Are you a Graduate, or will be graduating in Summer 2025? Do you want to make a real difference in our local community? Are you business-minded and ready to join one of the largest councils in the UK? Would you like to become a crucial part of a friendly and high-achieving team? If so, this could be the opportunity you are looking for!

The Role:

The Procurement function within Essex County Council is looking for the senior leaders of the future.

Procurement works with colleagues across the council, partners in the wider public sector, and with our supply chains to deliver innovative solutions for the people of Essex. The function leads the end-to-end procurement cycle with responsibility for category management, sourcing, contract management, and managing a supply chain whose reach is one of the largest in the public sector.

The Procurement Function manages an annual third party spend of £1.5bn and a contract portfolio of ~£5.8bn.

Our graduate programme will equip you with the skills and experience necessary to become a qualified Procurement professional (CIPS) and will fast-track you into a Procurement Manager role within Essex County Council.

The Graduate Procurement Trainee will undertake a comprehensive programme of training and development, through individually planned placements within the Procurement function over a three-year period to gain a broad knowledge of procurement practice and gain valuable skills. Further information can be found in our Graduate Brochure.

Essential Requirements for the role:

• Educated to RQF Level 6 (or expecting to graduate by Summer 2025) with a 2:1 in any subject OR a 2:2 with extenuating circumstances. Please detail any extenuating circumstances on your application for our screening team to assess AND

• A minimum of two A-Levels Grade A-C (or international equivalent) OR a CIPS Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Procurement and Supply Operations AND

• The right to work and study in England

• Have been ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for three years before the apprenticeship start date.

Please note that any offer made is conditional to you being able to provide all your qualification certificates. If you have international equivalent qualifications a NARIC Statement of Comparability must be provided; if you do not already hold one you can purchase online Statement of Comparability (enic.org.uk)

For more information, please se downloads. To apply, please click here.