Procurement opportunities

This is an extremely exciting time to join us as we are well established and into the second year of the unified North Yorkshire Council. We are now reaping the benefits of the newly integrated services that service the whole of the region and we are investing in and expanding our services. Our procurement teams are at the forefront of ensuring that costs are optimised, compliance ensured, and risks managed, empowering our new council to flourish.

The procurement team are responsible for ensuring that all procurement and contract management activities (commercial arrangements) provide the very best value for money for the council. We provide professional advice, guidance and insight regarding markets, suppliers, and contractual options to help support service delivery and improvement. 

The council spends approximately £650m per annum across a wide portfolio of services, this is split within the following master categories: 

• Professional - covering Technology, Learning and Development, Catering, Finance, Human Resources, Consultancy, Integrated Passenger Transport and Fleet
• People - covering Health and Adult Social Care, Children’s and Young People’s Services, Public Health and Social Care, Culture, Arts and Leisure, Educational Placements
• Place - covering Housing, the built environment (works construction, repair and maintenance), environmental services (waste management to weather forecasting), highways equipment and materials, utilities

We are a well-respected and award-winning service with a reputation for excellence. You will join a highly experienced and collaborative team and will be supported to work in a commercially minded fashion, building excellent working relationships with colleagues across the organisation, all united in their motivation to deliver the best outcomes for our council.

We want our team to thrive and enjoy their work. Therefore, we have a culture of investing in our people and can pay for relevant professional qualifications to be completed where appropriate. Where individuals display potential, we support and nurture this, enabling them to have long and successful careers within our team. ‘Growing our own’ talent is important to us and we are committed to providing the opportunities that ensure our teams have everything they need to thrive and develop.

We are committed to excellence as individuals and a wider team and as such are members of regional peer support networks as well as the Contract Management Pioneer Program where we share best practice, benchmarking and network with other industry professionals. Ensuring we are working to the highest standards is important to us, because we know that the services we deliver make a tangible and crucial difference to the communities of North Yorkshire.

Hear from our team

“Due to the size of the council and the wide range of services we deliver, no two projects are alike and there is always a new challenge or learning opportunity around the corner! Training and professional development is available, and the council will support you financially and with time to do this. I have recently stepped up to the role of Senior Commercial Officer in the Procurement and Contract Management Service, having been offered the opportunity through a secondment to develop my skills and progress my career within the service and the council. You couldn’t ask for more supportive or patient colleagues and I would encourage anyone to give it a go and apply for a role within the Procurement and Contract Management Service.”

Mark Taylor (MCIPS) - Senior Commercial Officer

"North Yorkshire is a special place. It is a great county with people and businesses who are proud to live here, proud of what they do and of who they are. We are passionate about the place that we work in and the communities of which we serve. We are proud about what we have achieved; confident about the services that we provide and ambitious for the future even through challenging times. In North Yorkshire we are extremely well connected, with great road and rail links across the country. We are also within easy reach of some of the UK’s leading cities including Newcastle, Leeds and York."

The roles

Our organisation has embarked on a substantial transformation programme, with procurement and contract management at the heart of this. Therefore, we are enhancing our procurement services and are actively recruiting for various opportunities.

If you are interested in more than one opportunity, please just apply once and include details of any other roles you wish to be considered for.

What can we offer you?

We are offering a unique professional development opportunity. Colleagues will be provided with comprehensive levels of professional development, alongside the opportunity to work with experienced colleagues.

We have modern working practices, enabling colleagues to work from home or our offices in Northallerton. You will be provided with technology to enable efficient and effective work, ensuring that you are connected and well supported. You are provided with a comprehensive benefits package with an excellent employer defined pension scheme, enhance holidays, flexible working to help you thrive at home and well as work.

Key documents

The Council Plan

Why work for us

We are strong performing authority, with supportive political leadership, and talented teams providing the platform to have a fulfilling, challenging and successful career in a truly stunning place.

A recent peer challenge found that the council is a good place to work, with strong leadership and a loyal and committed workforce who have access to well-regarded training and development.

We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice, offering a range of training and development opportunities and career progression allowing you to manage your own development journey and empowering you to control your career. Your career can change with your life here in North Yorkshire.

We positively encourage flexible working and we provide you with the technology you need to work from a wide variety of locations.

We believe in the importance of inclusion, which is why we are always working towards being a more diverse, equitable and inclusive employer. Find out more about our equality, diversity and inclusion work on our working for us page. You can bring your whole self to work, and we will support you to be the best that you can be.

Our values, behaviours and ambitions underpin everything we do.

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of great benefits to help you financially make life a bit easier. These include:

• a local government, career average employer contribution pension scheme
• family friendly leave
• salary sacrifice schemes
• modern flexible working practices
• learning and development packages
• career advancement opportunities
• employee discount benefits including shopping and gym discounts
• green car and cycle schemes
• travel loans

You can find more information on the range of benefits we offer on our total rewards page.

Watch this video to find out about our employee networks.

Living and working in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a thriving county that adapts to a changing world and remains a special place to live and work. 

North Yorkshire's natural beauty is captured in its three areas of Outstanding Natural Parks, National Nature Reserves, stunning coastlines, scenic rural villages, vibrant cities and market towns. North Yorkshire really is a beautiful, thriving and special place to live and work, rich in heritage and culture.

North Yorkshire features significantly in the ten best places to live in the UK in Halifax Quality of Life Survey. The Quality of Life index aims to quantify where living standards are highest in the UK by ranking local performance across a range of indicators.

Richmondshire was placed second in the list, a position boosted by excellent personal wellbeing factors including life satisfaction and happiness.

Hambleton was placed fourth and Ryedale was placed eighth, a truly commendable achievement and another incredible accolade for North Yorkshire. 

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics bulletin positions North Yorkshire as the safest place in England with extremely low crime rates.  

In addition, the county benefits from excellent road and rail links, with easy access via the east coast mainline, the A1(M) and A19. Leeds, York, Newcastle, Durham and Teesside are all easily commutable, and London and Edinburgh are just two hours away by train. 

From its lively cities to pretty villages, rolling countryside and grand coastline, Yorkshire has so much to offer including great employment opportunities for your family members, along with a higher proportion of schools which are good or outstanding compared to national figures.

You can find out more about what North Yorkshire has to offer on the No place like North Yorkshire website.

Watch this video to see more of what North Yorkshire has to offer.

Application tips

Find advice on making your application.

Contact us and apply 

If you feel you have the skills, passion, and drive that we are seeking, we want to hear from you! 

To apply please submit your application via our jobs and careers site.

For an informal conversation about working within the procurement team at North Yorkshire Council, please contact Rachel Woodward, Head of Procurement and Contract Management on Rachel.Woodward@northyorks.gov.uk.

If you are interested in more than one of the opportunities we have available, then please just apply once, but include details in your application form all roles that are of interest.

We will not accept applications from agencies.