Overview

Job Posted: 4 September 2025
Job Updated: 4 September 2025

Location: This role can be hybrid, based in any of our offices

Type: Permanent

Salary: £64,062 with the potential to increase up to £75,367 over 3 years

Closing Date: 16 September 2025

Purpose of the role

Manage the day-to-day procurement operations, remove inefficiencies and maintain standardisation. Lead procurement operations staff to provide an efficient and effective support function to sourcing and the category teams. Advise the wider commercial teams in the relevant commercial processes, and ensure effective communication between category managers, key stakeholders and the sourcing team. Provide exceptional customer service to internal and external customers.

What does a Procurement Operations Lead do at NHS Supply Chain?

Responsibilities

• Collect and analyze the key cost drivers, market dynamics and issues, areas of innovation, and alternative suppliers for business-critical risk areas with few alternatives and high costs to change, in consultation with relevant functions to provide solid market information for decision-making.
• Contribute to the development of annual and longer-term business plans; forecast performance against business KPIs; develop business cases for key activities/projects; estimate the financial and human resources required to deliver performance targets.
• Manage a significant operational area for the organization.
• Identify, select, and negotiate with vendors on product selection, assortment, and price for a medium to large category of products, merchandise, or services.
• Develop procedures and interpret and apply policy for area of expertise to achieve specified outputs, or advise the wider business on application of policy, then monitor implementation of those procedures within the organisation.
• Communicate the actions needed to implement the function’s strategy and business plan within the team; explain the relationship to the broader organization’s mission, vision, and values; motivate people to commit to these and to achieve local business goals.
• Develop and propose own performance objectives; take appropriate actions to ensure achievement of agreed objectives, using the organisation’s performance management systems to improve personal performance; or manage and report on team performance; set appropriate performance objectives for direct reports or project/account team members and hold people accountable for achieving them, taking corrective action where necessary.
• Use the organisation’s formal development framework to identify the team’s individual development needs. Plan and implement actions, including continuing professional development specified by professional or regulatory institutions, to build their professional capabilities. Provide informal training or coaching to others to enable performance improvement.

What skills, qualifications and qualities do I need to be successful?

• Operates as a recognized expert to review and evaluate recommendations and requirements and to develop appropriate plans or deliver actions required (subject matter authority).
• Operates as a recognized expert to plan, organize, prioritize and oversee activities to efficiently meet objectives (subject matter authority).
• Operates as a recognized expert to obtain consensus between parties with differing interests for the benefit of the organization (subject matter authority).
• Operates as a recognized expert to monitor, interpret and understand policies and procedures and ensure alignment with organizational strategies and work objectives (subject matter authority).
• Works at an advanced level to estimate, allocate, and control costs to manage financial resources effectively; able to work independently and provide guidance.
• Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments; tracks team metrics and milestones and redirects effort as needed.
• Administers, monitors and manages the provision of services in line with an agreed contract (subject matter authority).
• Interprets and applies key financial indicators to make better business decisions; summarizes financial performance data and explains implications for the organisation.
• Anticipates and balances the needs of multiple stakeholders; communicates the importance of ethics and cultural savvy when working with internal and external stakeholders.

How you’ll work

Hybrid working; a blend of home and office working 2/3 days in the office and 2/3 days at home.

In return for your passion, enthusiasm, and hard work you will be rewarded with an attractive salary and benefits package, consisting of:

• Performance led annual bonus scheme
• 27 days holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase up to an additional 5 days
• Generous contributory pension scheme (up to 6% employee / 12% employer contributions of your base salary)
• Access to Flexible Benefits Scheme – Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Health Cash Plan, Dental Insurance and additional pension contributions
• 2 days paid Volunteering Leave
• Long Service Awards
• Access to the Blue Light Card and NHS Discounts
• Flexible working options
• National Annual season ticket purchase scheme
• Eye Care vouchers
• Access to a free 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme

NHS Supply Chain, who are we?

We are a part of the NHS family, sourcing, delivering and supplying healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales. We ensure products are safe, quality assured and delivered efficiently. We serve every NHS Trust and operate a national network of distribution centres, managing relationships with more than a thousand suppliers and delivering more than 8,000,000 orders each year to more than 17,000 locations.

Our purpose, vision and strategy provide direction, leadership, and commercial focus to improve health outcomes.

Vision: To make it easier for the NHS to put patients first

Purpose: Our role is to support the NHS to save lives and improve health

We reserve the right to close any vacancy from further submissions when we have received sufficient applications. Please apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.