Procurement Manager

Places for People • Full-time • Preston • 2h ago

As the UK's leading Social Enterprise, we move lives forward every day by building, managing and supporting thriving Communities. From new homes, social housing and student accommodation to leisure, education and Community initiatives, our work makes a positive difference to millions of People across the UK. And that takes People who care about doing the right thing. People who are ambitious, ready to grow and motivated to make a difference through the work they do.

We're looking for Colleagues who bring energy, curiosity and ownership. People who enjoy being challenged, support those around them and want to keep raising the bar. Because when we perform at our best, we create more opportunities to invest in our Customers, our Communities and each other.

Experience matters, but it's only part of the story. If you share our values and want to build a career where your work has real impact, we'd love to hear from you.

More about your role

As our Procurement Manager, you will create and manage high-value frameworks and dynamic markets for Procurement Hub, delivering complex procurement projects across several categories. You will manage tendering and negotiation processes from start to finish, ensuring best value, legislative compliance and the effective management of commercial and contractual risk.

Working with Customers, internal stakeholders, legal advisers and consultants, you will develop robust procurement documents and provide technical advice during Customer meetings. You will use your knowledge of the market to engage suppliers, manage strategic relationships and respond to procurement queries. You may also deliver supplier management and consultancy services that support the continued growth of Procurement Hub.

This role is based in Preston around 2 days a week.

At Places for People we are committed to a safe working environment so a basic DBS check is mandatory.

Essential criteria

Experience in a relevant procurement role.
An understanding of the Procurement Act.
Experience managing several complex or high-value procurement projects at the same time.
Practical knowledge of procurement legislation, procedures and compliant tendering or negotiation processes.
Experience developing strategic stakeholder relationships and producing analytical reports or procurement documentation

More about you

You can take ownership of complex procurement activity and guide projects through to successful, on-time delivery. You are confident influencing stakeholders, explaining technical procurement matters and balancing value with compliance, commercial priorities and contractual risk.

You will be comfortable reviewing and creating operational policies and procedures, working across Microsoft Office products and using data to inform clear recommendations. Experience of e-tendering platforms, Salesforce or procurement within housing, the public sector or a procurement consortium would be an advantage.

What you'll get

We know rewarding work deserves rewarding benefits. That's why, alongside a competitive salary, you'll have access to a package designed to support you at work and beyond.

You'll receive:

Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
Bonus scheme for colleagues at 2%
35 days holiday (including bank holidays) with the option to buy or sell days
Healthcare cashback plan for everyday medical costs, with private GP and health support services available
Comprehensive wellbeing support including counselling, flu jabs, our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and access to our Wellbeing Hub, supporting your mental, physical and financial wellbeing
Access to Our Place Rewards, offering discounts and savings on groceries, travel, shopping, home products and other lifestyle purchases
Ongoing training, professional qualifications, internal development programmes and career progression opportunities
Recognition programmes including Star Awards and Colleague Awards, celebrating achievements and recognising great work
Strong focus on inclusion, wellbeing and colleague engagement
Free membership to Places Gyms
Life Assurance to provide financial security for your loved ones, alongside access to will writing services to help you plan for the future with confidence

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then click apply. You will be redirected to our careers site where you can discover more about the role, read a full job description and apply directly to us.

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. We are dedicated to creating a supportive and accessible recruitment process for all.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillsemployment@placesforpeople.co.uk.

We understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect.

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment.

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities

Apply directly