IT Procurement & Contracts Manager

Overview

Are you an experienced IT procurement professional ready to lead complex, high‑value projects and shape how an organisation manages its technology suppliers?

This is a fantastic opportunity to take ownership of IT procurement strategy and contract management, driving value, compliance, and innovation across a large organisation.

As an IT Procurement & Contracts Manager, you will play a critical role in leading procurement activity, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring best‑in‑class commercial practices are embedded across IT services.

About us

Our team provides inhouse support to 5,000 staff across the council, as well as services to schools across Buckinghamshire. Our services cover infrastructure, business applications, data & analytics and AI. We are at the start of implementing a new IT strategy and one of the key pillars of the strategy is around application rationalisation and modernisation: simplifying our application landscape and ensuring we maximise the value we get from our systems. This role will be pivotal in supporting this, defining the framework that will guide us going forward to follow best practice in managing our suppliers, support procurement activities and lead on ensuring compliance on all our contracts.

About the role

This is a strategically important role where you will define, own, and continuously improve the organisation’s IT procurement and supplier management framework. You’ll take the lead on complex, high‑risk procurements, ensuring that all activity delivers value for money, aligns with organisational priorities, and complies with public sector regulations.

Working at the heart of IT, you’ll collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders including Procurement, Legal, Finance, Cyber Security, and senior leaders. From shaping procurement strategies to resolving supplier performance issues, your work will have a direct impact on delivering sustainable, high‑quality IT.

You’ll also act as the organisation’s commercial authority for IT, providing expert advice, challenging approaches where needed, and ensuring consistency and governance across all procurement activity.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading complex and high‑value IT procurement exercises end‑to‑end
• Developing and maintaining IT procurement and supplier management frameworks, and ensuring they are embedded within the IT teams
• Ensuring compliance with public procurement legislation and internal governance
• Managing supplier performance, contracts, and commercial risk
• Developing procurement strategies aligned with digital and technology roadmaps
• Producing tender documentation, evaluation models, and contract structures
• Building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Providing assurance and reporting on procurement activity and supplier performance

For a full breakdown of responsibilities, please refer to the job description.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

We are looking for a confident and highly skilled procurement professional with strong expertise in IT procurement, supplier and contract management, ideally within a large and complex public sector environment.

You’ll be someone who thrives on managing complexity and delivering high‑impact outcomes. With excellent communication and influencing skills, you will be comfortable working with senior stakeholders, challenging decisions where necessary, and guiding teams through complex procurement processes.

You’ll bring a strong understanding of procurement legislation, commercial governance, and supplier management best practice, alongside the ability to translate technical requirements into effective procurement strategies. Highly organised and adaptable, you’ll be able to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail and ensuring compliance.

You will have:

• Significant experience delivering IT procurements (including software, hardware, cloud, and managed services)
• Strong knowledge of public sector procurement regulations and best practice
• Experience managing supplier relationships, performance, and contract compliance
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• The ability to analyse complex requirements and develop strategic solutions
• Experience producing procurement documentation, reports, and contracts
• A relevant professional qualification (desirable but expected)

For full details of the essential and desirable criteria, please refer to the Job Description.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Other information

For more information about this role, please contact Prod Sarigianis at [email protected] for an informal discussion.

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 5th July 

Interview Date: Tuesday 14th July 

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Service Area

ICT comprises of five components – Infrastructure, Applications, Integration, Operations and Commercial Resources. Operating as one team, over 130 staff work together to apply their technical expertise and support 5,500 service users across 150 sites in Buckinghamshire, as well as working closely with strategic partners including the NHS and Bucks Health Trust.

An essential service, ICT acts as a backbone in supporting all teams throughout the council to effectively deliver services to communities and businesses throughout the county, whilst driving forward digital transformation in line with the Council priorities.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/