Head of Procurement

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 90 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 The Role

Reporting to APUC’s Head of Institutional Procurement Services and with a customer service reporting line within Glasgow Caledonian University to the Director of Finance, GCU’s Head of Procurement will be employed within APUC’s institutional procurement service, and will be a key part the Institution’s team and will enjoy a broad spread of strategic and operational category ownership. They will have excellent leadership and line management skills to ensure delivery of the institution’s procurement strategy and operational procurement services. This role is an opportunity to provide a key contribution to the Institution’s exciting strategic development.

Prospective candidates should have experience of working within a procurement role with a high level of autonomy, and have relevant tendering experience with appropriate knowledge of EU / procurement regulations. Of particular importance are excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, to enable effective delivery across all areas of the institution.

The post holder will be an ambassador for APUC, GCU and the profession generally and will demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism and ethical behavior. The role is a demanding one and as APUC is an organisation that continues to develop to meet the dynamic needs of its client institutions, a procurement professional at the relevant level with a strong work ethic is sought for this role which is positioned at a senior level.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Skills:

• Be of high intellectual calibre, with the highest ethical standards
• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply is preferred
• Be a professional, credible manager with excellent general management skills and have the essential competencies of clarity of purpose, self confident integrity and strong influencing power
• Have expert knowledge of Scottish/UK procurement legislation as it relates to the HE/FE sector  Be fully conversant with all legal aspects of general procurement
• Have proven skills in Project Management and of meeting demanding targets and deadlines on a day to day basis  Have highly tuned skills in multi round price negotiation
• Skilled in contract drafting and negotiation

Experience:

• Ideally, have at least four years procurement experience in an organisation with best in class public procurement practices
• Be experienced in the tendering and management of a broad range of commodities including services, works and major outsourcing initiatives
• Management information experience and production of complex management reports
• Reporting / analytical experience. Advanced spreadsheet and data manipulation skills and the ability to use financial models to demonstrate efficiencies and performance improvement

Key Role Information

Location: GCU Cowcaddens campus Hybrid working

Employment & Hours: (9 day fortnight, long weekend every second week)                        

Why Work at APUC

• 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.
• Hybrid working with colleagues coming into the office 5 days per fortnight.  Space is available for those who want to come in more often, and we have in- person and online events throughout the year to make sure we stay well connected.
• 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.

Why Work at APUC (continued)

• 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 £3,000).
• 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.

Contact Us:

Morgan Cramb

People & Development Coordinator 0131 442 8930

careers@apuc-scot.ac.uk

APUC Limited

Unit 27, Stirling Business Centre, Wellgreen, Stirling, FK8 2DZ 0131 442 8930

apuc-scot.ac.uk

To apply, please send your application to: careers@apuc-scot.ac.uk (via the ‘Apply’ button above).