Sustainable Procurement Officer

Sustainable Procurement Officer

Job Description

In line with the ambitions of the Group and the introduction of new and updated legislation with more stringent reporting requirements, Sustainable Procurement is an important role. The increased focus reflects changes to Government policy, such as the launch of the Social Value Act and the Modern Slavery Act which are now contractualised with Prime Contractors and have to be flowed down through supply chain. In addition, the Governments Defence Industrial Strategy, the new Portfolio Agreement with the MOD and the MOD SME Action Plan all have placed increased requirements on our client to report on, and evidence, the progress of Suppliers across the various ESG topics. This requires the Sustainable Procurement team to work with colleagues across all functions of the business, and externally with Suppliers.

The opportunity:

This role is a contributor to the success of embedding Sustainable Procurement into all aspects of procurement, as well as ensuring the right levels of collaboration with Supply Chain Partners, including SMEs, Partnerships & Academia to collectively improve ESG impacts. The main purpose of the role will require the post holder to have, or be willing to develop, skills across ESG topics, but with particular focus on Environment, in order to lead initiatives with supply chain partners to reduce Scope 3 emissions. This will include having ownership of the systems used to assess the ESG risks in the supply chain and how suppliers are performing.

Other aspects of the role include:

1. Understanding the Strategic aims of Sustainable Procurement, and the inter-dependencies between other activities happening across ISP and MEP, to contribute to identifying priorities areas which address the challenges faced.
2. Leading on initiatives to engage with the supply chain to hold both detailed and generic discussions around Sustainable Procurement, ensuring interactions are documented and available to the team for information, including producing Case Studies and/or benefits cases where required.
3. Proactively managing the Suppliers allocated and ensure that all data/KPI/reports are received. Provide data led evidence where performance is below that expected (of either party) and work with the Supplier to agree an improvement plan and how this will be managed.
4. Utilising existing stakeholder maps, developing and implementing a simplified SP reporting methodology which reduces the quantity of reports produced whilst improving consistency and quality.
5. Supporting initiatives and opportunities to engage and educate on the full range of Sustainable Procurement topics across MEP & ISP.
6. Where requested, project managing engagement events to support our buying communities with opportunities to engage with new potential suppliers and promote the research & technology, sustainable procurement and social value ethics at all times.

This is an opportunity to join a small but highly motivated team and influence the business to continue on its ambitious Sustainable Procurement journey.

What we're looking for from you:

1. Experience in, or willingness to learn, about ESG and Sustainable Procurement.
2. Ability to prioritise competing demands.
3. Adaptable and flexible, against frequently uncertain or changing requirements.
4. Strong communication skills, including the ability to present complex concepts simply and concisely.
5. Confident preparing and providing reports both internally, both verbally and in written format.
6. Strong Excel skills and be comfortable managing spreadsheets and undertaking data analysis.
7. Confident in briefing a range of information, including tailoring outputs to meet the needs of a wide range of stakeholders.
8. Rounded business acumen and ability to engage credibly across the enterprise.

Overview

Position - Sustainable Procurement Officer – Permanent

Location – Stevenage (Additional Locations: Bristol or Bolton)

Salary - £48k (Plus Bonus)

Keywords: ESG, Environmental, social, and governance, sustainability, Sustainable Procurement, reduce Scope 3 emissions, supply chain resilience.

Only apply for this role if you currently hold the specific Government Security Clearance or are eligible for Government Security Clearance.

Due to the nature of work undertaken at our client's site, incumbents of these positions are required to meet special rules and therefore these vacancies are only open to sole British nationals. Applicants who meet this criteria will also be required to undergo security clearance vetting, if not already security cleared to a minimum SC level.

This is a Permanent Role