Job Description
Job Summary
NHSBT plays a critical role by ensuring hospitals have the blood products, plasma, tissues, organs, and stem cells to deliver treatments and operations to patients. We take a proactive role in driving improvement and innovation, from emerging new technologies and evolving clinical practice, while reacting to changing demographics and trends.
Every day, 24/7 we bring our values of caring, expert and quality to the services we provide up and down the country. At our heart, we are an organisation that enables daily acts of altruism – helping people do something extraordinary for others. Commercial has a crucial role to play within NHSBT. We deliver critical outcomes across a broad range of categories.
You will have the opportunity to transform our Commercial Function for the benefit of donors, patients, and hospitals. You will have the opportunity to use your outstanding leadership skills to coach, develop and
lead the NHSBT team and our suppliers by shaping and delivering transformational change.
Main duties of the job
In this role you will lead the Science team in the transformation of NHSBT’s Commercial Function. Your responsibilities will include:
- Leading a range of relationships and key strategic alliances with senior internal and external stakeholders to shape commercial strategies and ensure delivery of commercial activity across NHSBT.
- Ensuring the Commercial function provides an expert and valued service that business owners understand and believe in.
- Being the lead Commercial expert for the Science portfolio and responsible for the vision and strategy, managing a variety of complex work streams, often needing to shift between multiple areas.
- Leading category strategy, market shaping, strategic sourcing, and procurement strategy development.
- Preparing, analysing, interpreting, and investigating tender data, challenging supplier’s proposals, presenting whole life cycle costs to the customers for consideration.
- Ensuring that contracts are well drafted, appropriate, and future proofed for the intended purpose, including an appropriate risk profile for both NHSBT and suppliers.
- Leading complex and high value negotiations and finalising major deals, achieving robust, cost-efficient, and contractual arrangements that represent best value for money.
- Leading the organisation to become more efficient at the same time as continuing delivery of quality and innovative services from suppliers and partners.
- Proactively developing and maintaining specialist commercial, financial, and legal knowledge and to have awareness of constantly changing markets.
You will be required to travel and spend time away from base, which will involve working irregular hours and overnight stays when required, with prior notice.
About You
Experience and Knowledge
- Significant procurement management experience within a large, multi-disciplined organisation(s).
- At least significant experience operating at a strategic procurement level in a senior leadership role, working with multiple stakeholders, developing, and fostering effective partnership approaches, acquired through training and practical experience.
- Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of procurement strategies, public procurement regulations, models, and the capability to deploy these effectively across the organisation. The intellectual capacity and capability to seek out better practice and external developments through National and International Networks and apply to NHSBT.
- Expert knowledge, understanding and experience of applying / implementing procurement initiatives including development of supplier relationships, Key Performance Indicators, Contracts within the wider NHS approach to governance and current better practice in this area. Additionally, to have a high level of knowledge of the workings of the Assurance Framework, Audit and Inspection and Performance Review processes.
- Expert experience, knowledge and understanding of contract law, terms and conditions, UK legislation, Freedom of Information Act and common law in relation to all aspects of purchasing and supply is a pre-requisite of this post, as is an understanding and application of performance management systems.
- Expert knowledge and experience of operational and strategic procurement management in a large organisation.
- Knowledge, understanding and practical experience of complex internal multi-disciplined relationships and international relationships across global manufacturing and service supply chains.
- Able to bring an open mind to the funding issues faced by NHSBT and the ability and knowledge to use the procurement process to assist and support the strategic savings plans.
- Understanding, knowledge, and ability to interpret the general external NHS environment, NHS strategy, NHS policies, the workings of Central Government, Ministers of State and Senior Civil Servants is a key facet to this role. The post-holder will be expected to understand how these translate into NHSBT goals and standards. This requires the competence to work within existing policies and procedures whilst using research and benchmarking data to challenge existing norms.
- Knowledge and practical experience of negotiating in a hostile environment.
- Knowledge of Category Strategy and Industrial Strategy.
- Knowledge of Commercial Systems, Investment Governance and Assurance.
- Experience in selecting, setting up and configuring commercial IT Systems.
- Expert knowledge of data and reporting, and of contract drafting.
- Expert knowledge of market engagement and social value.
- Expert knowledge of sourcing strategy and sustainable procurement.
- Expert knowledge of tender strategy and document creation.
- Expert knowledge of evaluation methodologies.
- Experience of working with information technology using Microsoft Office packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and PowerPoint).
Qualifications and Training
- Educated to Master’s degree level and have a recognised MCIPS Professional Procurement Qualification, with significant/several years post qualification experience.
- Higher than average, demonstrable knowledge of IT skills is required. An up to date understanding of e-Procurement / IT / business intelligence technology and how this can be proactively developed, in order to enhance the deployment and automation of procurement processes.
- Demonstrates commitment to own continued professional development (CPD).
Please view the attached recruitment profile which is a summary of the detailed Job Description and Person Specification for the full personal attributes we require for the role. You will need to demonstrate these throughout the recruitment process.
About Us
At NHS Blood and Transplant, we’re incredibly proud of the many talented people who come together every day to make our organisation the very best it can be. We have clearly defined values that are centred around offering exceptional care to our donors and their families. We take care of each other too and we focus on building our expertise so we can change lives, provide quality support and offer fulfilling careers.
It’s an opportunity to contribute to a unique team as part of a service that saves lives 365 days a year. We offer brilliant benefits including 27 days of holiday (plus bank holidays), a comprehensive induction and training programme, and competitive pension scheme.
We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with and positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.
Three small words, one big difference - Caring, Expert and Quality.
Together we'll save and improve more lives than ever.
This vacancy will close at 23:59 on Tues 1st July 2024.
Interviews are anticipated to be held week commencing 14th July 2024 – subject to confirmation.
For informal enquiries please contact Lola Odumosu, Executive Assistant at lola.odumosu@nhsbt.nhs.uk
