Lead Associate

Division: Supervision, Policy & Competition

Salary: £800 Per Day

About the FCA

The FCA regulates the conduct of 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. Follow this link to find out more About the FCA.

The Sourcing Lead is responsible for the creation and implementation of the FCA procurement strategy within the category of responsibility, including strategic, operational, and tactical sourcing projects which may include contract renewals with high to moderate complexity and risk.

They are responsible for managing all FCA’s external supplier spend within the category of expertise, driving breakthrough results for FCA through effective development and delivery of sourcing and contracting strategies.  Leading initiatives to deliver improved value for money for stakeholders or improved services that assist the FCA to deliver its external commitments.

The Sourcing Lead ensures project objectives are delivered to time and budget within the required quality standards.  

What you will be doing

• Direct responsibility for development, and delivery where required, of sourcing and contracting strategies across a portfolio of complex and strategic categories and suppliers which delivers best in market, value for money innovative solutions for the business
• Accountable for the delivery of a variety of risk/complexity sourcing activity (individual and any direct reports), including RFx, supplier negotiations and contracting, ensuring compliance with FCA sourcing policy, public procurement regulations and other applicable regulations as a minimum standard and alignment with business strategy
• Demonstrate through all sourcing activities and commercial negotiations knowledge of markets and sophisticated commercial acumen
• To have a keen insight and understanding of business requirements on a 1–3-year horizon across a portfolio of categories
• Utilise and promote across the category all FCA procurement systems as required and deliver procurement projects in line with the FCA procurement process and standards  

What you will get from the role  

• Working within procurement will allow you the opportunity to interact with many areas of the FCA building a strong network of colleagues across all areas of the FCA which allows you enable the FCA to deliver is objectives
• While working with projects you will gain an opportunity to engage with stakeholders at all levels on the organisation, attend project and programme boards to provide updates procurement progress and provide advice and guidance in relation to commercial issues
• Exposure to work with suppliers to find innovative and market leading solutions to problems faced within the Financial Service Sector 

We support hybrid working which means you will be able to work from home up to 60% of the time over a month with the remainder of your time in one of our three office locations.  

Which skills are required?

We are a Disability Confident Employer; therefore, disabled people or individuals with long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here)

Minimum   

• Proven experience of delivering end-to-end procurement processes
• Demonstrable evidence of working within the Public Contracts Regulations i.e., Find a Tender Service (FTS) and Framework procurement processes (Government and other Contracting Authority enabled), and Dynamic Purchasing Systems
• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS) or equivalent (i.e., World CC)

Essential  

• Creation and implementation of category strategy plans to provide a 1–3-year plan across the category area, in line with business and FCA objectives
• Ability to demonstrate expertise in competitor and industry knowledge that drives innovation and commercial value, including the delivery of tender processes and negotiating contracts that protects the interests of and provides best value to the FCA
• Knowledge and experience of using procurement/purchasing systems (Workday/Atamis desirable)
• Experience in negotiating contracts and renewals across responsible category with a demonstrated track record of achieving value for money and managing procurement risk within required timescales
• Ability to lead, manage and mentor sourcing specialists in line with the FCA’s procurement strategy 
• Strong interpersonal skills to communicate highly complex information succinctly and in difficult environments and highly sensitive issues in an organised and appropriate manner both verbally and in writing at all levels (internal and external i.e., suppliers and other regulatory bodies) 

Our Values & Diversity

We are proud to be an inclusive employer and our ambition is to cultivate a culture for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

Within the workplace you will have access to various employee resource groups which aim to promote and achieve a healthy work / life balance and support our diversity ambitions.

Did you know? 50% of our Executive Committee were the first in their family to attend university.

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time)
• Private healthcare with Bupa  
• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)  
• Life assurance of eight times your basic salary  
• Income protection  

We also have a competitive flexible benefits scheme which gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle.

We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements.  Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares.  We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we can explore what might work best for both sides.

Follow this link to see what life is like at the FCA - Life at the FCA

Application Support

We are dedicated to removing barriers and ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition requiring changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter using the details below and they will be happy to discuss this further with you.

Useful Information

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time. 

Got a question?

If you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact:  [email protected]

Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.