Team Leader (Procurement)

Are you interested in working with a team that processes over £200m of spend per year?
Are you an experienced Team Leader with excellent people management skills?
Are you interested in Procurement or have experience of working in procurement and order management?
Do you want to be part of a team working to improve the Procurement process throughout a major University?
If so, you sound like the person we are looking for! We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Team Leader to work within our Procurement Operations team in the University Financial Hub.

The Hub is a large team of skilled and experienced colleagues who manage the financial business activities of the University. We provide a professional and proactive service to our students, colleagues and stakeholders. We are committed to supporting the personal and professional development of our team, this opportunity would therefore be ideal for a colleague keen for further progression, responsibility, and continued career development.

Your role will be to support the overall purchasing activity of the University by managing and motivating a team of Operational Buyers to ensure that the 'procure to pay' process operates effectively and that standards are maintained in line with published SLAs. Ensure invoice issues and queries are resolved in a way that meets all stakeholder requirements.

You will report to and be supported by the Procurement Operations Manager and will be responsible for line management of several Operational Buyer's. You will work in our state-of-the-art King's Gate office and will receive excellent benefits in terms of leave allowance, pension and hybrid working arrangements., To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and a cover letter. Please complete any application questions as directed. Your cover letter is a supporting statement and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role and evidence this with examples.

We are happy to have discussions about flexible working and hybrid working is available for this position.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee the day-to-day work of a team of Operational Buyers, directing their work, determining workload, and ensuring that they provide service as required and in line with agreed KPIs

Oversee 'holds and queries' to ensure compliance with the agreed procurement process and buying methodologies. Work with the user community to ensure that they are fully conversant and trained in all aspects of the end-to-end P2P process

To ensure that requisitions and orders follow the requirements of the University's Financial Regulations, Financial Procedures and Purchasing Policy and Guidance

Represent University interests with suppliers, where required, to ensure that end users receive goods/services that they request through the SAP system

Act as key system specialist user and provide expert support for other users

Develop Operational Buyers by providing opportunities for professional development. Deliver training for team members who require further development to meet KPI's

Identify areas for process improvement. Help implement processes and systems which provide better service to end-users

Ensure supplier invoices are paid within payment terms. Identify recurring invoice issues and work with suppliers and end users to prevent these from happening

Act as the initial point of contact for end-users who require assistance. Ensure their requests are processed in an accurate and timely manner

Such other duties as the Head of Procurement may reasonably require, Ensure daily workload is delegated to Operational Buyers to ensure daily SLAs are adhered to. Plan for absences and ensure adequate cover is available in times of increased usage. Report on performance of team members based agreed metrics and identify areas for additional training if required

Offer advice and information on a range of queries relating to purchasing activity and use of the SAP finance system. Ensure team members have the training and confidence they need to make decisions relating to their daily work. Flexibility required to ensure the solutions provided are relevant to each situation

Able to foster strong relationships with numerous different stakeholders. Ensure that all stakeholders requirements are met by the Procurement Operations Team in an accurate and timely manner. Has strong communication skills and is able to deal with difficult situations in a calm and collected manner

Can make changes to processes when better solutions are available. Always be looking for how tasks can be made simpler or done in a less time-intensive way. Able to get buy-in from team members with future changes and ensure all process changes are communicated effectively

Is approachable and willing to listen to issues relating to team members. Maintains excellent professional and personal standards. Ensures that channels of communication remain open and encourages team members to perform to the best of their abilities

We are particularly keen to hear from candidates who have experience managing large teams, can demonstrate previous experience upskilling staff and can build relationships with key stakeholders at all levels in the organisation to effectively solve problems and be able to demonstrate this clearly in the application. To be successful in this role, you will need to use your excellent people skills to motivate the team through a time of process change.

Note; you do not need to be an expert in procurement nor do you need extensive experience using SAP / procure-to-pay systems, however, these skills are advantageous., Persuades, convinces, and influences others to achieve results and gain support

Experience leading and motivating a medium sized team

Computer literacy including the use of MS Office with advances level experience with Excel

High level of communication skills (written, verbal and presentation)

Able to provide excellent service to multiple stakeholders

High degree of literacy and numeracy

Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines

Ability to work unsupervised and act on own initiative and distinguish between routine and urgent tasks

Experience of working in multi-functional teams

Experience of working in a high-volume environment
Desirable

Sound experience of 'Procure to Pay' processes and functions

Experience using SAP systems in a Procure to Pay context, Educated to at least A Level standard (minimum 3 x grades A - C) or equivalent standard by experience
Desirable

Possession of an appropriate procurement qualification, or demonstrable equivalent procurement experience, and / or willingness to study for such a qualification

Experience of Higher Education or another public sector environment

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

Salary: £29,605 to £30,487 with progression to £32,982 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.