Procurement Assistant – Essex County Fire and Rescue Service

The Role

Join Essex County Fire & Rescue Service and play a key role in supporting procurement that helps in making Essex safer together. This is an excellent opportunity to build a career in public sector procurement within a supportive and professional team.

Our Procurement Team work in a category management structure and this role will provide vital support to the 3 Category Managers and Head of Procurement.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is looking to develop a long-term career in procurement, with support given for their procurement exams.

We are looking for someone who is organised, commercially aware and keen to develop a career in procurement.

The candidate will have an appetite to learn, we will support your development through funded Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) training, structured learning in public sector procurement, and hands-on experience across a wide range of procurement activities.

What You Will Be Working On

Lead low value procurements across a range of categories.
Provide administrative support to the Category Managers and Head of Procurement.
Support the delivery of procurement activity.
Maintain and update procurement systems and databases.
Act as the first point of contact for the procurement mailbox, triaging and responding to queries.
Support compliance by publishing transparency notices under the Procurement Act 2023.

What Are We Looking For?

A willingness to learn and develop within procurement, and undertake qualifications.
Strong organisational, administration and planning skills with the ability to prioritise and work under pressure.
Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
Demonstrates a proactive approach to work, using initiative to manage tasks, resolve routine issues, and identify opportunities for improvement, while recognising when to escalate.
Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office.
Confident and strong written and verbal communication skills, in a professional manner.
Natural curiosity; interested to understand how things happen and always look for ways to challenge whether there is a better way.
Appetite to learn new systems and take on varied challenges.
Willingness to study towards CIPS.