Job Title: Head of Procurement
Grade/Salary: Hay 1 / £74,454 – £84,792
Contract Type: Full Time, Permanent
Hours: Monday to Friday / 37 hours per week
Location: Sandwell Council House, Oldbury (Hybrid)
Lead commercial excellence. Drive transformation. Deliver value for our communities.
Sandwell Council is committed to delivering high-quality, efficient and sustainable services for residents. Procurement plays a critical role in achieving this ambition, ensuring that every pound spent delivers maximum value, supports innovation and strengthens outcomes across the borough.
We are seeking an exceptional procurement leader to join our senior leadership team as Head of Procurement. This is a high-profile strategic leadership role with responsibility for leading and transforming procurement and contract management across the organisation, ensuring commercial excellence, robust governance and effective delivery of our corporate priorities.
Reporting to the Service Director – Governance (Monitoring Officer), you will act as the Council’s lead professional advisor on procurement and contract management matters, helping shape strategic decision-making while ensuring the organisation remains compliant, commercially focused and future-ready.
The Opportunity
As Head of Procurement, you will lead a modern, high-performing procurement function that supports services across the Council to achieve their objectives through effective procurement, supplier management and contract delivery.
You will provide visible leadership across the organisation, working closely with elected members, senior officers and external partners to strengthen commercial capability, embed best practice and drive continuous improvement.
This is a role for a strategic thinker who can combine operational delivery with long-term vision, ensuring procurement is recognised as an enabler of innovation, transformation and value creation.
What You’ll Be Accountable For
- Lead the Procurement Service, its people, resources and performance, ensuring delivery of Council priorities and value for money.
- Act as the Council’s senior advisor on procurement, contract management and commercial matters.
- Develop and deliver the Council’s procurement and contract management strategy.
- Ensure robust governance, legislative compliance and best-value outcomes across the procurement lifecycle.
- Lead major procurements, commercial negotiations and complex contractual arrangements.
- Strengthen supplier performance and contract management practices across the organisation.
- Drive digital transformation, including the continued development of procurement and contract management systems.
- Develop meaningful performance reporting and intelligence that supports strategic decision-making.
- Champion continuous improvement, innovation, social value and customer excellence.
- Build strong and productive relationships with internal stakeholders, elected members, suppliers and regional partners.
Why This Role Is Different
- You will lead procurement at the heart of a large and ambitious local authority.
- You’ll have the opportunity to influence strategic decisions at the highest levels of the organisation.
- You will play a pivotal role in delivering the Council’s transformation programme and commercial ambitions.
- You will help shape a culture where procurement is recognised as a strategic enabler of better outcomes for residents and communities.
Who We’re Looking For
- A degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience.
- A recognised procurement qualification such as MCIPS.
- Extensive experience leading procurement and contract management functions within a complex organisation.
- Significant knowledge of public sector procurement legislation, governance and best practice.
- Proven leadership experience across people, performance, financial and change management.
- Experience leading transformation programmes and driving service improvement.
- Excellent influencing, communication and stakeholder management skills.
- The ability to provide confident advice and assurance at senior leadership, Cabinet and Member level.
Why Sandwell Council?
At Sandwell Council, our work has a real impact. We are proud to be a values‑led organisation that supports its employees with excellent benefits, a competitive remuneration package, and a strong focus on development. By joining us, you’ll play a key role in delivering services that make a real and lasting difference to thousands of people across the borough.
We place equality, diversity and inclusion at the core of who we are and how we lead, where every voice matters. At Sandwell, we recognise and value the richness that comes from diverse lived experiences, perspectives, backgrounds and identities. This diversity makes us a stronger and more effective council.
We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building a workplace where everyone feels they belong, are treated fairly, and have the opportunity to thrive. Creating an environment where colleagues feel respected, supported and able to contribute fully is central to our culture and the way we work. We are committed to ensuring that all applicants and employees have equitable access to opportunities. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process and within the workplace so that everyone has the support they need to perform at their best and succeed in their role.
If you have any questions relating to equality, diversity, and inclusion, you can contact the EDI Team at EDI_Team@sandwell.gov.uk.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should a high number of applications be received. Applicants are therefore strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
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