Workstream Lead Governance Procurement Transformation – AR

Overview

In this role you lead the design and rollout of governance for a procurement transformation within a local authority. You will partner with procurement, legal, finance and audit to ensure transparent, compliant decision-making that supports value for money and risk oversight. You’ll move governance from pure compliance to enabling commercial decisions and accountability, piloting new arrangements before embedding them. This is a chance to shape cross-team governance processes and reporting for senior stakeholders like CMT.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a governance framework aligned with procurement and contract management operating model
• Define decision rights, approval thresholds, escalation routes and accountability across the procurement lifecycle
• Ensure alignment with Council Constitution, Procurement Act 2023 and public sector requirements
• Develop risk-based assurance processes, stage gates and checkpoints for governance
• Review existing governance to remove duplication and streamline decision-making
• Create governance tools (RACI, approval frameworks, risk checklists, templates, reporting packs)
• Align governance with procurement pipelines, category strategies and business cases
• Provide reporting to senior stakeholders (e.g., Corporate Management Teams) on governance, assurance, risks and progress
• Collaborate with procurement, legal, finance, audit, democratic services and other teams to agree new arrangements
• Coordinate with wider transformation workstreams (process, data, technology, benefits management)
• Pilot and refine governance arrangements before embedding into BAU
• Support training, stakeholder engagement and knowledge transfer

Key requirements

• Significant experience in procurement, commercial governance or transformation in the public sector or a complex organisation
• Proven ability to design and implement governance frameworks (decision rights, thresholds, stage gates)
• Strong understanding of public sector procurement and contract management requirements and legislation
• Experience translating operating models into practical governance processes, tools and controls
• Ability to develop proportionate, risk-based assurance for compliance, auditability and value for money
• Experience improving governance to reduce duplication and delays
• Strong stakeholder management to influence senior stakeholders across functions
• Excellent written and verbal communication for governance documentation and reports
• Experience embedding new governance arrangements and supporting adoption through training

• Stakeholder management
• Influencing senior stakeholders
• Clear and concise communication
• Governance framework design (RACI, approval frameworks)
• Risk-based assurance design and risk checklists
• Policy and template development for governance

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