Commercial Business Partner - Optimisation Lead

Location: Leeds or London

The Bank of England ("the Bank") is the UK's central bank. The Bank is a diverse organisation, and each of its 5,000 people are committed to public service and dedicated to promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.

The Bank spends approximately £300m annually on third party goods and services via contracts procured through the central procurement division. This expenditure is committed over a wide variety of categories that include ground-breaking technology and payments systems that service over £675bn of payments every single day, activities required to maintain a grade 1 listed building, and the specialist contracts required to print and distribute bank notes.

Job Description

We are looking for an Optimisation Lead within the Procurement Division to support the management of the Division and the coordination of management processes as well as drive forward continuous improvement activities.

This role will report directly to the Chief Procurement Officer, attend the senior leadership team meetings and work together with other leaders within the procurement division.

Responsibilities

The role's responsibilities include to

• support the Chief Procurement Officer to continuously improve the Bank's commercial division in terms of service offerings and capabilities,
  

• engage with senior stakeholders across the Bank to determine the change needs that the division needs to fulfil,
  
  

• assist in the promotion of the procurement division by supporting senior leadership team members in their efforts to secure funding to embed commercial teams within change and delivery programmes,
  

• take responsibility for identifying and, if appropriate, sourcing any required procurement resources and oversee their employment at the Bank,
  

• maintain job descriptions for staff within the procurement division and work together with talent acquisition and other parts of the people organisation to maintain adequate staffing levels through the recruitment of permanent and fixed term employees, and the engagement of temporary labour,
  

• act as the lead for the division's engagement with the senior governance forums in the Bank, building a relationship with the secretaries and leading our liaison for other established bodies of users of procurement services in the Bank including the COO forum and staff networks,
  

• establish and maintain a community of practice for staff in the Bank engaged in commercial procurement activities including purchase order raisers, contract owners of low value contracts and others,
  

• support the management of the procurement division's budget and training budget including supporting staff engaged in multi-year professional qualifications,
  

• work with the central communications team and become procurement's key contact for internal communication initiatives,
  

• support all teams within the procurement division with their continuous improvement efforts, including the provision of any tooling that is required, and
  

• oversee the collection of performance data relating to the division's performance against our metrics.
  

Essential Criteria

• Experience of leading change programmes within a commercial environment and delivering measurable and sustainable value.
  

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
  

• Experience of working within a Public Contract Regulations 2015 / Procurement Act 2023 controlled environment.
  

Desirable Criteria

• MCIPS qualification (or equivalent commercial experience).
  
  

• Effective interpersonal skills, ability to build rapport and constructive relationships.
  

• Excellent management skills and experience.
  

• Excellent written and oral communications skills, with the ability to present and communicate clearly and succinctly at all levels.
  

• Self-motivation, with the ability to work both on your own initiative and as part of a team.
  

Bank Behaviours

In addition to the role requirements outlined above, the holder of this role is expected to act and behave in line with the following behaviours:

• Customer focus
  

• Business acumen
  

• Evidence based decision-making
  

as well as the Bank of England behaviours:

Act Inclusively

• Acting inclusively
  

• Earn trust
  

• Embrace differences
  
  

• Inspire purpose
  

Drive Growth

• Courage
  

• Demonstrate self-awareness
  

• Develop talent
  

Deliver Outcomes

• Developing vision
  

• Achieve results

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it's by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we'll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the 'Candidate Personal Information' under the 'Disability Confident Scheme' section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.

We offer a salary as follows:

• Leeds circa £60,720 - £68,310
• London circa £67,440 - £75,870

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
• 26 days' annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the 'work history' section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It's therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.

The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages and a psychometric assessment.

This role closes on XXXX

Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.