Procurement Advisor

**Procurement Advisor - Inside IR35**

**Contract Term: 6 months**

**Contracting Authority: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office**

**Location: East Kilbride, London or Milton Keynes**

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID) merged on 1 September 2020 to form the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

The FCDO pursues our national interests and projects the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK's security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is currently recruiting for a new Commercial Advisor to join their CSSF Commercial team. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) is a cross-government National Security focused fund which operates in 84 countries and territories, with a budget that is split between Official Development Assistance (ODA) and other funding sources. It has been a catalyst for a more integrated UK government response to fragility and conflict around the globe. The CSSF is designed to bring innovative and creative approaches to complex problems where there are no tried and tested approaches, or where more traditional programming has not worked. The CSSF is able to take risks and adapt to fast moving political, economic and security situations, which makes working in the CSSF extremely interesting and varied.

**As a Procurement Advisor your main responsibilities will be**:

- Supporting CSSF projects in their respective portfolios where they are business partners and have developed relationships with programme teams to deliver commercial contracts in support of CSSF programming requirements.
- Lead procurement projects: support the drafting of specifications, contracts and managing the Invitation to Tender (ITT) and evaluation processes using the FCDO eProcurement platform Jaggaer.
- Maintain and support existing, or create new, networks with the respective programme teams, other government departments and the supply base to develop a relevant and up-to-date understanding of the category or programme of spend for the team.
- Be creative and innovative when developing and implementing service requirements for complex procurements to ensure value for money is achieved.
- Provide support on appropriate project governance including documentation, business cases and presenting cases to relevant boards.
- Support the pipeline of projects and contracts using the FCDO eProcurement platform to enable accurate and timely reporting.
- Support efforts to ensure continuity and consistency of approach across the programmes from project to project, using required tools, systems and processes such as e-sourcing tools to guide commercial activity and produce high quality commercial management information.
- Use tact and diplomacy in establishing, maintaining and developing high-level contacts in the FCDO, with other government departments and the relevant suppliers for the programme.
- Ensure high quality service delivery is provided to the local country or thematic Programme team, including stakeholder connectivity, pre-procurement market engagement and supplier selection.
- Develop market awareness for key categories, highlighting opportunities for innovation, value for money solutions and new ways of working to key business partners.
- Help resolve complex issues, including those that are perceived to be novel and contentious.
- Support initiatives to promote Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) within the CSSF programmes.
- Advise on supplier management for the category in question, using commercial management information to inform FCDO Commercial engagement with suppliers.
- Operational line management may be required.

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**You’ll have relevant experience in**:

- Understanding of Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015
- Experience of delivering procurements in the public sector. This will include good commercial awareness and judgement with the ability to understand, control and mitigate risks
- Experience of running procurements and multiple projects at once
- Experience of Framework call offs
- Strong written and verbal communication and influencing skills with the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels
- Excellent attention to detail
- Ability to work at a fast pace and manage multiple conflicting priorities
- Strong problem solving skills with the ability to take decisions based on well thought out conclusions and recommendations.
- **Active SC clearance is required for this role.**

**Other desirable but not essential criteria**:

- CIPS
- Understanding of The Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations (DSPCR) 2011
- Security / International Interest

**Disability confident**

**We will be in touch to discuss your suitability and arrange your Guaranteed Interview.**

**Should you require reasonabl