Category Assistant

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen to join our dynamic team as a Category Assistant in the Procurement Department at The Countess of Chester Hospital, The Category Assistant will provide a professional procurement service to the Trust. They will provide procurement advice to both internal and external customers to ensure areas are supported in delivering an effective patient care pathway. The post holder will promote the Trust's procurement strategy and contribute to evolving current and future procurement procedures and practices.,

• To be responsible for low value Capital, including but not limited to timely delivery, in line with the Standard Operating Procedures, Trust SFI's and stakeholder requirements.
• To manage the generic inbox, directing queries accordingly.
• To provide customers with advice and guidance surrounding the services and procedures provided by the Procurement Department.
• To assist in identifying new areas of cost efficiencies for the Trust
• To ensure the best value for money is obtained by initiating negotiations, taking into account clinical acceptance, quality, timeliness and cost effective distribution
  
  The Trust's services are provided from three locations: o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds. o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility. o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E,
outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery