IT Procurement Specialist

The IT Procurement Specialist works within the Procurement team to deliver best value and high-quality service from supplier relationships, leading the sourcing, procurement, and contract management of IT products and services. The role partners with IT and key stakeholders to manage procurement projects, negotiate contracts, oversee supplier performance and renewals, manage risk, and support strategic sourcing and budget planning across the Firm. The IT Procurement Specialist reports to the Head of Procurement and is part of the Finance team.

There are c.75 employees in the wider Finance team based across London, Cheltenham, Hong Kong and Singapore, and it is divided into five key areas

•  Reporting and Analysis (including Management Accounts, Business Intelligence, Financial Control and Business Partnering teams)
•  Financial Systems
•  Cash Operations
•  Revenue, Pricing and Credit Control
•  Procurement

Roles and Responsibilities

•  Leading and supporting on procurement projects for new IT & Technology related requirements.
•  Working alongside our IT function and other stakeholders within the Firm to manage the renewals for IT software, hardware & networking agreements to ensure they continue to provide appropriate value.
•  Working with Information Security to ensure that due diligence is completed on supplier products & services and is maintained in line with the Firm’s supplier requirements.
•  Working with the General Counsel’s Office to ensure appropriate terms are in place with suppliers and that legal and reputational risks are minimised.
•  Strategic Sourcing & Category Management - undertaking industry and market analysis, conducting supplier negotiations and supporting in the development and implementation of procurement strategy plans.
• Guidance and strategic stakeholder engagement - leading and executing projects, influencing commercial decisions and proactively engaging with the business and service functions.
• Responsibility for ensuring Projects within the team are delivered within time, budget and functionality and must have excellent communication skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks at once.
• Providing handover of finalised agreements to contract managers to ensure smooth transition into service and service levels are agreed and understood.
• Build strong relationships and be a crucial figure in positioning procurement more strategically within the Firm.
• Leading procurement and strategic sourcing projects over the procurement life cycle, from gathering stakeholders' requirements to tendering, contract negotiation, award, and handover to contract managers.
• Working with IT & Finance stakeholders on budget planning and management.
• Comply with all relevant legal and regulatory obligations including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Standards and Regulations, and Principles.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Previous experience working on IT categories with an excellent knowledge of IT sourcing processes.
• Understanding and experience negotiating SaaS contracts and other IT related commercial terms such as hardware maintenance and telephony and communications.
• A proven procurement background and experience within a professional services environment, with strong understanding of professional service categories and strategic procurement process.
• Contract negotiation experience including terms and conditions, as well as commercials.
• Experience within a procurement function.

Desirable

• Bachelor's degree education / CIPS is preferred, but not essential.
• Experience of working within a professional services or legal environment.
• Experience or understanding of procuring Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions, including awareness of associated commercial, data privacy and regulatory considerations.

Person Specification

• Organised and process driven individual who can work to tight deadlines.
• Highly motivated individual who will be able to deal effectively with conflicting requirements.
• Strong customer focus – able to deal with requests and queries and manage stakeholder expectations.
• A strong desire to build effective and sustainable relationships with your stakeholders.
• Troubleshooting skills and incident/problem management.
• Commercial awareness, financial acumen.

Hybrid working - We adopt a hybrid and flexible working approach, dependent on the requirements of the role and subject to manager approval.

Charles Russell Speechlys is an Equal Opportunities Employer, and we are committed to developing an increasingly diverse, inclusive and supportive culture where everyone can be themselves, feel valued, and that they can thrive and belong.  Please see here for more information on our employee-led DEI Networks.

For a detailed specification please download the job description in the documents section of this page.

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