Procurement and Contract Savings Consultant

Job Qualification Form

The Basics

Company:

Wokingham

Contact name, title & number:

Claire Priest – Head of Procurement & Contracts

Vacancy job title:

Procurement and Contract Savings Consultant

Level of DBS Required and any barred list

Standard DBS

Day rates / Salary / benefits:

£500pd

Framework Vs Direct rates/ budget sign off:  

Matrix OG one

Length of contract: Budget sign off for full duration

1 Year Contract (Initial 6 Months with view to progress 6 Month)

 Location:

Is remote working an option?? Start date & IT Equipment

Remote

In your absence who would be the secondary point of contact/decision maker in the recruitment process: (Name, job title, contact number/e-mail)

Coms need to go via Matrix – Yemi John & Megan Green

Reason for hiring:

What impact will this person have on the community and to your organisation?

The Council is having £50m taken away from them, so they are needing to review existing and new contracts to ensure they are saving money where possible.

Direct Line Manager, Name, job title, contact number:

(Ensure you also qualify the role with the direct line manager if you aren’t already)

Claire Priest

Exclusivity:

No

Need

Essential / Desirable Skills and Experience (any flexibility?)

Role Purpose

To deliver targeted contract savings for the Council by systematically identifying, validating, and driving efficiency opportunities across third-party contracts, using robust market intelligence and benchmarking tools.

Essential Experience & Skills

• Commercial Procurement Expertise: Demonstrable experience in public sector procurement, contract management, and delivering cost savings through strategic sourcing and supplier negotiations.
• Analytical Skills: Strong ability to analyse contract spend, benchmark against sector data, and identify above-market costs and savings opportunities.
• Market Intelligence: Experience using benchmarking tools (e.g., Oxygen Finance Insights or similar) to inform procurement decisions and negotiations.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Proven ability to collaborate with service managers, finance, and procurement teams to align savings initiatives with operational needs.
• Project Management: Ability to manage a defined programme of contract reviews, set milestones, and report progress to senior stakeholders.
• Change Management: Experience in driving change within complex organisations, including overcoming resistance and securing buy-in for new approaches.

Key Responsibilities

• Review contracts due for re-procurement and existing contracts for in-term savings.
• Use benchmarking insights to evidence and validate savings opportunities.
• Develop and implement strategies for contract consolidation, renegotiation, and improved supplier management.
• Engage with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment of savings with service delivery.
• Prepare robust business cases and recommendations for each contract reviewed.
• Support knowledge transfer and leave a legacy of improved procurement intelligence and practice.

Qualifications & Attributes

• Degree or equivalent experience in procurement, commercial management, or a related field.
• MCIPS or equivalent professional qualification (desirable).
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• High level of numeracy and attention to detail.
• Self-starter, able to work independently and deliver to tight deadlines.
• Commitment to public sector values and value-for-money principles.

Critical Dependencies

• Ability to quickly access and interpret contract and spend data.
• Willingness to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and organisational needs.

Day to Day Responsibilities (Operational or Strategic) – Who do they report into?

3 Most Important Things (skills / attributes/ qualifications you can’t compromise on)

• Experience reviewing contracts
• Experience with dealing with stakeholders
• Analytical experience

How long have you been looking? (What is the impact of not hiring? why do you believe you’ve been unsuccessful so far? what skills were missing from previous applicants? Do you have any internal options?)

Just started looking.

Mentioned she has a meeting on the 24^th November and Claire needs to give an update on how she is getting on, this role is a priority within the council due to £50m being taken out their budget.

Candidate Background (Previous job titles/ sector experience/ Qualifications)

Education or Housing/ Highways/ facilities background ideally

DNA 5 – Confirm you have the following

Budget (enough for duration of contract, contract length, framework Vs direct)

Budget has been signed off for 1 year

Full qualification/understanding of the Role (inc. why, start date, MIT’s, requested exclusivity etc.)

Yes

Interview slots (booked in verbally over the phone and confirmed in ROE)

Wanting to interview WC 12^th November

Follow up call scheduled (with DL/mobile & virtual meeting proposed)

Order is going live on Matrix over the next day or so.

ROE email returned (confirmed by client with SDS/IR35 status)

n/a

Company Information

Team split/size/structure/culture

Happy for the person to work remotely and report directly to the Head of Procument

Projects (relevant current and future they may need to have involvement with)

Prior experience of similar work within LAs

Diversity and Inclusion

What is X councils’ approach to Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace?

How do you ensure equal opportunities for all and consistency during your hiring process?

Are there any current initiatives implemented to promote Diversity and inclusion?

How does your leadership team demonstrate their commitment to Diversity and Inclusion?

Final pitch

Any other jobs within their team/ any other managers within your discipline hiring/ anyone hiring across Social Care or Education? (Contact name and numbers)

Are they looking for a permanent replacement? (Pitch our retained offering)