Buyer

Working Hours - 37.5 hours per week

Fixed Term 12 Months
- An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Contracts Team on a temporary basis to cover a member of the team who is currently on a secondment. You will report to the Head of Procurement Contracting and form part of a team which is responsible for delivering a professional procurement service to the Trust and undertaking and assisting in the formulation and implementation of Trust Contracts.
- Provide procurement advice to both internal and external customers to ensure areas are supported in delivering an effective patient care pathway.
- Promote the Trust’s procurement strategy and contribute to evolving current and future procurement procedures and practices.
- You will be running a variety of below threshold compliant tender processes
- In addition you will need to have the following skills: - Negotiation skills;
- Be able to act autonomously;
- Understanding of the current health economy;
- The role requires buying experience or NVQ Level 3 in Supply Chain or Procurement or CIPS Level 4 or the equivalent buying experience. It also requires an understanding and knowledge of contract law, customer care experience, the ability to work on your own initiative, and a flexible attitude.
- The role requires you to undertake a wide range of duties, please read the full job description for more details.
- We are looking for someone who can work in a fast-paced environment and is keen to learn and develop.

**The main duties of the role are as follows**:

- Managing a portfolio of projects/contracts as part of a planned and reactive workplan
- Maintenance renewals
- Capital requirements
- Stakeholder engagement
- Supplier Relationship Management
- Delivery of cash releasing savings for the Trust
- Working across both Clinical and Non Clinical categories

The Buyer role sits within our Contracts Team, delivering on behalf of the Trust. The Team is made up of a Junior Buyer, Buyers, Specialist Buyers, Senior Buyers, a Data Specialist and a Clinical Procurement Specialist Nurse.

Be part of a busy Team, delivering on behalf of the Trust working independently on projects, but also as a Team depending on requirements.

We are looking for someone hard working, who is proactive and keen to learn. The structure of the team offering opportunities to develop where appropriate.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust consists of a 600 bedded large District General Hospital, which provides its services on the Countess of Chester Health Park, and a 64 bedded Intermediate Care Service at Ellesmere Port Hospital.

The Trust provides services in all of the surgical and medical specialties common to a District General Hospital with some specialist services. The Trust serves the whole of the local population currently in excess of 250,000 residents which geographically covers populations in England and North Wales.

The Trust strives to continuously improve and sustain the quality of its services for patients, providing care to more than 445,000 patients per year, with almost 4,000 staff working together putting quality and patient safety, at the heart of everything we do. The organisation provides a wide range of services offering health care to the whole spectrum of the population from birth to the end of life. The Trust complies with its terms of authorisation as a Foundation Trust.

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.