Procurement Project Manager

About APUC

Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) is the Centre of Procurement Expertise for, and owned jointly by, all of Scotland's Universities and Colleges. With collaboration, responsibility, and integrity at the heart of what we do, we're all about helping our member institutions achieve their objectives, whether you are putting together Framework Agreements, or working directly in one of our client institutions.

Joining APUC means joining a community of peers, and getting the chance to get together often and having network opportunities throughout the year. Peer support and collaboration is integral at APUC.

We currently employ around 85 people, most of whom are based within Colleges and Universities but with some based in our regional offices in Stirling (HQ), Glasgow and Edinburgh.

About Fife College

Your 1st post in this role will be at Fife College which can be delivered remotely.

Fife College is one of the largest colleges in the higher and further education sector in Scotland with home to over 20,000 students and 1,000 staff. They have five campuses which sit at the heart of the Kingdom – Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes, Levenmouth and Rosyth. Fife College offer first-rate facilities for its students, including fully kitted-out construction and engineering workshops, a media production hub, state-of-the-art training kitchens and customer facing student-run restaurant, a recording studio, radio station, stage theatre, digital and computing labs, hair, beauty and make-up salons and even their own aircraft cabin!

About the Role

Owing to the expansion of our shared service, we are pleased to offer an opportunity for an ambitious and keen procurement professional looking for the next step in their procurement career. This is a strategically important role for Fife College (FC).

Reporting to the Senior Procurement Manager for the East of Scotland (and with a customer service reporting line to the Deputy Principal within FC), the successful applicant will become a key part of FC's team and will enjoy a broad spread of commodity ownership, leading delivery of procurement services within FC. Due to FC's strong ethical ethos, a strong grounding in sustainable / responsible procurement practices / knowledge would be advantageous.

The postholder will be an ambassador for APUC, the HE/FE sectors and for the profession generally. They will demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism and ethical behaviour.

Desired Skills for the role:

• Excellent stakeholder skills
• Significant EU & PRA procurement legislation experience
• Customer-centric approach
• Good level of commercial acumen.
• Strong understanding of sustainability / responsible procurement issues.

Responsibilities:

• Establish & Maintain Procurement Strategy (statutory duty) and the annual Procurement Report (statutory duty).
• Manage senior & operational and key centrally managed supplier relationships
• Support directly employed (by FC) staff involved in procurement (if/as required)
• Coordinate (not direct reporting line) a procurement network within FC of people involved in devolved operation procurement activity / procurement process gatekeeping
• Undertake appropriate spend analysis activity and manage tendering of institution wide specific supplies/services where either the Procurement Manager believes there to be significant benefit  for FC or where proposed by FC senior management. They would lead on managing / coordinating the process for above regulated spend areas and provide support to staff in managing the process for lower level spend.
• Undertake / oversee (as appropriate) Contract & Supplier management in partnership with stakeholders across FC.
• Develop & Facilitate procurement processes based  on the “Procurement Journey” and provide operational guidance for/to those involved in lower value procurement exercises below formal tender levels.
• Enshrine robust and relevant sustainable procurement principles in the way that procurement at FC supply chain is managed, within the Framework of (currently) EU procurement directives, Scot-Gov, UK-Gov CE declarations and the sectors adherence to the Climate Commission targets
• Implement the Sustain Supply Chain Code of Conduct and the Scottish Government Sustainable Procurement Duty.
• Plan and deliver FC focussed procurement awareness training
• Provide the key link between FC and the APUC collaborative procurement team and for facilitating the implementation of suitable framework agreements
• Represent FC on the sector-wide Procurement Strategy Group, and contribute to sector-wide joint initiatives in relation to procurement on behalf of FC.
• Undertake a contract sweep and populate and manage ongoing the Hunter contract register, contract update tools etc.
• Undertake statutory reporting for FC and routine reporting within FC.
• In relation to aspects of procurement related law and procedures which may require judgement applied on risk, or fall into higher-risk present “grey” areas, they would provide an options appraisal for FC in order to make an informed judgement.

Why Work for Us:

• Full time hours are 35 hours per week on average and can be worked 5 x 7 hour days or you can compress your hours to work either 4.5 days per week, 9 days per fortnight (so a long weekend every 2 weeks) or 9.5 days per fortnight. If you choose a 9 day fortnight, our default non-working time is a Friday but occasionally other days can work better.
• We aim to provide a work life balance for colleagues and offer flexible work options for all including flexible start and end times and options to take longer or shorter lunches as preferred.
• Your holiday entitlement (given in hours) is equivalent of 26 x 7 hour days and an additional 14 x 7 hour fixed and floating days to cover bank holidays and the festive break.
• We are closed for the festive period (between Christmas and New Year) and Good Friday and Easter Monday. Every year!
• You will be automatically enrolled into our pension scheme and our Group Life Assurance which is based on your annual salary from day 1 of employment.
• We offer enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental pay (subject to eligibility criteria).
• Wellbeing activities and events are organised throughout the year in accordance with key national mental and physical health awareness dates.
• Career development is important to us and all staff have regular performance reviews and there is a variety of funding options to enable staff to pursue professional and leadership qualifications, as well as other learning and development opportunities such as access to our Procurement Skills Development Programme and internal workshops.
• Cycle-to-work schemes are available with Cycle Solutions and Halfords (maximum value of £1,500).
• Retail and gym membership discounts & offers with access to our mydiscounts portal.
• Home & Technology benefit is an affordable way of accessing new technology by making savings on National Insurance. Products include tablets, laptops, desktops, SmartTV's, games consoles along with garden furniture and equipment, home improvement tools and more.
• Access to Scotwest Credit Union which offers a range of affordable loans, mortgages and savings accounts.
• We have an Employee Wellbeing Policy and Annual Plan, a team of trained Mental Health First Aiders, and all of our people managers are trained in providing support for employees experiencing mental health issues. Our EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) can be accessed through an online portal which gives access to a library of health and wellbeing articles, as well as allowing you to book counselling sessions.
• We have an Employee Representative and Consultation Group, who meet quarterly. We regularly ask for feedback in a variety of ways at company events or through surveys.

How to Apply

If you are interested in applying please email your full CV, along with covering letter, explaining why you feel you would like to work with APUC and in the particular role mentioned, noting your current salary level and notice period.