Procurement Specialist

Procurement Specialist
Permanent
Guildford
£35,000 – £40,000 per annum
Hybrid Working

Do you want to shape and contribute to the future of Education?

Are you ambitious and want to play a pivotal role in both Indirect and Direct Procurement over a diverse portfolio of goods and services to include HR, IT, Facilities and Marketing?

You will have practical working knowledge and experience of working with UK procurement and tender processes.

The Procurement team is responsible for and involved in a period of growth centred around the changing landscape of Assessment. This will see you working with the Procurement Lead, Category and Compliance Managers on a variety of innovative projects and supporting complex Tender proposals. You will be given the opportunity to actively engage and gain exposure cross functionally at a senior and national level.

Purpose

You will provide proactive, consistent, professional support to the Procurement team, helping to deliver on the overall strategic objectives, assisting in end to end contract management, Tenders and projects with integrity, drive and efficiency.

You will report into the Procurement Support Team Lead who in turn reports into the Head of Procurement. As part of an eleven-person Procurement team, primarily based at Guildford, you will form part of the Corporate Services Office and play a key role in ensuring that the procurement function operates efficiently and is able meet and surpass set deadlines. The Procurement team oversee a portfolio of 400+ contracts with a total value of £100 million.

The role has on-going direct contact with colleagues throughout the business and will involve regular interaction with suppliers and AQA affiliate companies.

What’s in it for you?

• A focus on personal and professional growth and development including access to CIPS 4 funding and training.
• Work across both Indirect and Direct Procurement across a breadth of goods and services.
• Working in a supportive and engaged team.
• Flexible, hybrid working managed within your own areas.
• Access to an enhanced Contributory pension scheme which could you see you paying in 7% and AQA contributing 11.5% (Other options available).
• Life Assurance, BUPA PMI, Health cash plan, 35 hour working week, 25 days holiday + Bank Holidays + Christmas off increasing with services.
• The ability to unwind and focus on self-care through the full Headspace App and our Employee assistance and wellbeing programmes.

What you will do

• Build and review supplier contracts (using AQA contract templates), liaising with the AQA’s Legal Team regarding supplier terms contracts.
• Assisting in desktop research as a key part in the sourcing process.
• Use your commercial acumen to analyse, interpret and evaluate financial and supplier performance data.
• RFI & RFP Tender scoping, preparation, analysis and supplier evaluation.
• Responsibility for supplier on-boarding and the updating of supplier records.
• Accountability for the completion of key due diligence checks and the liaison with the Group Compliance and Assurance Manager.
• Communicate and build positive and collaborative working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders alike.
• Own, maintain and distribute weekly updates and reports.
• Develop expertise in using AQA’s Source-to-Contract system (Jaggaer/BRAVO) and fully utilise Workday Finance software.

What you need to succeed

• Have already started your procurement career path and looking for that next step up.
• Demonstrable experience of the RFP and RFI Tender and contracting process.
• An enthusiasm to analysis and evaluate and consider innovative and continuous improvement at each step.
• An ability to really get the most from metrics and analytical tools including Excel.
• Knowledge or exposure to a breadth of different contract types experience e.g. IT, marketing, facilities, recruitment, HR.
• A continuous improvement and personal growth mindset.

What next?
Apply highlighting your transferable skills and motivation for applying via our website.
Interviews will be held face to face in our Guildford offices throughout November 2023
#Pro22

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over seven million GCSEs and A-levels each year and it’s our people who make this happen.