Procurement Assistant

1. The Corporate Procurement Team at Neath Port Talbot Council is seeking a motivated Procurement Assistant to assist us in shaping the future of procurement within the Council.
2. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing both business and technical support, as well as assisting in the co-ordination of information relating to the procurement process.
3. We offer generous holiday entitlement, employee assistance programme, local government pension scheme with 22.4% employer contributions.

Job Reference: REQ03604

The Corporate Procurement Team at Neath Port Talbot Council is seeking a motivated Procurement Assistant to assist us in shaping the future of procurement within the Council.

The successful candidate will be responsible for providing both business and technical support, as well as assisting in the co-ordination of information relating to the procurement process. There will be a collaborative element of the role in ensuring directorates across the council are provided with an exceptional standard of service to guide them through processes.

This is an exciting time to join the team. Contributing to our evolving procurement landscape, you will assist the team in modernising and raising the profile of procurement activity across the Council.

The Main Duties Of The Post:

• To provide business administration support, attending Procurement Team meetings, take minutes, compile and circulate agendas and relevant papers, in advance of the meeting.
• To arrange ad-hoc meetings by checking attendee’s availability, booking venues, circulating agendas and relevant papers and where necessary, take minutes.
• Provide support for the monitoring of the Procurement email inbox, dealing with departmental and supplier queries and communications under the supervision of senior team members. Respond to enquiries and queries including email, face to face, telephone, and to assist where possible, or to take accurate messages for colleagues.
• To assist with maintaining and organising the electronic storage system for relevant documents and folders.
• Assist the team in the development of procurement communications, assisting in the maintenance of Intranet and Internet information, and general Procurement Communications, distributing and promoting procurement resources & material via creation of stakeholder contact details / communication lists.
• Assist Procurement team members in undertaking customer and local supplier engagement activities, conducting market research into products and supplier groups, spend categories, and via creation of supplier & customer surveys.
• Attendance at and in support of the Council, and participation in, relevant meetings as required.
• Provide support in procurement processes ensuring compliance procedures and value for money.
• Assist in the identification of potential contract areas where savings may be achieved.
• Assist in the renewal of contract arrangements, as required and undertake renewals where deemed appropriate and commensurate with the grade.
• Assist in conducting market research into product areas and supplier groups.
• Assist in the preparation of procurement documentation including but not limited to comprehensive tender specifications, terms and conditions and invitation to tender/request for quotation documentation and where appropriate undertake such tender/quotation exercise.
• Ensure that all contracts are initiated in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and all relevant legislation.
• Assist in the co-ordination of evaluation assessment panels
• Assist in the contract management of corporate contract arrangements, the monitoring of contract usage, complaints, prices and supplier relations on an authority wide basis.
• Assist in the maintenance of agreed key performance indicator data.
• Assist the team with reviews of Council spend in collating spend analysis data. Conduct spend monitoring in line with approved contracts and ongoing usage of corporate contracts.
• Provide effective liaison and co-ordination with staff regarding all aspects of procurement.
• Assist the Corporate Procurement team in maintaining a corporate register of contracts and developing contract management guidance materials.
• Provide ongoing support for matters relating to the Council’s contract register system
• Assist with co-ordinating collection and monitoring of contract management and supplier performance measurement.
• Assist the team in raising the profile of procurement activity within the Authority, supporting the senior team members in the promotion of procurement reform measures, and the changes in public procurement rules within the public sector and NPT.

You Will Have Experience In / Of:

• Working within a procurement / purchasing / legal environment
• Working in a customer focused environment
• Contract procurement / purchasing processes

Ideally You Will Have:

• An understanding and have knowledge of Contract Procedure Rules and Procurement Principles in a Local Authority context
• 4 GCSE’s grade A to C or equivalent
• A Legal, Procurement, Administration or Financial Qualification or suitable relevant experience
• Competency in the basic functional of the Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, etc.)

If you think that you have the necessary experience and qualifications for this role, we would love to hear from you.

Package: Generous holiday entitlement, Employee Assistance Programme, Local Government Pension Scheme with 22.4% employer contributions, discounted gym membership with Celtic Leisure and excellent development opportunities.

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Full Time 37 hours per week

Location: Port Talbot Civic Centre, Port Talbot, SA13 1PJ