Title:  Senior Procurement Buyer (Indirects) - NESO

About the role

National Energy System Operator (NESO) is on a journey towards a sustainable and secure energy future. Together we build on this momentum, advancing the Electricity System Operator’s (ESO) plan for zero carbon operability of the electricity system by 2025.

Reporting to the Procurement Manager (Indirects and Professional Services), the Procurement Lead manages and delivers all procurement activities for NESO. The person is responsible for scope agreement with the stakeholders, designing the sourcing event, and recording the documentation for compliance and assurance purposes.

The procurement lead will create and review sourcing strategies for the assigned spend categories, ensuring effective cross-site implementation with cross-functional teams. This role will execute the end-to-end procurement process, including sourcing, tendering, negotiation, and contracting while setting and measuring value-driven targets to ensure optimal performance. A key focus will be managing relationships with stakeholders and suppliers, assessing performance, and driving continuous improvement initiatives.

Risk management and value creation are key aspects of this role, with the role holder ensuring that the NESO receives value for money across the Indirects spend.

This role can is based in Warwick or Wokingham, and we continue to offer hybrid working from office and home. 

Key accountabilities

• Delivering a portfolio of strategic sourcing events within category groups, identifying the best sourcing strategies and leading events from market engagement to award.
• Driving value creation across the procured spend base through volume leverage, quality, forecasting efficiency, supplier innovation, non-traditional markets and optioneering to ensure NESO receives value for money.
• Maintaining knowledge of the NESO’s policies and frameworks for contract and supplier management, ensuring the team’s activity complies with the relevant processes and resolving/escalating issues. 
• Reporting on spend performance to provide a holistic picture of procurement activity.
• Ensuring risks are anticipated, identified and mitigated to prevent disruptions to timely procurement delivery. 
• Managing procurement systems and tools 
• Developing insights to input into the category management planning process through research and analysis of supply markets and other characteristics of the indirect procurement market; keep up to date with developments and emerging supplier trends. 

About you

We’re forging the path, and we know we can’t do it alone. That’s why we need visionary minds like yours to join us on this transformative journey. In this case, we’re looking for someone who:
•    Strategic procurement experience in complex environments.
•    Expert influencing and negotiation skills to drive optimum value by awarding commercially sound and compliant contracts.
•    Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills; able to communicate dynamically at all levels and externally to senior leaders within supplier organisations.
•    Excellent written and communication skills, capable of strong stakeholder management.
•    Entrepreneurial, ability to deal with ambiguity, progressive, procurement professional with attention to details on compliance and assurance. 

About what you'll get

A competitive salary between £55,000 - £60,000pa – dependent on experience and capability.

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus based on company performance, 26 days annual leave as standard and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%.

About us

The creation of National Energy System Operator (NESO) is driven by an urgent need to unify and optimise our approach to energy. A more integrated and coordinated strategy is needed to meet the unprecedented challenges of climate change, ensuring secure energy supply, and keeping costs manageable for consumers.

Join us and empower your potential, energise our team, and be part of something bigger.

Your energy, our future, together.

About the National Energy System Operator (NESO)

In Autumn of 2024, the ESO transitioned to National Energy System Operator, or NESO for short. Previously denoted as the Future System Operator (or FSO), the new National Energy System Operator is the independent body responsible for planning Great Britain’s electricity and gas networks and operating the electricity system.  

NESO, including all of its existing roles, are now at the heart of the new National Energy System Operator. As NESO, we will build on our existing roles, capabilities, and ways of working significantly to create an organisation the energy system and its users’ need. Our new capabilities will enable us to look across vectors, including electricity, natural gas and hydrogen, and crucially consider the trade-offs between them. 

The organisation is set up as a public corporation with its own Board of independent directors, with complete operational independence from government, the regulator and any and all commercial interest. As was the ESO, NESO will be licenced and regulated by Ofgem through price control agreements and obligated to identify optimal solutions to system operations and planning in the most sustainable, affordable and secure way for all. 

The time to deliver is now. As part of our team, you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in Great Britain – you’ll be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

More information

This role closes on 06/06/2025 at 23:59, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary. 

We work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office. 

We're committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve, and a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.
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