement, enjoy building strong stakeholder relationships, and want to make a tangible difference to public services and local communities, we'd love to hear from you.

Why join our Flexible Procurement Team?

Over the last five years, our Flexible Procurement team has delivered:

• 135 awarded contracts
• £39 million in total contract value
• Bespoke procurement solutions for public sector organisations across Scotland

Unlike Scotland Excel's national collaborative procurement activity, the Flexible Procurement team works directly with individual public bodies to deliver local procurement projects tailored to their unique needs. This means you'll enjoy a highly varied role with significant client engagement, autonomy, and opportunities to develop your expertise.

About the Role

As a Senior Procurement Specialist, you'll play a leading role in delivering high-quality procurement services for our member organisations while ensuring excellent customer service throughout the procurement lifecycle.

You will:

• Effectively manage and deliver a wide-ranging portfolio of contracts, including high-value, high-risk, regulated and non-regulated procurements
• Lead end-to-end procurement exercises for goods, works and service contracts from strategy development through to contract award and mobilisation
• Build strong relationships with clients and stakeholders, ensuring their needs are understood and translated into effective procurement solutions
• Drive commercial excellence through the development and implementation of well-defined sourcing strategies
• Manage all stages of procurement activity to deliver a high-quality, compliant and customer-focused service
• Ensure compliance with standing orders, statutory provisions, procurement legislation, organisational procedures and relevant policies
• Support sustainable procurement policy and best practice in the delivery of contracts
• Make recommendations on contract awards and coordinate subsequent contract placement and mobilisation activities
• Monitor and apply emerging procurement practices, innovations and e-procurement technologies
• Provide coordination, instruction, advice and guidance to team members, supporting their development and capability
• Support the implementation of organisational policies, procedures and practices as required
• Ensure all work activities comply with Scotland Excel's commitment to health and safety requirements

About You

We're looking for a procurement professional who combines significant procurement expertise with strong leadership, client relationship and project management skills.

You'll ideally have:

• Significant experience delivering public sector procurement exercises, ideally within a Category C environment
• Experience managing a diverse portfolio of contracts, including high-value and high-risk procurements
• A strong understanding of public sector procurement legislation, governance requirements and best practice
• Experience developing sourcing strategies and delivering procurement activities to agreed performance measures
• Proven experience building and managing client relationships within public sector organisations
• Experience leading procurement projects from planning through to implementation and mobilisation
• Strong organisational, analytical and project planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively
• The ability to assess stakeholder needs and develop procurement solutions that support effective service delivery
• Experience reviewing financial information, standing orders and organisational requirements across a range of public sector environments
• A Degree or HND in a business-related discipline (or equivalent qualification)
• CIPS membership (or equivalent), or be actively working towards achieving it
• A collaborative leadership style and a commitment to continuous improvement and procurement excellence

The following values…