Head of Procurement

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose: The Head of Procurement and Contract Management for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust directly supports the Director of Procurement in managing operational procurement streams.

The procurement programme is reliant on strong leadership which engenders robust clinical engagement, through the Procurement Review Group and covers virtually all aspects of the Trusts business.

The role is responsible for leading the procurement team to deliver complex procurement projects, lead shared services categories, with direct line management of procurement staff and service delivery.

The role will lead on and be responsible for the success and delivery of WAHTs procurement modernisation that is aligned with Central Commercial Function (CCF) and the current Trust procurement strategy. Act as a focal point for key stakeholders (internal and external), maintaining the reputation of the procurement service as a highly professional and enabling strategic and support service for the Trust and its partners.

To support and complement the Director of Procurement as the professional lead in Procurement across the wider ICS and local Trusts.

To possess specialist expertise in commercial / contract management to accurately inform contract performance reporting and management. Skill set to recognise where adaptations are required to reflect service or reporting changes and preparing for renewals and variations is essential.

Key Duties:

Aligned to the Trusts commitment for continuous service improvement across all areas or the organisation, full attendance and completion of relevant courses is considered essential and a pre requisite for this post

To lead in optimising Procurement and Supplies Management (P&SM) departmental outputs to support the success and goals of the Trust.

To lead in optimising Procurement and Supplies Management (P&SM) departmental outputs to support the success and goals of the Trust.

Responsible in devising and implementing processes to support the delivery of the Trusts Procurement and Supply Management strategy, ensuring that the procurement function is modernised, transformed and aligned with NHS Standards of Procurement (DH, August 2013).

To be instrumental in raising and maintaining the maturity of the procurement function in the Trust according to CCFIA Accrediation within the CCF.

To operate as a fully-integrated business partner to the Trusts Divisions providing expert knowledge around commercial opportunities and the relationship between contract spend and income .

Responsible for delivery of efficient, optimised value chain category management and implementing well organised business processes to ensure sustainability in supply structure for the Trust aligned to its strategic goals.

To ensure prioritisation of initiatives throughout the Procurement Section by ensuring accurate data quality to inform procurement benchmarking. This includes priming up performance of P2P for delivery of the strategic work streams.

To influence at the forefront, the reduction of maverick expenditure through tactical re-structuring of contracts procedures and sourcing and enhance spend visibility thereby ensuring the Trust derives best value in the acquisition of supplies and services.

To influence at the forefront, the reduction of purchase order (PO) processing time by eliminating waste, to improve service adoption and actively promote stakeholder confidence level in the procurement and supplies management service.

To lead in the delivery of income, cash releasing savings or efficiency based cost improvement plans attributed to medical and non-medical supplies and services.

Line manager responsibility for a large team of staff including supervision of team outputs, monitoring sickness, coaching, mentoring, annual leave approval as well as addressing any performance related issues.

Responsible for the ongoing professional development of the Procurement Department staff in line with objectives.

To collaborate with all national and regional procurement partner organisations ensuring responsibilities are effectively discharged and membership objectives are delivered.

To support the Procurement Director in delivering effective provision of the Procurement and Supply Chain service across the H&W ICS

As the Head of Procurement, has discretion and autonomy to make decisions and work independently, and only deferring matters to the Director of Procurement in alignment with Trusts governance.

General Duties:

Scope and Range

Through highly developed specialist knowledge, will provide strategic leadership, advice and expertise across a broad and varied range of functions associated with procurement, contracting and finance. Manage internal operations and resources to enable the delivery of the vision, business plans, saving targets and day to day operations. Build professional relationships, initiate and lead change to enable all staff to deliver savings and quality improvements. Work to improve the service, enhance expertise and build procurement capability and capacity.

Systems & Equipment

The Trust currently uses Iproc (Oracle) as its purchasing management system, Ingenica for Inventory Management and Atamis as the Contract Management and it is the responsibility alongside the other department leads to ensure the adoption of the systems across the Trust and within the department.

The postholder will be responsible in leading on and influencing the adoption and adaptation of GS1 and PEPPOL compliant systems across the Trust and suppliers.

Postholder is responsible for promoting the use of the management systems (goods receipt and tracking), Atamis software suite, and contracts register, the e-catalogue system and the e-requisitioning/e-PO system (four systems collectively, to be named as the e-procurement suite).

Postholder will be responsible in ensuring compliant interface between the Trusts e-procurement suite with Department of Healths Global Data Synchronisation Network and the Product Information Management System (PIMS).

Decisions & Judgements

The Head of Procurement has extensive and expert knowledge in advising the Trust on the appropriate configuration of the Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions specifically for procurement and financial governance.

Responsible for the Trusts interpretation and adoption of appropriate procurement procedures specifically in relation to EU Procurement Directives issued by the European Commission, and Procurement Policy Notes issued by the Cabinet Office.

To exercise judgement with authorisation of tender waivers as per the Trusts Standing Order and Standing Financial Instructions.

Communications & Relationships

The post holder will be proficient and highly skilled in providing, receiving and presenting highly complex, often commercially sensitive information to large and diverse audiences across the Trust. Will be skilled in ensuring recipients understanding and subsequent guidance to certain courses of action and enable implementation and delivery of major programmes of work.

Present, and ensure understanding of, the strategic procurement/commercial Trust-wide plan to a range of stakeholders including the Board of Directors, Clinical Commissioning Groups and peer Trusts, as well as effectively managing and delivering a clear and concise plan for internal partners.

Use political judgement and astuteness in understanding and working with complex policy, and diverse interest groups in the provision, receipt, analysis and use of highly complex, sensitive and contentious information.

The postholder will be highly skilled with interpersonal and negotiation skills able to effectively communicate in situations of opposing views and deliver resolutions to conflicts.

Physical Demands of the Job

This role involves a combination of sitting, standing and walking but with little requirement for physical effort to be exerted.

The role requires postholder to cover a number walking distances on daily basis across the Trusts sites.

The role requires pro-longed and frequent concentration to quality assure the drafting and wording within commercial contracts, carrying out calculation to compare and analyse various commercial models, compare and contrast commercial profile on frequent basis.

The role requires postholder to frequently participate, contribute and influence decision making, (either as Chair, panel or participant) in strategic workstream and project deployment team meetings.

Qualifications

Essential

• Holds a professional procurement qualification or has relevant demonstrable senior procurement management experience.
• Proven ability to manage a team effectively producing year on year results.
• Good standard of General Education.
• Demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development and training.
• Demonstrate training which has assisted in the development of others and a positive and proactive approach to staff development.
• Project management.
• Report writing
• Negotiation training

Desirable

• C.I.P.S. or studying towards.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Expert knowledge of EU Procurement rules and able to demonstrate in Theory and Practice
• Advanced Microsoft Office Skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent negotiating skills
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of Supply Chain Management, Contract processes and Contract Law.
• Thorough understanding of Contract process.
• Clear understanding of prioritising workload and how this can be achieved.
• Knowledge and understanding of staff management issues, leadership and motivation.
• Thorough knowledge of e.commerce and e.procurement.
• Knowledge and understanding of Supply Chains.
• Knowledge of Inventory Management Systems and issues.
• Knowledge and working experience of MS Excel.
• Knowledge of the Purchase to Pay process.
• Good comprehension of Procurement Strategy and Policy contents.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Ability to receive and provide complex information and communicate advice effectively.
• Ability to solve complex contracting problems innovatively.
• Ability to plan and organise multiple work streams and prioritise effectively.
• Expert analytical skills and judgement skills regarding complex performance data.
• Ability to use both MS Office and IT Procurement systems.
• Ability to communicate effectively in terms that can be understood across all professions within the Trust.
• To be able to work effectively and communicate with other staff and customers.
• Motivate and support staff and help with their on-going development.
• Support collaborative strategies.

Desirable

• Knowledge of goods & services used within NHS.
• Knowledge of Medical and Non-Medical products and the dynamics of the Healthcare market.

Experience

Essential

• Postholder MUST have significant experience as a Head of Procurement
• Postholder will be able to demonstrate significant experience at a senior level in contracts management or procurement management.
• Postholder demonstrates all-round experience and expertise in configuration and structure of a purchase operations and system configurations for purchasing systems.
• Demonstrable experience in leading improvement and transformation projects.
• Proven track record of negotiating contracts and managing competitive tendering process and working knowledge of the EU regulations.
• Experience of managing high value and complex procurement projects.
• Experience of capital equipment procurement in large Trust / Organisation.
• Excellent experience of contract management internally and externally of contracts with public and private sector.
• A proven track record in innovation with an ability to inspire and lead the implementation of change.
• A proven track records of procurement savings delivery in either the private or public sector.
• Evidence of strong commercial awareness and capability, and the ability to realise opportunities.
• Experience of policy implementation.
• Ability to provide advice in relation to contractual terms and conditions.
• An ability to negotiate and persuade colleagues of the need to adopt best procurement practice.
• An ability to lead, motivate and support a group of staff, to set and achieve targets with those staff.
• Experience of writing full business cases.
• Experience of advanced negotiation.
• Experience of demand management techniques.
• Experience of introducing stock management systems.

Desirable

• Demonstrable experience in managing multi-faceted corporate relationships in client facing environment outside the acute hospital setting is desirable.
• Experience of corporate, estates & facilities and IT procurement in the NHS

Personal Qualities and other Job Requirements

Essential

• Professional approaches to all aspects of work, in particular the adoption of the CIPS ethical code of conduct and the Trusts Codes of Conduct and accountability.
• Ability to think strategically and deliver operationally.
• Calm influencing and persuasive skills in negotiating both internally and externally.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Good organisational skills.
• Ability to cope under pressure.
• Good at building networks and alliances internally and externally.
• Proven ability to operate/think laterally and work on own initiative.
• Ability to deal with highly complex, sensitive information of a contractual nature.
• Experience of complex evaluation and market and economic analysis.
• Industrious and versatile.
• Creative, innovative and visionary mind set.
• Ability to influence, command respect and to establish credibility with Board members.
• Tactful, diplomatic and at ease with all kinds of people.
• Ability to motivate and develop others.
• Commitment to staff development at all levels, including the sponsorship of professional development.
• The drive to deliver services of high quality at low cost which is customer focused.
• Demonstrates tact and diplomacy as well as an ability to be assertive when required.
• Ability to work flexible hours and travel across Trust sites, to suppliers and other agencies as will be required in the course of performing the duties under this role.
• Hardworking and committed to the outcomes required by the Organisation.
• Ability to work unsupervised.
• Professional and Business-like appearance and conduct at all times.
• Able to demonstrate behaviours that meet the Trust and Departmental values.

Desirable

• Experience of devising and implement a Board approved procurement strategy.
• Experience of devising and presenting on procurement issues to Board level.

Improving Diversity and Inclusive Recruitment

Essential

• As part of the Trust's aim to improve diversity across the Trust, positive action is being taken and all applications for this post from BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ candidates can request to be considered under an expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria as specified in the person specification for this role. Here you can declare if you wish to be considered under this expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme and this response would be visible to the Shortlisting Panel.

Improving Diversity and Inclusive Recruitment

Essential

• As part of the Trust's aim to improve diversity across the Trust, positive action is being taken and all applications for this post from BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ candidates can request to be considered under an expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria as specified in the person specification for this role. Here you can declare if you wish to be considered under this expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme and this response would be visible to the Shortlisting Panel.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).