Procurement Support Officer

As a Procurement Support Officer working in MI5's Commercial Support team, you'll ensure the goods and services we rely on are procured on time, cost-effectively and efficiently. It's a pivotal role that provides essential support to colleagues, keeps purchasing efficient and contributes to MI5's success. While your day-to-day focus will be on procurement, you'll be part of our wider Commercial function. Internally, we refer to the department as 'Commercial', rather than 'Procurement', reflecting the terminology used across the wider civil service. It's a function with real breadth and you'll support teams across all of it. This includes customer-facing teams, who manage relationships, develop commercial solutions and agree our future pipeline; or our category teams, who support commercial delivery across Technology, Estates, People and Professional Services, and the Supply Chain team. Alongside these we also have a Commercial Operations team who are responsible for low value procurements, policy, audit and management information. Whichever area you're working in, you'll be part of a friendly, inclusive, welcoming and highly supportive team working across the intelligence agencies. You'll connect with a broad spectrum of people, from customers in highly sensitive operational areas to suppliers, government partners and our overseas counterparts. Your role will be foundational to the efficiency of our procurement function. Day-to-day, you'll work on a variety of administrative tasks including receiving and disseminating bids, note-taking during tender moderation panels, minute-taking, co-ordination of supplier events and review sessions, and running reports to ensure compliance and data integrity. You'll also provide administrative support to invitation to tenders (ITT), such as the creation, distribution and collation of ITT documentation and you'll keep track of the progress of goods and services, such as expected delivery dates. Collaboration is key to this role. You'll help investigate queries with relevant suppliers and stakeholders, and communicate effectively regarding processes, quotations, order status and delivery timeframes. You'll co-ordinate supplier events and review sessions to support collaborative working across key stakeholders. Compliance is vital to our Commercial function. You'll contribute to compliance by reviewing contract documentation against our various policies, running commercial data reports for senior colleagues (covering management information, risk registers and spreadsheets) and supporting the onboarding of new suppliers by collecting compliance documentation and keeping records up to date. Ultimately, your role helps the commercial department to function effectively, and without disruption. You'll contribute to maintaining transparency and accountability in purchasing decisions and managing documentation to ensure all requirements comply with internal policies., You should be comfortable using Microsoft Excel and cloud-based tools. For example, you could be recording and tracking tenders, supporting procurement activity (goods and services), assisting with procurement evaluation and moderation results. Other aspects of your work could include looking at spend and trends in the business area, as well as work involving risk logs, contract pipelines and invoice tracking. You may be using AI to analyse data and to check or summarise documents. You'll be expected to spend four years within our Commercial function. Throughout this period, there will be opportunities to broaden your experience, which may include opportunities for promotion or to move into the professional entry traineeship. Training and development No matter your experience or background, you'll receive dedicated support when you join. We'll work with you to build your own Personal Development Plan, whether that's through mentorship with an assigned partner, or cross-functional learning opportunities. From day one, you'll get all the help and guidance you need to grow a rewarding career at the heart of national security. Plus, you'll be working in a culture committed to your development. There's a wealth of core and technical skills training available within the organisation, as well as an induction into the function when you start, regular check-ins with your manager and on-the-job training. In short, you won't be on your own. Throughout your career, you'll be surrounded by colleagues who want you to succeed. This role provides a strong foundation for growth in the Commercial function. With experience, knowledge, skills and ambition, the support role is an excellent first step on the Commercial Career Pathway towards the Trainee Commercial Practitioner Programme. This provides individuals with a tailored programme of learning and development, including achieving externally recognised qualifications such as the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.

Flexible working: we recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance, which is why we offer flexible working options including flexi-time, part-time, full-time, job share and compressed hours. Please note this role requires a minimum of 3 days per week in the office, with flexibility to work from home 1 to 2 days per week., You'll have a GCSE in English and Maths at A

• -C, 9-4 (or equivalent), or demonstrable administrative experience in a professional services environment. This role is an excellent entry point for those transitioning into a commercial or supply chain career, building on transferable skills, such as teamwork, communication and working with customers.
Alongside your experience, you'll have strong organisational skills and be able to manage simultaneous deadlines, prioritising tasks whilst still adhering to processes and policies. Good time-management skills will be key to ensuring timeframes are achieved. In this role, you'll work with a wide range of stakeholders, so your collaborative working style will be crucial, both to working well within a team and keeping information flowing to achieve objectives. You'll draw on strong written and verbal communication skills to enhance your collaboration and provide support to your team.,
• you'll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation
• demonstrable experience of customer service within a business environment - to be assessed at application sift
• demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders supported by effective verbal and written communication skills - to be assessed at application sift
  
  MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you'll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.
  
  You'll receive a starting salary of £35,417 (London) or £32,827 (Cheltenham, Manchester) plus other benefits including:
• 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• dedicated development budget
• interest-free season ticket loan
• excellent pension scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave, 2. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
3. Completion of a full application form. 4. Application sift, which will assess your motivation for the role, the organisation and your relevant experience. 5. Online interview, which may include motivational questions, technical questions, scenario questions and competency questions. 6. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting. Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 9 to 12 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer. Before you apply To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria. This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It's something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process. Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can't take any recreational drugs and you'll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage. Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely. The roles are based in London, Cheltenham or Manchester, so you'll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London. We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in person interviews or assessments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation. Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hardcopy receipts for reimbursement.