Procurement Assistant Manager (multiple vacancies)

Procurement Assistant Manager (multiple vacancies)

Permanent

Full Time, 37 hours per week

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

Location: Chelmsford / Hybrid

Working Style: Anywhere worker - expectation to attend the office (County Hall, Chelmsford) is typically once a week based on business needs

Closing Date: 17th June 2026

Do you want to make a difference to real people and real lives? Do you want to be a part of helping to shape the future of our Procurement service at Essex County Council (ECC)?

Did you know that ECC spends c£1.2Billion per annum on 3rd party commissioned services, making it the 2nd largest spending Authority in the UK? The Procurement Team at ECC are award winning and support the organisation to deliver services to 1.4million residents. We aim to lead the profession on exciting initiatives such as social value, climate action and supporting local businesses through procurement and how we use our size and scale to support our Levelling up Agenda.

We are looking for experienced procurement professionals to fulfil these truly wide-ranging roles spanning both category and contract work you will deal with the full procurement lifecycle, touching all elements of the process from cradle to grave.

The Opportunities

Procurement Assistant Manager - Highways and Transport team

This is an exciting role working with committed Procurement professionals in the Highways and Transport team, supporting Place and Customer. The role entails a breadth of sourcing, category and contract management activity, primarily in the Home to School Transport, Adult Social Care Transport and Sustainable Travel categories, to a value of up to c.£50mil per annum. The successful candidate will take responsibility for managing end to end procurement activity, including sourcing for planned tender rounds and ad hoc requirements, contract change control, management of tier 1 suppliers and planning for safe transition of services to new local government structures in Essex.

Procurement Assistant Manager - Older People Accommodation Team

We are looking for an individual to join the Older People Accommodation Team, who will assist with the annual refresh of the Older People Residential and Nursing contractual framework, valued at c.£150m per annum, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care that meets the needs of older adults. As a team, we work closely with over 200 care homes in Essex, alongside internal stakeholders and external partners, to ensure services are safe, effective, and person-centred, while remaining cost-effective and compliant with regulatory standards. The role includes developing and managing contracts, monitoring provider performance and quality, supporting continuous service improvements, and ensuring sufficient affordable capacity within the market. We also foster strong relationships with providers to maintain reliable services and drive ongoing improvement across provision.

Procurement Assistant Manager – Mental Health Team

The post sits within the Mental Health category of spend and will be responsible for the management of strategically important contracts that support residents with mental health conditions into work and to advocate for themselves across all aspects of their care. The role will also support the Procurement Manager in the procurement and management of contracts for accommodation-based services which make up a vital part of the recovery pathway as well as offering longer term support for people who need it.

We are looking for a person with experience in managing high value and complex contracts. Category specific knowledge is welcomed but not essential.

Procurement Assistant Manager - Contract Management Hub

Working as part of the Procurement Strategy & Assurance Team, in the new Contract Management Hub, you will manage a number of contracts across a variety of areas, in line with agreed processes. You will also support others in the management of lower risk contracts, ensuring performance is optimised, risk is appropriately managed and benefits are delivered throughout the life of the contract.

You will be an integral part of the team, using your strong contract management skills to ensure compliance, best practice and contract optimisation. You will also use your stakeholder management skills to establish valuable relationships with wider internal stakeholders and contracted suppliers.

Procurement Assistant Manager - Essex Procurement Partnership

Essex Procurement Partnership is a collaboration of Councils who have chosen to create a shared procurement team covering the full scope of sourcing activity in those Authorities. Working across District and Borough Councils but working as part of the Essex County Council team, you will lead a large number and variety of sourcing projects. Existing knowledge of public sector sourcing and experience in leading above and below threshold procurements is a must. Working at EPP you will get the opportunity to work with stakeholders across these Councils gaining fantastic experience and pushing forward collaborative procurement within the partner Authorities.

Interested in a Specific Role?

Should you have a preference in certain role or roles, please specify this in your supporting statement when submitting your application.

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

For more information on Procurement careers within the Council and the broader Procurement Service, visit https://workingforessex.com/careers-in-procurement

Why work with us?

- Make a difference to the local community, be that infrastructure, climate change or adult social care and help us transform Essex to a circular economy as we redefine growth and focus on positive society-wide benefits.

- We are a very large procurement team with circa 120 staff and have seen the department grow by 25% over the last 18 months. Annual Spend of £1.2 billion.

- We are the only CIPS accredited County Council in the UK.

- We are the largest Local Authority Procurement Team in the UK and have a national reputation for excellence.

- Work for a high performing team with great team morale and friendly, helpful, and supportive colleagues.

- Happy to consider Public and Private sector backgrounds

- Great training pathways. Encouragement to all staff for their continual professional development with full support and guidance towards CIPS / MCIPS

- Flexible working – with no official start or finish time you can make your work arrangement work around the other elements of your life offering a fantastic work / life balance.

- Local Authority Pension Scheme. For more details please visit: https://www.essexpensionfund.co.uk/

- 27 days annual leave plus bank holiday.

- 37 hour working week.

- Continuous Service – Joining us from another local authority? Then you could benefit from bringing your time served and benefits with you.

Accountabilities

• Lead the development, maintenance and implementation of 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.
• Manage suppliers to ensure they consistently achieve the performance standards set out in contracts and that adequate controls are in place to protect the Authority’s interests. 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.
• Lead projects and tenders, ensuring all sourcing activity fully complies with appropriate legislation and regulation whilst also complying with ECC policies.
• 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.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• 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.
• 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.

For more information on the procurement service and the wider Corporate Function please visit https://workingforessex.com/role/corporate-services

Apply and next steps

Ambitious people really fit in here so if you are a talented Procurement Assistant Manager then we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website, ensuring you upload an up-to-date CV and provide a supporting statement when prompted.

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

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.

Downloads

Pay and Reward | Our Ways of Working  | About Us  | Organisation Behaviours