About the job

Job summary

Salary: £34,905
Hours: Full Time 
Contract Type: Open Ended
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire (Hybrid Working)

Closing Date: Monday 8 April 2024

UK Research & Innovation has a mission to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system that connects discovery to prosperity and public good. An important part of this mission is procuring the goods, services, and partners critical to achieving these aims. If you are interested in contributing and helping to shape the UK’s world class research and innovation system to benefit lives, then UKRI has an exciting opportunity for a procurement professional to join the team supporting UKRI in all its procurement activities!

As a Procurement Officer, you will be joining an established, supportive team and will be involved in a wide variety of projects ranging from Research & Development, Professional Services, and Data and Technology. You will have the opportunity to shape commercial strategy, develop your own skills & experience, and contribute to projects that may have wide-ranging positive impacts for all.

Job description

• Provide local expertise and support to end-users to undertake a range of procurement tasks (varying in both value and complexity) including sourcing and contracting;
• Provision of expert advice on all aspects of regulations and controls and representing UKRI’s risk appetite in procurement decisions;
• To keep local end-users up to date with UKRI procurement policy and best practice in public procurement;
• Act as initial contact and escalation route to the local Procurement Manager or Commercial Business Partner;
• Support the development of local procurement and contract management skill

Person specification

We are looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic individual who enjoys bringing their skills and experience to all procurement projects they undertake. This role will manage a highly varied mix of stakeholders, and confidence & professional credibility are vital to ensure your presence and involvement is positively felt throughout the procurement lifecycle.

Essential

• Have a good general education and qualifications
• Be customer focused, able to deal with key stakeholder questions and queries
• Have good interpersonal and communication skills
• Have good commercial awareness and be able to identify procurement risks and issues
• Have good experience in a commercial or procurement environment, and it is desirable to have significant procurement experience in a technical organisation;
• Have an understanding of the context and meaning of terms and conditions;
• Have skills in the production of procurement documents, a good level of skills with Word & Excel and it is desirable to have used e-sourcing applications.

For a full job description please visit our careers page

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,905, UK Research and Innovation contributes £9,424 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Applicants are required to provide an up-to-date CV and a cover letter outlining their suitability for the role. Further information on how to apply is listed on our careers page.

Closing Date: Monday 8 April 2024

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.