Head of Procurement
Up to £91k
Tower Hamlets is a compelling and rewarding place to work. It’s a vibrant, dynamic and complex borough where diversity is celebrated and a strong sense of community makes it one of the best places in London to live, work and visit.
This is a great opportunity for a talented procurement professional to build a new team and to work across an incredibly diverse range of contracts. The Council has several vital high-value contracts coming up for review, such as various social care contracts, our ICT provision and Leisure Services (which will be brought in house). This is set alongside an ambitious capital programme that includes a new leisure centre, a new school and much needed housebuilding in the borough.
Following on from a period of maintaining ‘business as usual’ due to the operational complexities of the pandemic, there is now a sharpened focus on procurement activity and contract management. We are committed to achieving a first-class procurement function. You’ll play a central role in ensuring that robust business cases support decision-making and that the options of outsourced or in-house provision are fully evaluated.
It’s a time of change within the team, so you’ll have the opportunity to review current practice, define resourcing needs and set the culture and approach going forward. Highly effective leadership skills will be vital in setting the agenda and ensuring that a team ethos supports effective performance and a commitment to colleagues’ professional development.
It’s important that you can establish positive relationships with stakeholders across the organisation – working in collaboration with those commissioning services to capitalise on their detailed service knowledge while offering expert professional advice that supports them in achieving their objectives. You’ll promote the importance of organisational compliance and consistency of approach in relation to procurement and contract management, while ensuring an empathetic approach to service specific priorities and risks.
We expect that you will already have practical experience of large scale, complex negotiations and that you are confident in working across the breadth of service areas that an inner London Borough is responsible for – drawing on the expertise of others and complementing this with your own professional insight.
Visit www.jointowerhamlets.co.uk to find out more or contact Steve Guest at Solace in Business on 020 7976 3311 for a confidential discussion.
Closing date: 7th November.
