Procurement Assistant Manager - Contract Management Focus

Procurement Assistant Manager - Contract Management Focus

Permanent

Full Time, 37 hours per week

£36,531 to £42,977 per annum plus Flexible Working & Local Gov Pension

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 27th August 2026 (23:59)

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Are you an experienced procurement or contract management professional looking to develop your career within a collaborative and supportive team?

The Essex County Council procurement team is award winning with significant experience across a range of categories with fantastic opportunities across the large team to grow your career. 

We are looking for a Procurement Assistant Manager to join our Indirect Procurement team, supporting the effective management of a diverse portfolio of contracts and suppliers.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in procurement, commercial management or contract management who enjoys building strong stakeholder and supplier relationships, monitoring performance and driving continuous improvement from existing contractual arrangements.

Working closely with service areas, suppliers and procurement colleagues, you will play a key role in ensuring contracts deliver value for money, meet operational requirements and contribute to Essex County Council's strategic objectives.

The role will primarily focus on contract and supplier management activity, whilst also supporting procurement exercises where required.

You can hear the success stories of some of our employees in our Blog via the following links

My Procurement Journey – Amanda

My Procurement Journey – Victoria

Jawid – Success Story

To read more about the business area please visit Careers in Procurement 

Accountabilities

• Lead the commercial management of a portfolio of indirect contracts, ensuring contractual obligations, performance standards and service outcomes are effectively delivered.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders and suppliers, acting as a trusted advisor on contract and supplier performance matters.
• Establish and monitor contract management plans, performance measures and service improvement initiatives to maximise value and mitigate risk.
• Lead regular supplier performance reviews and governance meetings, ensuring issues are identified, managed and resolved appropriately.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement, cost efficiencies and innovation throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Support contract mobilisation, implementation and transition activities, ensuring smooth delivery of services and effective stakeholder engagement.
• Take a proactive approach to identifying, assessing and mitigating contractual, commercial and supplier risks.
• Manage contractual changes, extensions, variations and disputes in accordance with governance requirements and procurement legislation.
• Provide commercial advice and support to stakeholders on contract management, supplier management and procurement-related matters.
• Support the delivery of procurement projects and sourcing activities where required, ensuring compliance with public procurement legislation and Council procedures.
• Contribute to the development of best practice contract management approaches, tools and processes across the Procurement team.
• Ensure accurate contract records are maintained and support reporting against key performance indicators and organisational objectives.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to A-Level standard with a relevant professional qualification such as MCIPS, or working towards such a qualification, or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Experience of managing contracts and supplier relationships, including monitoring performance, managing risks and delivering continuous improvements.
• Strong commercial awareness with an understanding of contract management principles and governance requirements.
• Experience of working collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver service improvements and value for money outcomes.
• Knowledge of public sector procurement regulations and their application within contract management activities.
• Experience of developing and maintaining productive supplier relationships within complex commercial environments.
• Strong negotiation, influencing and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with a range of stakeholders.
• Ability to analyse performance information and identify opportunities to improve service delivery and commercial outcomes.
• An understanding of contract law and commercial principles applicable to public sector contracting.
• Awareness of working within a political and customer-focused environment.

Recruitment Process

The selection process for this role will consist of several stages:

• Candidates who are shortlisted following application review will be invited to complete a one-way video assessment via Willo, where they will be asked a series of pre-recorded questions and will be required to record their responses.
• Candidates who successfully progress from the video assessment stage will then be invited to attend an Assessment Centre.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you. 

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.

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