Job overview

Working Full time: 37.5 hours per week

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen to join our dynamic team as a Category Buyer

As a  Category Buyer you are accountable to the Senior Category Manager, supporting all aspects of the Trusts Cost Improvement Programme and Cash Releasing Savings Strategy. 

The Category buyer has responsibility for contributing to the delivery of:

·       Obtaining the maximum benefits from Trust expenditure on goods and services, seeking best value, reliability, responsiveness, and innovation from suppliers.

·       Releasing additional cost savings, adding value, and ensuring probity through the contracting process and ongoing performance monitoring of contracts and suppliers.

·       The proactive management of Trust Procurement projects and initiative delivery.

·       Acting in an autonomous manner in making financial recommendations ensuring compliance with Standing Financial Instructions and the Scheme of Delegation. 

·       Producing briefing papers for the Procurement Manager, and all Stakeholder groups to ensure actions are aligned to the corporate objectives of the Trust.

Main duties of the job

Below provides a selection of Duties. For a full list of duties please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

To Assist with the delivery of the Trusts Cost Improvement Programme Strategy through procurement projects and carrying out tendering processes up to and including above threshold.

To manage varied projects to support and contribute towards the department’s annual work-plan in line with Trust Standing Financial Instructions, Standing Orders, and relevant legislation.

Ensuring all projects are completed in a timely, effective manner.

To engage customers at all levels within both the internal organisation and external client organisations and ensure the quality of service to both of a consistently high standard.

Provide professional advice and support to Trust clinicians and managers and all involved in commercial activity ensuring that there is a full appreciation of the complex stages involved and the legal requirements by which the Trust must abide.

Conduct complex procurement exercises that requires a full understanding of customer requirements and interpretation of specifications to ensure that contracts are awarded appropriately.

Deliver Procurement project process reports, ensuring that applicable Trust policies and Procedures and relevant legislation have been followed

Working for our organisation

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

•    The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds.
•    Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
•    Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 5916 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 411,000. This includes 361,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.