Procurement Assistant Manager – Purchasing / Sourcing Focus

About the role

Procurement Assistant Manager – Purchasing / Sourcing Focus

Secondment Opportunity / Fixed Term Contract, 12 months

Full Time, 37 hours per week

£36,531 to £42,977 per annum plus Flexible Working & Local Gov Pension

Location: Chelmsford, Harlow, Braintree

Closing Date: 27th August 2026 (23:59)

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Do you want to develop your sourcing experience, working within a friendly and supportive team to undertake your own procurements across a range of different specialisms?

The Essex County Council procurement team is award winning with significant experience across a range of categories with fantastic opportunity across the large team to grow your career.

We are looking for experienced procurement professionals who have delivered tenders, preferably within a public sector environment, and are looking to develop their career further.

The Essex Procurement Partnership

The Essex Procurement Partnership was set up as a collaboration between five councils as a shared procurement team delivering the procurement service for its member Authorities. This team is growing to support Brentwood, Rochford and Harlow councils. Working as part of the award winning Essex County Council team you will be changing the landscape of procurement, building robust effective practice across its membership.

This role offers the opportunity to undertake a large number of sourcing projects across a range of categories, from IT to Leisure Services and everything in-between. As part of a friendly and supportive team you will be supported to develop your sourcing skills and experience, develop effective category strategies and build relationship with our district and borough colleagues at all levels building your profile.

You can hear the success stories of some of our employees in our Blog via the following links

My Procurement Journey – Amanda

My Procurement Journey – Victoria

Jawid – Success Story

To read more about the business area please visit Careers in Procurement

Accountabilities

Lead projects and tenders, ensuring all sourcing activity fully complies with appropriate legislation and regulation whilst also complying with EPP policies.
Influence stakeholders and develop category strategies ensuring alignment to commissioning objectives.
Develop and implement innovative approaches and solutions in the delivery of complex projects to enhance levels of service and minimise costs. This requires working collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation and externally, to ensure best practice can be achieved when implementing new ways of working.
Collaborate with Senior Managers and Members as to the commercial and financial viability of differing commercial options for specific projects within complex and at times, contentious environments.
Take a proactive approach to identifying and investigating contractual, commercial and market risks to ensure continuity of supply and protect the Authority’s interests.
Operate a continuous improvement approach to identify and deliver on-going changes whilst also leading the negotiation of commercial and contractual changes to ensure they consistently meet business requirements.
Work collaboratively with incumbent suppliers and potential new entrants to identify gaps in market provision and explore opportunities to close those gaps.
Provide support and advice to stakeholders regarding any contractual or procurement matters.
Support the adoption of best practice approaches with the aim of ensuring that the Procurement function is seen as ‘best in class’. Ensure policies, procedures, documents and workflows are kept up-to-date and remain best in class.
Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

Educated to A level with a relevant professional qualification such as MCIPS or working towards such a qualification or equivalent demonstrable work experience with evidence of continuing professional development.
Knowledge of category management and experience of using this methodology in complex commercial environments to deliver significant cost or service improvements.
A demonstrable track record of managing strategic contracts in business critical environments. This should include evidence of defining, measuring and improving key elements of supplier performance.
Evidence of some experience of delivering continuous improvements in strategic arrangements with evidence of generating significant cost and service benefits.
Evidence of some knowledge of contract law and legislation relevant to the specific category / categories within their control and its impact on market management, finance and contractual arrangements.
Extensive knowledge of public sector procurement law with an ability to explain the law to non-procurement staff and find pragmatic solutions to potential legal difficulties.
Comprehensive negotiating skills appropriate to multi million-pound contracts and experience of planning and delivering successful negotiations.
An awareness of working in a political environment.

Recruitment Process

The selection process for this role will consist of several stages:

Candidates who are shortlisted following application review will be invited to complete a one-way video assessment via Willo, where they will be asked a series of pre-recorded questions and will be required to record their responses.
Candidates who successfully progress from the video assessment stage will then be invited to attend an Assessment Centre.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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