Commercial Procurement Performance Officer (EA Employees & Agency

REPORTS TO: Commercial Procurement Compliance Manager

RESPONSIBLE FOR: Providing best practice service in an assigned specialised procurement compliance functional area and have responsibility for a specialised area of work.

This generic job description is intended to provide an outline of the level of duties that the post-holder will be expected to undertake across a number of functional areas within the Commercial Procurement Services’ Compliance Team. Although the post-holder will be assigned to a specific functional area on appointment in view of the nature of work the post-holder may be required to undertake duties in other functional areas to cover peak periods of work or vacancies.

JOB PURPOSE

The post-holder will support the Procurement Compliance Manager and the Procurement Head of Compliance in managing, developing and reviewing, monitoring and reporting on procurement policy and processes, governance, compliance, systems and information and gain organisational approval for applying changes and improvements in these areas across the function, community and practice.

Develop and embed the corporate approach to commercial and procurement activity, with an emphasis on effectiveness, improvement and compliance across the organisation.

The post-holder will be required to work effectively with senior staff across Commercial Procurement Services and EA to deliver on all aspects of procurement governance, compliance and training, reporting and monitoring.

Responsible for the development and management of a procurement compliance and governance service area that is concerned with highly specialised or complex subjects.

The post-holder will be required to provide advice, guidance and support to EA budget holders, Principals, Directors, Heads of Service and staff in schools on complex procurement issues across a number of functional areas in accordance with relevant polices and legislative requirements.

The post-holder and will give direction in relation to procurement policy implementation, procurement system management and procurement work processes.

Post will be will be responsible and accountable for service delivery in an assigned area.

The post will have discretion to make decisions within policy guidelines on contentious or complex matters associated with service delivery.

Provide support, advice and training to EA budget holders, Principals, Directors, Heads of Service and staff in schools to facilitate all aspects of the procurement function and to ensure procurement best practice, governance and compliance.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Service Delivery

Responsible for best practice service delivery in a designated specialist functional area or a specialised area of work.

Assist with the review and revision of systems and work processes as required in consultation with senior staff. Contribute to the delivery of projects and continuous improvement of the procurement service.

Assist with all aspects of the Procurement Services’ achievement and retention of Centre of Procurement Expertise accreditation.

Contribute to the Business Plan setting, reviewing, monitoring, reporting and/or identifying performance measures and targets for the effective and efficient delivery of service.

Develop and oversee Procurement Services’ QMS documentation and processes as required.

Assist in the development, implementation and management of the procurement technology roadmap and assist the Procurement Head of Compliance on the adoption and implementation of any new procurement systems or system improvements or revisions.

Provide accurate and timely management reporting information as required.

Develop and oversee a robust programme of internal procurement and procurement system audits and prepare reports of non-compliance and recommendations for improvements.

In conjunction with the Procurement Compliance Manager and Head of Compliance ensure that business risks are identified, documented, controlled and mitigated.

Main Activity Areas

The post is generic and post-holders will be assigned to manage a specialised area of work within the following procurement compliance functional areas in accordance with service need and workload:

Governance and Processes

Performance

Systems and Training

Governance and Processes

Responsible for supporting the Procurement Compliance Manager and Head of Compliance in ensuring EA’s compliance with all best practice guidelines, procurement legislation NIPPP, Procurement Guidance and Policy Notes and all other statutory requirements.

Development and implementation of a formal external Quality Management System ensuring compliance and governance approaches are adhered to, undertake training of staff as required. Undertake training and become an accredited formal quality auditor for the external Quality Management System.

Work in collaboration with the Commercial Procurement Category Management Team to create, develop and deliver toolkits, operational best practice, governance and compliance processes, Quality Management Systems and training to be used in the procurement process across the EA.

Continually review current Procurement governance arrangements, policies and procedures in conjunction with the Procurement Compliance Manager, Procurement Head of Compliance, Head of Procurement and the wider Procurement management team ensuring compliance with wider EA policy, Procurement Regulations, NIPPP, PGNs, PPNs and procurement best practice.

Provide advice and support in the compilation, preparation and presentation of information and reports to respond to and defend legal challenges and other complaints lodged with outside agencies.

Be responsible for initiating regular monitoring and review of the Procurement Services’ QMS documentation and processes and managing changes to same.

Performance

To create, develop and manage organisational and service data analytics.

Assist with the development, implementation, monitoring and review of performance metrics and key performance indicators (kpis) across the Procurement Service and provide timely reports to EA management and Committees on same.

Assist with the development, implementation, monitoring and review of benchmarking techniques, procurement analytics, management information, reports and dashboards in order to monitor kpis, performance metrics, savings, value for money and to display procurement data; provide timely reports to EA management and Committees or external organisations as required.

Manage the updating of procurement contract risks the Risk Register and ensure all such risks are logged and reported monthly to the Head of Compliance.

Management of the Procurement Dashboard by providing a Service overview of spend and live contracts.

Systems and Training

Support the identification of new developments in information technology promoting continuous improvement of EA commercial and procurement systems; provide reports, advice and guidance on such technology developments to senior management.

Develop and lead on e-procurement requirements and configuration, working closely with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the required infrastructure is in place to effectively support the procurement strategy and relevant legislation.

Establish and lead cross-functional teams, as required, to manage the development and implementation of new commercial and procurement systems. Work with the Procurement Senior Leadership Team, internal and external stakeholders to align technical requirements with the EA’s ICT, procurement and EA wide strategy and policies.

Identify and deliver improvements to all of the systems utilised by Procurement Services.

Deliver effective expert first line technical assistance and specialist system support and training for internal users for all Procurement Services IT systems; prepare and maintain user guidance documentation on all Procurement Services’ systems.

Work collaboratively with all relevant stakeholders to develop systems and processes to ensure a minimum of 80% of contract items are available from the electronic shop.

Be the first point of contact with suppliers, end-users and IFS, ICT when required on matters relating to procurement systems.

Other Responsibilities

Provide training and guidance to colleagues and assist in covering key aspects of work during periods of absence.

Contribute to Procurement and Corporate Strategy and associated plans and to the review, revision and development of existing and new policies and procedures related to all aspects of procurement regulations and best practice, compliance and governance.

Assist in the development, implementation and monitoring of the professional procurement competency and technical capability across the EA.

Comply with the Authority’s policy on Data Protection (in particular processing sensitive personal information) is properly complied with.

Organise, attend and participate in any relevant internal or external meetings associated with the procurement function or associated systems or function areas and attend Procurement Leadership Team meetings to provide updates on areas of responsibilities and work.

Comply with the Authority’s Equal Opportunities Policy, relevant Codes of Employment and Practice and other relevant legislation. In accordance with relevant equality legislation and EA policies on diversity in the workplace the post-holder is expected to promote good relations and pay due regard to equality of opportunity in carrying out their duties.

Act as a voting panel member, if required, on tender evaluation panels.

To deputise and undertake additional duties for the Procurement Compliance Manager or Head of Compliance as required.

Undertake other related duties within the grade and competence of the post-holder as required.

The post-holder may also be required to work outside normal office hours on occasions.

In accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), the post-holder is expected to promote good relations, equality of opportunity and pay due regard for equality legislation at all times.

To view the summary of terms and conditions for this post click here.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

NOTES TO JOB APPLICANTS

1. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how, and to what extent you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria, where relevant.

2. You must demonstrate how you meet the criteria by the closing date for applications, unless the criteria state otherwise.

3. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is outlined in the table below.

4. Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form.

5. Please note that the Selection Panel reserves the right to shortlist only those applicants that it believes most strongly meet the criteria for the role.

6. In the event of an excessive number of applications, the Selection Panel also reserves the right to apply any desirable criteria as outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting, in which case these will be applied in the order listed. It is important therefore that you also clearly demonstrate on your application form on how you meet any desirable criteria.

Section 1 - Essential Criteria

The following are essential criteria which will initially be measured at the shortlisting stage and which may also be further explored during the interview/selection stage. You should therefore make it clear on your application form how, and to what extent you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted.

Factor Essential Criteria Method of Assessment

Qualifications/

Experience

Hold a HNC/HND or above examination qualification and have one year's demonstrable experience in undertaking data analytics within a business environment and the use of IT systems to develop business and analytical processes to monitor performance and capture data

OR

Have two years’ demonstrable experience in undertaking data analytics in a business environment and the use of IT systems to develop business and analytical processes to monitor performance and capture data.

Have one years’ experience of working in a regulated environment with policies, procedures, and corporate governance .

Experience of developing and implementing business systems and process improvements.

Experience of managing systems for information retrieval.

Experience of using MS Office packages, in particular, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Other

Willingness to occasionally work outside of normal working hours.

The successful candidate will be required:

to have access to a suitable vehicle (appropriately maintained and insured for Education Authority business) that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner and thus meet this essential criterion;

OR

be able to provide sufficient information on the application form that will satisfy the employer that he/she has access to an appropriate alternative form of transport that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner and thus meet this essential criterion.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Section 2 - Essential Criteria

The following are additional essential criteria which will be measured during the interview/selection stage in line with EA’s Game Changing People Model.

Factor Essential Criteria Method of Assessment

Skills/

Abilities

In line with EA’s Game Changing People Model we will look for evidence of:

Demonstrable ability to manipulate, summarise, extract and use data from systems to understand and identify issues.

Demonstrable ability to manage complex reports for a wide range of audiences ensuring accuracy and clarity of finding.

Proven effective decision-making and problem-solving skills.

A high level of ICT competency gained through the use of a range of software applications and the proven ability to learn new ICT systems.

Ability to successfully organise and manage multi-priorities in a fast-paced and changing administrative environment to deliver effective results on time.

Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate and effectively to build working relationships within a team.

Ability to take a responsive and customer focused approach to work.

Interview

Values Orientation

Evidence of how your experience and approach to work reflect EA’s ethos and values. You will find information about our Values here.

Interview

Our Values

Through the selection process we will also seek evidence that the personal values of candidates align with those of the EA. This will include evidence of commitment to equality and excellence in service delivery. These reflect our aim which is to meet the needs of all our children and young people equally, removing barriers to learning and ensuring equality of access to excellent education services so that every child can develop to his or her full potential.

DISCLOSURE OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 defines working directly with children or young people or in specified places as ‘regulated activity’.

In the event that you are recommended for appointed to a post that involves ‘regulated activity’, the Education Authority will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure of Criminal Background. Please note that you WILL be expected to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. Details of how to make payment will be sent to you at the pre-