Governance and commercial control

• Lead procurement governance and approval activity, including Procurement Steering Committee submissions, procurement reviews, tender recommendations, investment approvals and executive reporting.
• Produce high-quality, evidence-based approval papers and award recommendations that stand up to executive and audit scrutiny.
• Own procurement risk registers and change control for assigned programmes, escalating early where cost, programme or supply chain risk is emerging.
• Ensure compliance with VIRTUS procurement policy, Delegation of Authority and internal governance standards, maintaining clear audit trails throughout.

Supplier and supply chain development

• Develop category, supplier and supply chain strategies across key CapEx spend areas, strengthening capability, resilience, capacity and competitive tension.
• Build and maintain senior relationships with contractor and supplier leadership, driving performance improvement, collaboration and long-term value.
• Establish and govern framework agreements, preferred supplier programmes and strategic sourcing partnerships that support standardisation, scalability and future capacity requirements.
• Drive measurable cost avoidance, value engineering and commercial improvement across the CapEx portfolio.

Leading external resource

• Direct external procurement consultants, commercial advisors and specialist resources, with clear deliverables, standards, reporting cadence and escalation routes.
• Challenge consultant recommendations constructively and hold external partners to account on delivery performance and value for money.

Essential

Experience and Qualifications:

• Degree qualified in Procurement, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Engineering, Commercial Management, Business or a related discipline.
• Significant CapEx procurement experience gained in construction, engineering, infrastructure, data centre, utilities or major project environments.
• Demonstrable track record leading complex sourcing activity, contract negotiations and major contract awards.
• Strong understanding of commercial contracting principles and industry-standard forms of contract such as NEC, JCT or similar.
• Experience developing procurement strategies, supplier frameworks and category management programmes.
• Experience supporting governance forums, investment approvals, board papers or formal procurement approval processes.
• Proven experience managing suppliers, consultants and multi-disciplinary stakeholder groups.

Desirable

• MCIPS qualified or working towards MCIPS.
• Experience of multi-country or European capital programmes.
• Familiarity with SAP, Ariba and spend analytics platforms.

Key Skills And Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance cost, risk, quality and programme objectives.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to develop and execute procurement strategies for complex and high-value projects.
• Strong supplier relationship management and category management capability.
• Experience leading governance, procurement approvals and executive-level decision-making processes.
• Ability to manage external consultants and challenge recommendations constructively.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret commercial, financial and market information.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including the preparation of executive-level papers and recommendations.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities.
• High attention to detail and commitment to governance, compliance and continuous improvement.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, procurement systems, reporting tools and spend analytics platforms.

In line with VIRTUS’ Vetting Policy, the successful applicant must be willing to undergo a BS7858 screening process.

VIRTUS is an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to fight for equality, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.

We reserve the right to close this post for applications should sufficient applications be received.

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