View Vacancy – MNL – Senior Procurement Manager, SEO

Main purpose of job:

Based at the British Embassy in Manila the job holder will have a key role in the creation and management of a newly established team that will lead on the procurement of technology for the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The Technology Sourcing Team will be a part of the FCDO’s wider Commercial Directorate and report into the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Commercial Team located in the UK. The role of the Technology Sourcing Team will be to lead on execution of procurements that are primarily focused on acquiring commodity ICT services such as hardware, software, labour and cloud services. 

This will include the full procurement lifecycle: 

• working with customers in the FCDO organisation to quality assure specifications.
• determining the appropriate procurement procedure to use.
• preparation of tender documentation including allocating commercial risk appropriately via terms and conditions and selecting appropriate pricing mechanisms.
• liaison and coordination with suppliers to clarify requirements.
• coordinating the formal evaluation of bids and maintaining a strong audit trail of how decisions were made.
• agreement of contracts with successful suppliers and debriefing unsuccessful suppliers.
• documenting award reports setting out a formal record of how the successful supplier was identified.
• conduct contract handover procedures to contract managers.

As a Senior Procurement Manager, you will report to the Head of the Technology Sourcing Team and you will be part of a team of procurement specialists based in Manila. You will work closely with the rest of the DDaT Commercial team in the UK to take requirements and execute procurements that comply with the FCDO’s processes and procedures. The Technology Sourcing Team will be managed from the UK by the Global Head of Technology Sourcing within DDaT Commercial.  

The procurements undertaken are regulated under UK law and while knowledge of this would be beneficial it is not essential as 1) full training will be provided; 2) the execution of the procurements will be in line with the FCDO’s documented processes. 

The jobholder will be accountable for the delivery of procurement services and ensuring compliance to procurement processes and procedures. The jobholder will be expected to set and achieve goals, manage performance and foster employee development including coaching and mentoring other members of the team in structuring and running procurements ranging from simple price-based competitions to more complex tenders. 

Due to the remote management aspect of the role the job holder will require strong communication and interpersonal skills to interact with colleagues, customers and suppliers in the UK

Roles and responsibilities:

Supplier and Sourcing Management – Procurement Delivery (50%)

Reporting to the Head of the Technology Sourcing Team in Manila, you will have responsibility for management of the procurement process for technology-based goods and services, including more complex procurement, for requirement owners within the FCDO to ensure that business needs are met, value for money is achieved, and that procurements align with Global Category Plans that are developed and managed by the team in the UK. In addition to handling your own procurement responsibilities, you will also be taking on the management of HEO Procurement Manager sourcing activities.

While the processes to follow are pre-set, there will be significant discretion in decision making and problem solving required with you determining the route to market, approach to risk allocation under the contract, the pricing model, the procurement plan/timeline, and the contract term. You will also be required to expertly review statements of requirements and commercial models as part of the procurement process. You will provide comprehensive and authoritative advice and be able to defend your advice in a convincing way. You may be required to resolve complex procurement questions requiring interpretation of procurement rules and regulations.

The FCDO operates a tiered approach to determining approvals and assurance with a second pair of eyes on tender documentation being essential before they are issued to the market. It is expected that for lower risk procurements, you will check and assure necessary collateral developed by the HEO Procurement Manager before the procurement documents are issued to the market. For more complex procurements, it is expected that you will develop the tender pack for the Grade 7 Head of Technology Sourcing to assure. For anything particularly high value and complex it is likely that you will provide technical advice and support the team in preparing the documentation with a final sign off from the Category Lead within the UK.

As this is a new team being set up it is envisaged that during the first year of the team’s establishment, the level of contact, supervision and coaching from the UK Commercial team will be higher than when the team is embedded and operating effectively from year 2 onwards. 

In executing the procurement process it is expected you will have regular contacts with the requirement owner. These contacts will be used to gain an understanding of complex or cross-cutting issues and to advise, guide, and influence.

In terms of contact with the UK Commercial team, you will act as semi-regular contacts with:

• the category team leads – using knowledge and expertise to ensure the procurement being contemplated aligns with any wider category strategy. Working with category team leads, you will use creativity and innovation in developing and implementing service requirements for more complex procurements and issues. This may involve taking initiative to adapt solutions in line with rules and regulations.
• the head of contract management to ensure all the relevant information is included in any handovers of contracts let into formal contract management

You will use judgement and interpretation in managing the procurement process and will be responsible for ensuring that the Teams procurements meet quality, legal, audit, HM Treasury and Cabinet Office requirements. All procurements will need to align to FCDO’s global processes and are conducted using the FCDO’s the e-Sourcing Toolset.  

In addition to your standard duties, a degree of flexibility will be expected from you and your team to support other spend categories as and when there is spare capacity within the team or if there are urgent requirements that take priority the over their day-to-day duties.

Stakeholder Management (30%)

As part of their day-to-day role, you will be expected to interact with numerous stakeholders (both internal and external). This will involve managing expectations, communicating clearly and using expertise in procurement to give credible advice to stakeholders. 

You will need strong interpersonal skills with the ability to manage difficult conversations and handle conflict diplomatically showing patience, resilience and tact. The ability to influence, negotiate with stakeholders while maintaining a positive working relationship will be vital. The role will require a confident communicator who can navigate a complex stakeholder environment and maintain professionalism in challenging situations and apply their procurement expertise to ensure the best outcome for the FCDO.

You will need to:

• create and develop communication strategies to educate stakeholders at all levels on procurement processes, organisational policies and the need for ethical behaviour within the public sector, explaining the rationale behind your decisions in a way that stakeholders understand the broader business implications of working within a regulated sector
• be confident and able to ‘hold the line’ if a stakeholder is resistant to your advice; seeking to escalate to the Head of Technology Sourcing where appropriate
• develop relationships with FCDO stakeholders such as; Information, Digital and Data (IDD) Directorate (the IT Department of the FCDO) to influence and promote commercial best practice, and Legal to review and engage on commercial matters.
• contribute to global category development with local expertise and knowledge of spend, markets, and environments.
• provide advice on contract management process and facilitate the handover of contracts to a contract manager; and
• work collaboratively with stakeholders to find mutually beneficial solutions by providing authoritative and comprehensive advice when conflicts or misunderstanding arise. You will demonstrate innovative thought to when resolving concerns or conflicts related to procurement limitations

Staff Management including coaching and support for Team (20%)

You will have responsibility for management and leadership of the HEO Procurement Managers within Technology Sourcing Team based in Manila.  While there are staff management responsibilities there is no requirement for the control of budgets or other resources. 

You will also provide ongoing leadership, performance management, capability development, guidance and support to ensure:

• clear goals are set for the team and that they understand how their work supports the wider Commercial Directorate and goals of the FCDO
• regular 1-2-1’s are held with team members to ensure that issues such as workload, progress on procurements, concerns and issues are identified early and addressed and that high quality work is produced by the team
• you monitor and oversee your team’s performance in relation to set goals/objectives and take action to ensure that work stays on track
• you provide sound advice to the team to develop their knowledge and experiences in procurement and support their participation in category strategy development; as well as work with the UK capability team to identify development and training needs to professionally develop the team 
• the team feel comfortable to challenge how we do things to ensure a culture of continuous improvement
• best practice is shared through lessons learnt exercises and collaborative working across Commercial Directorate

You will be viewed as an expert in Procurement and sourcing activities providing guidance and coaching to the Team and stakeholders.

 Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

2 X HEO (Procurement Manager)

Candidates should note that the FCDO operates within a regulated sector for procurement and that training will be provided on the UK’s legal framework for conducting public sector procurement. However, skills and experience in the basic principles of conducting a procurement and creating a contract will be an essential foundation.

Essential on arrival:

• Commercial Technical Skills: previous experience in leading on complex commercial situations and leading teams to deliver great procurement outcomes. Candidates should have experience in running procurements, developing specifications, designing pricing mechanisms and allocating risk under a contract.
• Leadership and Management Skills: demonstrable line management experience
• Working Internationally: previous experience in working in a procurement capacity which is regional/international and beyond domestic market
• Communicating and Influencing: proven experience in influencing internal and external stakeholders with strong customer service skills and experience in guiding and supporting non procurement staff
• Extensive English language and Filipino