Commercial Consultant

• Strategic delivery and management within a category: Supporting development of specifications to deliver requirements that are in line with business needs, and existing category strategy
• Engaging, where required, with the relevant lead ensuring that business requirements are in line with existing category strategies
• Carrying out analysis, research and requirements gathering to feed into demand forecasting and category strategies
• Tracking progress against category plans and working to deliver key tasks
• Understands relevant sourcing options and analysis, and delivers positive outcomes through the procurement process: Working independently across end-to-end strategic sourcing activities for the organisation
• Engaging with key stakeholders across the organisation to support the team develop a clear and agreed view of business requirements
• Advising and providing professional guidance throughout the sourcing process, supporting the evaluation of a range of sourcing models
• Drafting the commercial recommendations into business cases, demonstrating a project’s benefits, value for money and risk
• Providing a procurement service to the organisation which delivers demonstrable value for money and compliant goods and services contracts as part of a team of procurement professionals on larger procurement activities
• Understanding, and being able to advise on, sourcing compliance and frameworks
• Ensuring effective Commercial contract and supplier management within the category: Supporting contract management via the management of strategic contracts within relevant categories
• Building and maintaining key relationships across the organisation and with important external stakeholders: Engaging and working closely with the relevant senior business lead, ensuring that business requirements are supported by category strategies
• Identifying key suppliers and articulating management and engagement level required to assure the supply chain
• Assisting with senior internal stakeholder management across the business, helping them be informed about business elements that aim to move forward critical decision making at the top level
• Assisting with senior external stakeholder management, holding working level relationships with individuals at external stakeholder groups
• Enabling and developing the organisation: Contributing to the maintenance and updating of systems throughout the procurement lifecycle
• Feeding into catalogue and content management for the organisation, owning key aspects and working with stakeholders to promote the use of catalogues
• Working within a secure environment upon sensitive projects as required

• A good level of Category Management experience and knowledge
• Good understanding of sourcing and procurement methodologies, as well as relevant Public Sector processes, policy and governance
• Effective communicator who can work with a range of stakeholders
• Ability to change and adapt in order to work effectively in a variety of situations
• Ability to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload to deliver to deadlines and knowing when to seek support when needing to balance both operationally urgent and important tasks
• A good level of understanding across category discipline
• Excellent written & oral communication and interpersonal skill
• Excellent time management and delegation skills
• Good report writing skills
• A successful career in procurement/ similar environment with typically 1 + years category management/ procurement experience where evidence of cost savings and value for money efficiencies can be demonstrated
• Understanding of Procurement Legislation (Public Contract Regulations 2015 and Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations 2011)
• Experience of working effectively with internal stakeholders

Ability to understand commercial imperatives including trading relationships