Procurement Officer

Are you an experienced Procurement Officer looking for your next career opportunity with study support and hybrid working?

Come and join our team!

Who are we?

Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) is a not-for-profit charity that gives back to the education sector and a one-stop procurement shop, with a vision of being the first-choice procurement services charity that gives back to the education sector. Combining professional support, expert guidance, and resources with FREE training and development opportunities via Crescent Learning.

CPC provides a range of services which include, 80+ compliant frameworks, with several approved by the Department for Education (DfE), consultancy services which can aid with every aspect of an institutions procurement journey from facilitating flexible procurement outsourcing, five days a week, to designing a strategic procurement package to maximise your savings.

Each year CPC's Board of Trustees review the level of reserves our charity has and any surpluses are reinvested back into the education sector via the 'Giving Back' initiative. To date over £2 million has been designated for re-investment in the form of various projects with the largest amount being used specifically for awarding non-refundable grants to CPC members supporting SEND learners, wellbeing and absenteeism in colleges, schools, academies, and universities nationwide.

What’s the role?

We are looking for a Procurement professional, with knowledge and experience in the public sector, to work with our Contracting team based in Salford. We’re looking for people who want to really make a difference in the Education sector and who can deliver our services with a positive, "can do" attitude.

Working within the Contracting team and reporting to the Procurement Manager that leads your respective category, you will be responsible for managing the end-to-end procurement cycle for various agreements within the Place category. You will be responsible for the delivery of the whole procurement cycle from business planning, pre-market engagement, end-to-end tendering, contract management, stakeholder engagement and managing the overall performance of the agreements within your portfolio.

You will also provide mentoring support to the Procurement Officers and Graduate Procurement Officer within the Contracting team, as well as providing a full and professional procurement service to all members, covering the acquisition of any goods or services under Frameworks, Dynamic Markets, and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS).

Public procurement knowledge and experience, both under the Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015 and the Procurement Act (PA) 2023, is essential in this role. You must have worked in a public procurement environment previously, working within an education setting is preferable but not essential. Please note you will be required to work from the Head Office, Procurement House, in Salford, M6 6AJ a minimum of two days per working week. The remaining three days would normally be worked from home.

What makes us different? 

We're an award-winning organisation recognised and certified as a “Great place to work”. We offer a collaborative, fast-paced environment where your ideas are heard and valued. We provide competitive salaries, benefits, and opportunities for career development. We're making a real difference and you can be a part of it!

This is just the beginning, we're constantly growing and evolving and we're always looking for passionate individuals who share our vision, Mission and Values:

• CPC’s Vision is to be the first-choice procurement services charity that gives back to the education sector.

• CPC’s Mission, we want our members to receive outstanding procurement services.   

• CPC’s Values

  • People First - We provide a caring, inclusive, and supporting environment that focuses on individual needs to enable our people to be the best they can be.

  • Customer Always - Everything we do is for the benefit of our customers, to help them provide the best service possible to their learners.

  • Excellence -We are 100% committed to delivering the highest-quality services that exceed expectations, with continuous improvement at the heart of what we do. 

What we’re looking for:

• Experience in a public procurement role for at least 3 years and proficient in the current Public Procurement Regulations.

• Confident in giving advice to colleagues, clients and members independently.

• Ability to engage with suppliers and stakeholders, and to engage in pre-market consultations.

• Confident in determining routes to market and defining need.

• End-to-end contract management and working knowledge of the contract obligations.

• Ability to record KPI data and react to supplier underperformance.

• Able to end-to-end manage a wide range of sub-threshold contract requirements.

• A grounding in above-threshold procurement processes and can develop and manage those processes under supervision.

• Competency in the use of internal IT platforms, such as CRM, and regular interaction with external platforms. 

• Understanding of social and ethical procurement.

• CIPS level 4 or equivalent working experience.

Candidates with CIPS qualifications are welcomed, although equivalent experience within the public procurement environment is also acceptable. CPC supports colleagues in working towards achieving MCIPS status, therefore applicants with a desire for continued professional development are favourable. 

In return for your dedication, we offer a wide range of benefits including:

• Salary of up to £36,000 per annum depending on experience.

• An annual, discretionary bonus following successful probation.

• Hybrid working, 2 days onsite and 3 days home working.

• Access to a local government pension scheme which includes death-in-service and ill health.

• Opportunities to develop through our inhouse development programmes and through external learning with full support given to achieve MCIPS.

• 41 days holiday (including a week for Christmas holiday closure and bank holidays).

• Time off for volunteering opportunities.

• Enhanced leave packages such as paid sickness, carers leave, bereavement and compassionate leave and maternity pay.

• Support for wellbeing with access to mental health first aiders and the opportunity to join an Employee Assistance Programme.

• The chance to get involved in a number of working groups, such as Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing and Sustainability.

• The opportunity to join our Women's, Men's and Carer's employee support networks which provide safe spaces for colleagues to share their experiences.

• Social and employee events throughout the year.

• Free parking when onsite at our Head Office in Salford. 

For more information, please view the job description:

https://www.thecpc.ac.uk/docs/jd-procurement-officerpdf

Next Steps

Deadline to apply is Sunday 29th March 2026.

If you like what you’ve read, please don't delay in applying as we may close vacancies early where we receive lots of applications. Interviews will be held in person at our head office in Salford.

Please note that VISA sponsorship is not offered for this role.

If you need any adjustments made to support your application, for example, if you require information in different formats or if you have any accessibility issues, we’re more than happy to review our processes. Please feel free to get in touch with us at peopledevelopment@thecpc.ac.uk.

As an equal opportunities’ employer, Crescent Purchasing Consortium is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us.