Category Specialist
| Posting date: | 14 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £43,545 to £55,992 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Exceeds National Minimum Wage |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 26 January 2026 |
| Location: | Wandsworth, London, SW18 2PU |
| Company: | Richmond and Wandsworth Councils |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | randw/TP/29/8902 |
Summary
Job Title:Category Specialist – People
Salary Range: £43,545 – £55,992 dependents on experience
Permanent – Fulltime
Location: Wandsworth
Other essential information:Attend in person at our primary office in Wandsworth town centre at least one day per week.
The Better Service Partnership Central Procurement Team provides a combined procurement service to both Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. The Councils operate a fully centralised procurement service with an established team of procurement professionals.
This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious procurement professional to strengthen their strategic and operational knowledge, and work within a forward-looking procurement team supporting ambitious commissioners keen to explore the freedoms available under the Light Touch regime.
You will support the Assistant Director of Procurement and your assigned Category Manager to deliver a busy annual workplan of procurement initiatives. Assist in providing effective procurement support to Commissioners in Adults and Children’s Social Care in preparing procurement strategies associated with seeking quotes and tenders, including Tollgate 1 reports for consideration via Commissioning and Procurement Boards, and to lead on subsequent procurement exercises.
About the role
- Support the development of tender and quotes documents which are compliant with policy and regulatory requirements based on existing templates.
- Provide specialist support to ensure procurement exercises comply with the Procurement Standing Orders, Officer Guide to Procurement code of practice, Responsible Procurement Strategy and the Procurement Act 2023.
- Support the Category Manager with the development and management of procurement action plans.
- Support Commissioners with request for variations, modifications, contract default and novation of contracts.
- Assist with the identification and development of opportunities for collaboration / aggregation both internally and externally.
Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience
- Strong understanding of public e-tendering and procurement regulations under the Procurement Act 2023, in particular, the Light Touch Regime.
- Experience of successfully managing own workload in an environment where deadlines and priorities frequently change.
- Able to establish and develop positive relationships both internally and externally to promote confidence and collaborative working.
- Able to display a good level of numeracy and literacy with strong attention to detail and be able to write formal reports, presentations and other documents in a clear and concise manner.
- Diploma Member of CIPS or currently studying towards Diploma Member status or relevant procurement experience within the public sector.
Indicative Recruitment Timeline
Closing Date: Sunday 25th January 2026
Shortlisting Date: W/C 26th January 2026
Interview Date: TBC
We may close this vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Useful Information
Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.
We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.