HEAD OF PROCUREMENT
CANDIDATE BRIEFING PACK
SEPTEMBER 2020
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
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Introduction to University Partnerships Programme
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Our Partnerships
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The Student Experience
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The role of The Head of Procurement
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Job description and person specification
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Benefits of working at UPP
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Further Information and Application Process
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UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
Introduction
University Partnerships Programme UPP
We are the UK’s leading provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure. We have over 35,000 rooms in operation or under construction through long-term, bespoke partnerships with 15 world-leading universities. With over 900 employees, since 1998 UPP has invested well over £2.6bn in the UK higher education sector and provided homes to over 350,000 students. We create bespoke, long-term partnerships which enable universities to make the most effective use of their assets, free up resources and improve student services. We fund, design, develop and operate high-quality and affordable accommodation on campus and deliver the very best student experience in partnership with universities. Our unique partnership approach enables our university partners to develop their estates whilst reinvesting in their core services of teaching and research. We fund, design and build new on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure, complete estate transfers and operate facilities over the long-term. Our transactions are typically undertaken on a demand-risk-transfer basis through a non- recourse approach, with the asset returning to the university in an agreed condition at the end of the concession. We encourage our partners to take an equity share in the project company so that both parties benefit from the successful delivery and performance of the accommodation, with interests aligned over the life of the partnership.
University of London
Our Vision
To be the UK’s leading student accommodation provider working with the trust and confidence of our university partners. To deliver on this ambitious vision, we have three strategic aims: 1. To drive operational excellence throughout our Business. 2. To delight our university partners through the services we provide to them and their students. 3. To generate value for our investors to enable them to further invest in the growth of our Business. To achieve the aims, we all need to focus on six strategic priorities: 1. Student experience – to provide an easy-to-access, reliable and excellent student experience. 2. Partnership – to develop and maintain highly-effective university partnerships. 3. Our people – to develop a safe, highly-engaged, skilled and collaborative organisation. 4. Accommodation – to apply effective asset management to provide good-quality accommodation. 5. Continuous improvement – to promote a culture of continuous improvement by embracing technology, innovation and efficiencies. 6. Development – to ensure highly-effective development, design and construction capabilities.
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UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
In Partnership, for the long term.
We deliver a range of services which can help universities to invest in improvements their estate, or improve student services. Our range of services includes; funding, design, build and operation of student accommodation. We employ over 900 people managing more than 35,000 rooms in operation or development. Our support, delivered in partnership, is helping 15 UK Universities to upgrade their estates, make best use of their physical assets, improve services and enhance the student experience. In the last decade we have provided more than £2.6billion in new funding, supporting our partners to invest and grow, to meet demand and improve the student experience. Any UK University with a strong strategic vision can benefit from a partnership with UPP, or access our range of services.
A film detailing our latest project, Elena Rose House, can be viewed here.
Our University Partners
Imperial College London
1,172 Rooms / FM Services
Lancaster University
4,347 Rooms / Eco-Residences / FM services 2,038 Rooms / Eco-Residences / FM Services
Leeds Beckett University Loughborough University Nottingham Trent University Oxford Brookes University
1,310 Rooms / FM Services
4,402 Rooms / Academic / Retail / FM Services
771 Rooms / FM Services
Plymouth University University of Exeter University of Kent
1,764 Rooms / Academic / FM Services 2,569 Rooms / Academic / FM Services
1,840 Rooms / Eco-Residences / Academic / FM Services
University of Nottingham University of Reading
2,223 Rooms / FM Services
4,971 Rooms / Accommodation Office / FM Services
University of York
1,043 Rooms / FM Services 1,711 Rooms / FM Services
University of London University of Hull Swansea University
1,750 Rooms
2,472 Rooms / FM Services
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UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
Student Experience
Great space and services with student experience built in. Our partnerships support universities to create environments within which students can live, study and thrive. We manage the needs of more than 35,000 students every term so we never stop learning and we share our experience with our partners. We also know that every University is as unique as the thousands of students it serves and this ensures that we are never complacent, and never take a one size fits all view.
Listening, responding, adapting Students can be demanding and their needs constantly evolve.
Independent qualitative and quantitative research helps us understand the evolving needs of students and face to face focus groups, and regular surveys with our residents enable us to check and adapt our approach quickly. As specialists, the quality of our staff and their in-depth understanding of the unique environment and the people for whom we provide services, enables us to support universities, understand their aims and their strategy and together deliver tangible improvements to the student experience. Our design teams work to understand how students want to use space, and how they interact with each other, leading to seemingly small improvements to the specification of a bedroom, or major changes that impact on construction or technology. At UPP we aim to deliver great places to live, with student experience literally built in.
Long-term, stable growth
Our clearly defined strategy for growth is based on our overarching mission to be the strategic partner of choice in the delivery of infrastructure and asset management services to UK universities. Our model is focused on long-term partnerships, supporting universities in improving the quality of their physical infrastructure and services to students. In aligning the interests of both parties, our unique approach provides security in the delivery of revenues and in turn, expected returns to investors. Our strategy will: • Grow the number of partnerships we have with selected universities • Increase the number of student rooms under management • Deepen the existing relationships we enjoy with our current partners • Invest in our staff to ensure we deliver the best customer service • Develop new and innovative ways of funding infrastructure projects • Identify new revenue streams and increase the value of existing revenue streams • Develop innovative solutions for the non-residential requirements of our partners • Wrest the economic benefits of ever more effective procurement
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
The Role of The Head of Procurement
At UPP, our supply chain is a fundamental part of our service offering and we strive to secure the best value and standard of service in everything we do. Our investment in procurement talent will go on to ensure that our aspirations for strong supply chain performance and best value are achieved. The Head of Procurement will lead the design, implementation and management of a cost-focussed, central procurement function – and provide strategic leadership to our business. The postholder will be responsible for defining and delivering a strategy that transforms procurement activity across the business from largely decentralised activity, to a centre-led approach that will see the procurement function act as the leading authority for all procurement matters in the business. The Head of Procurement will lead a small team to establish, execute and maintain a category management approach on our most strategic and high-value categories of expenditure, ensuring that we gain commercial advantage, achieve “buy-in” of all internal stakeholders and ultimately reduce spend, whilst continuing to source responsibly. To do this successfully, you will be fully CIPS qualified, possess an extensive technical understanding of construction and FM categories and have an ability to take a pragmatic and commercially minded approach in delivering cost reduction, supplier improvement and procurement transformation programmes. In this role, it is important that you are tenacious and resilient and have experience in implementing change – challenging, articulating and applying our method and strategy effectively. You will have an ability to take an analytical and conceptual approach to managing conflict and resistance to change in a balanced and professional manner. This is an exciting opportunity to join a business, enthused by change, and to lead, develop and transform our procurement function, instil confidence in the team and provide the very best procurement support to our senior leaders and stakeholders.
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UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
Job Description
Job Title
Head of Procurement Commercial Director
Reports To
Location London Business Unit Commercial Direct Reports x1 Senior Buyer & x1 Administrator
Job Purpose The Head of Procurement will report directly to the Commercial Director and is accountable for leading the design, implementation and management of a focussed, centric procurement function. Acting as the authority on all procurement and supplier management matters across our business, they will provide strategic leadership on the design and implementation of the Procurement Strategy. They will lead the category management approach for all relevant expenditure and be ultimately responsible for all sourcing activity for high-value and/or high-risk procurement activity – with a clear focus on cost reduction. The Head of Procurement will ensure that the standards for procurement activity are maintained in line with the expectations of corporate governance and policy while developing strong internal relationships, securing appropriate sponsorship and instilling confidence in the procurement function with our senior leaders and stakeholders. As the Procurement SME, they will transform the function, ensuring that we reduce, minimise and/or avoid costs across the major categories of spend, producing effective and tangible results whilst sourcing responsibly. In addition, they will support the new client acquisition process through the provision of clear, robust and pragmatically applied tender processes which contribute to securing competitive advantage – and enhance the success rate of our business. Role & Responsibilities • Provide strategic leadership to the Procurement Team and the wider business, ensuring delivery of the vision and strategy • Position and lead procurement within the business as a value creator and enabler, maintaining a focus on cost reduction • Drive the implementation of procurement strategies to deliver challenging business targets, savings and cost efficiency improvements • Through influence, value demonstration and appropriate application of policy, leading
a team which takes ownership of all procurement activities including transitioning previously decentralised stakeholder-led activities to the new central approach • Lead and execute category strategies for all high-value and/or high-risk expenditure categories across all business units including pre-construction, construction, FM and support services – positioning the service specifications, SOR’s, KPI’s and SLA’s appropriately • Lead the in-life management of UPP’s principal vendors to achieve enhanced commercial positions and outcomes • Establish, execute and maintain a category management approach to spend management and cross-functional working to ensure buy-in of all internal stakeholders to gain commercial advantage • Provide supplier and supply market intelligence to internal customers, enabling the business to maximise commercial opportunities • Support new client acquisition processes by way of demonstrably strong Procurement competencies, procedures and professionalism • Lead and/or participate in major commercial negotiations with key suppliers in conjunction with internal stakeholders • Work collaboratively with all stakeholders to maintain positive and open relationships including functional budget holders, member of our leadership team, university partners and key strategic suppliers • Communicate effectively with senior management on all matters relating to procurement and strategy • Lead corporate forecasting activity from a procurement perspective and contribute to the annual budget process • Provide detailed input to all relevant corporate business reports, including financial analysis and management information • Establish priorities for the coming year(s), maintain and lead a wave plan of procurement reviews and initiatives • Support functional budget holders with the strategic supplier management of relevant contractors, suppliers and professional bodies to develop a constructive and open relationship to mutual advantage • Provide quality and relevant management information/advice to relevant stakeholders on the performance of the procurement function • Manage a small, focussed team comprised of two Senior Buyers (2) and an Administrator, to deliver the functional objectives • Undertake ongoing competency assessment for the team and develop a learning and development strategy for team members Other • Reports directly to the Commercial Director Limited for URSL (UPP Residential Services Limited) • Key stakeholders will include the CEO, CFO, MDs and functional heads/budget holders • Indirect expenditure includes £49m, capital expenditure £77m, 16 business units and (circa) 70 categories • Primary categories will include construction (primary/secondary tier), pre-construction (design, professional services), building fabric, maintenance and compliance, HR (recruitment, reward, benefits and professional services), ICT (hardware, software, SaaS, print and outsourced services), facilities and property management, professional services, financial services and advisory
14 UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME Person Specification Attributes Essential criteria
Desirable Criteria
Experience
Extensive and proven experience at senior management level within construction, FM or real estate environment
Experience of OJEU procurement practises Knowledge of public sector procurement regulations advantageous Demonstrable experience in contributing to client acquisition (tender responses)
Managing procurement spend of £50m per annum minimum
Demonstrable track record of delivering cost opportunities against savings targets and leading procurement teams within complex multi-stakeholder or matrix-style environments SME with proven ability to make an immediate impact in transforming a procurement function and producing tangible results Strong process, governance and procurement procedure experience Strong team manager and personal development skills – with ability to create a productive team environment and culture where people want to go the extra mile
advantageous Representing a
procurement function to external customers in support of tender processes
Ability to communicate and influence decisions at board level
Skills/ Ability/ Knowledge
Ability to take a commercial, cost focused approach backed by a demonstrable track record in delivering real cost improvement Extensive technical understanding of construction and FM categories (hard/soft) Proven ability to lead reviews in a complex environment with diverse stakeholders and drivers Extensive knowledge of strategic procurement utilising category management principles or similar systematic approaches Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills with C-suite and director-level stakeholder Strong contract drafting skills, ability to draft and agree contracts unaided or with minimal input from legal counsel
Adept and leading a department and business through change Strong Project Management and presentation skills
Structured and data-driven approach to project and performance management
Attributes
Essential criteria
Desirable Criteria
Education/ Qualification
CIPS Professional qualified level
Project Management qualification advantageous
Educated to a degree level or equivalent Desire for innovation, development and learning Strong numeracy skills, expert in applying data and metrics in decision-making and influencing.
Personal Qualities
Personal gravitas with a strong commercial acumen - results and delivery focussed with an analytical and conceptual thinker Able to design and articulate processes, procedures and strategies to a diverse audience (seniority/role) effectively
Innovative and forward thinking with excellent and compelling communication skills
Tenacious and resilient temperament with the ability to manage conflict in a balanced and professional manner Positive thinker who influences through coaching and recognition Strong personal drive for excellence, comfortable with stretch targets for self and others
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME
The benefits of working at UPP
In addition to a competitive basic salary level and industry leading annual bonus potential UPP offer a diverse range of employee benefits, including: • Salary exchange pension – matched contributions of 5% • Private Medical Insurance – single cover with the option to add dependants • Private Health Insurance (Group Income Protection) • Life Assurance x4 salary (x2 salary if opted out of pension scheme)
• 29 days annual leave, plus 8 days bank holiday • Holiday purchase option – up to 5 days (FTE) • Bonus Exchange • UPP Payroll Giving (Give as You Earn) • UPP Rewards (discount portal) • Employee Assistance Programme
Our people forms one of our six strategic priorities. We strive to develop a highly-engaged, skilled and collaborative organisation that is diverse and has an embedded culture that promotes equality of opportunity. We offer the opportunity for flexible working and an inclusive environment for our people.
Further information and application process
For a confidential discussion to learn more about the role and opportunity please contact the UPP’s appointed recruitment partners Ben Duffill and Nicholas Coppard of The Management Recruitment Group. Ben Duffill
T: 0203 962 9900 M: 07976 125 010 E: ben.duffill@mrgpeople.co.uk Nick Coppard T: 0203 962 9900 M: 07896 079 495 E: nicholas.coppard@mrgpeople.co.uk
Applications should consist of a comprehensive CV and supporting cover letter. Applications should be sent to ben.duffill@mrgpeople.co.uk and nicholas.coppard@mrgpeople.co.uk. The closing date for applications is Sunday 11th October 2020.
All candidates are also requested to complete an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form which will be available upon submission of your application. Privacy Notice: Please note that by submitting your details, you are accepting that MRG and UPP is a “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. You will receive an ‘Applicant Privacy Notice’ if your application is progressed. This notice will make you aware of how and why your personal data will be used, namely for the purposes of recruitment, and how long it will usually be retained for.
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