Job overview

NWSSP is responsible for the full Procure to pay process for all Health Boards, Trusts, and Special Health Authorities in Wales. A vacancy has arisen for a Category Manager within the Medicines Sourcing team. 

This is an excellent opportunity to develop your procurement career in a dynamic, challenging, and high-profile environment. Candidates must be able to demonstrate the application of commercial skills, negotiation; relationship management of internal and external stakeholders

To be successful in this post, the candidate will be of a continuous improvement mindset; need to be flexible and responsive to changes in priorities; be of a resilient personality; demonstrable track record in delivering creative and innovative service improvement solutions; manage heavy workload at pace; ensure policies and procedures are adhered to ensuring strategic and operational targets are delivered.

Although preferred, it is not essential to have experience of this category, as this learning can be provided as part of 'on the job' training and procurement/commercial skills are transferable. 

The organisation recognises the challenges of recruiting high calibre candidates and has a number of bases across Wales. Whilst the preferred base would be Newport, hybrid working is a benefit of this role, ideally the successful candidate will be office based/home based 2/3 days per week and discussions may be held in this regard with the successful candidate.

Main duties of the job

Supporting the teams understanding of the strategic direction of all NHS Wales organisations and the alignment with the NWSSP strategic objectives as part of the Integrated Medium-Term Plan (IMTP).

Supporting the leadership of the Deputy Head of National Sourcing in the delivery a National Sourcing category strategy for Pharmacy.

Work with the team to develop and deliver a comprehensive and maintained sourcing plan, focussed on delivering prioritised customer needs and cash releasing savings from non-pay budgets.

Apply commercial acumen and utilise skills to deliver in a complex changing environment throughout NHS Wales. 

Apply innovative and strategic thinking to continuous service improvement initiatives and be prepared to challenge historical practice when appropriate, ensuring best practice is adopted which improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the Pharmacy National Sourcing Team.

Ensure the operational management and performance monitoring of the whole Procurement team in line with departmental Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).Support the Deputy Head in responding to FOI and Audit and Assurance queries. 

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Working for our organisation

We have high standards and expect everyone to embrace our values of Listening & Learning, Working Together,  Taking Responsibility & Innovating, whilst ensuring trust, honesty and compassion are implicit in everything that we do. We are adaptable, agile and flexible and pride ourselves on being a learning organisation - one where it is safe to make mistakes, where blame is replaced by opportunity, learning and improvement. innovation is built into everything that we do. We recognise our people regularly and have an Appreciation Station, to encourage staff to applaud exemplary behaviour in one another, alongside an Annual Staff Recognition Award ceremony aligned to our values. We respect and value our people and strive for a culture of compassion and inclusivity. We are a bilingual organisation, and we have a team of Change Champions who advocate ‘This is Our NWSSP’ our principal change programme. Similarly, PROUD is our new staff network welcoming LGBT+ colleagues and allies to come together in a safe space for discussions, event planning and the opportunity to build supportive networks. We have a comprehensive benefits package where there is something for everyone, supporting health, engagement and wellbeing and includes an Employee Assistance Programme. We have over 30 Mental Health First Aiders and work in partnership with local and national organisations to ensure the well-being and resilience of our people.