Programme Lead Procurement Transformation

The Council faces significant and sustained financial pressure over the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, driven by rising demand, inflationary cost pressures and constrained funding. The scale of the budget gap requires a fundamental shift in how the Council manages its third-party spend, ensuring every pound delivers maximum value for residents. Procurement and contract management represent one of the Council''s largest areas of controllable expenditure, yet the current operating model limits the Council''s ability to leverage its scale, manage demand and consistently secure value for money.At present, procurement and contract management activity is largely decentralised, with fragmented processes, inconsistent application of governance and limited visibility of spend, contracts and performance. This results in duplication, unclear accountability and a reduced ability to take a coordinated, council-wide approach to commercial decision-making. These challenges are structural in nature and cannot be addressed through incremental improvement alone.In response, the Council is undertaking a fundamental transformation to a hybrid hub-and-spoke, category-based operating model. This will create a stronger central procurement hub, supported by defined service-facing roles and accountabilities, while recognising the distinct operating requirements of contract management across the Council. The model will be underpinned by strengthened governance, improved data, clearer ..... full job details .....