1.1 Role of Procurement Function

Owned by Brody Smith (Unlicensed)
Last updated: May 04, 2021
2 min read

Registers of Scotland has a dedicated central procurement function. The function is lead by the Head of Procurement with full responsibility for Procurement across the organisation.

The Head of Procurement is a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and reports to the Accountable Officer.

At a high level, however, the primary role of the procurement function is to:

  • provide professional, qualified procurement expertise, advice and services;
  • provide strategic procurement advice;
  • ensure that business needs are met through its procurement of goods, services and works;
  • contribute to the aims and objectives of the organisation;
  • pro-actively manage and develop the supplier base, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and third sector and voluntary sector organisations, identifying and managing any supply risks or value add opportunities;
  • ensure that value for money is achieved, including through implementation of national contracts;
  • advise, guide and support the development of and adherence to procurement policy, best practice and law;
  • develop, promote and implement appropriate procurement strategies and procedures;
  • establish and address training needs, utilising national/sectoral training contracts where appropriate;
  • co-ordinate training development and registering of procurement officers across the organisation;
  • assess procurement competencies across the organisation, using tools such as the Scottish Procurement Competency Framework;
  • promote and engage in collaboration and information sharing with relevant Centres of Expertise and SPD;
  • support sustainable policies through procurement processes;
  • comply with and, where appropriate, promote equalities legislation and policy; and
  • promote and engage in the implementation of relevant technology solutions, including e-procurement, to minimise purchase to pay costs.

In addition to this the function will also:

  • act as the interface between the contracting organisation and the external marketplace on commercial matters;
  • determine requirements and establish specifications in collaboration with end users;
  • challenge the organisation's/end-users' requirements critically for need and cost effectiveness, taking account of whole life costs and corporate social responsibility/sustainability issues;
  • conduct market engagement and research;
  • engage effectively with Centres of Expertise and SPD in relation to issues of policy, practice, information sharing and collaboration;
  • manage supplier relationships, including responding to suppliers' complaints;
  • manage commercial relationships;
  • manage procurement competitions;
  • manage the award of contracts;
  • contract management;
  • establish a comprehensive contract register;
  • establish arrangements relating to authority to procure;
  • measure and report procurement performance, including Best Practice Indicators (BPIs); and
  • encourage participation of users/feedback into relevant advisory groups (user intelligence groups).