HEAnet Procurement and Contracts Specialist  

HEAnet is Ireland’s National Research and Education Network, providing internet connectivity and ICT shared services across all levels of the Irish education system, reaching 1,000,000 end users. We connect learners and researchers across all of Ireland to education resources and to fellow national educational and research networks in Europe, and the rest of the world. We are looking for a sustainable Procurement and Contracts Specialist to join the team on a permanent contract basis. 

What the Procurement and Contracts Specialist does

 

HEAnet has a small, centralised procurement function that implements the strategic procurement approach and policy as well as managing most internal procurement processes, the majority of which are ICT related.  The Procurement and Contracts Specialist will keep up to date with the latest developments in procurement rules and guidelines, and support colleagues by providing an efficient and compliant procurement and contracts management function for the entire contract lifecycle.

The main duties of the role include:

• Oversee all purchasing and ensure compliance with all national and EU public procurement legislation;
• Managing the end-to-end procurement process while working closely with the technical teams’ subject matter experts, and provide guidance and expertise in purchasing any goods or services 
• Develop corporate procurement plans on an annual basis and track performance against key performance indicators;
• Work with the finance team in monitoring and reporting cumulative spend under contracts
• Maintain a suite of procurement policies, manuals and approved procurement and contract templates to support best practice and foster a culture of compliance;
• Manage the procurement process through the e-Tenders portal and mailbox. Monitor the e-tenders portal and provide relevant updates to internal stakeholders as appropriate;
• Have a proven track record of strong decision-making skills with the ability to justify rationale 
• Support service owners in the awarding of contracts and oversee the end-to-end contract approval process
• Maintain and oversee a contracts’ database in SharePoint to support Service Owners to manage a timely preparation, awarding and renewal of contracts.  
• Ensure purchase orders are aligned with the contractual commercial terms 
• A familiarity with the composition and form of contracts as well as experience doing contracts red-lining and planning how contract deliverables will be achieved and managing how suppliers perform during the term of the contract
• To think strategically in consideration of value for money, supplier type, service type and in choosing the appropriate public procurement approach;
• Liaise with stakeholders including staff, auditors, suppliers, the Office of Government Procurement and other procurement contemporaries in the public sector.
• Participate in HEAnet’s ‘green procurement’ group and lead forward-thinking in sustainable procurement practice

How we do it 

Our company values underpin how we do things in HEAnet. We believe in and live by our values and understand they are integral to making HEAnet a great place to work.  

                                                                                              

Positive                 Future                Empowered         Enjoy It            Equality &          We Share

Impact                  Focused               Decision                                       Fairness 

                                                           Making                                   

 

For further information about who we are and our core values, see https://www.heanet.ie/who-we-are

What you get from us 

From the team 

We value knowledge sharing and communication.  We have regular presentations from anyone in the company on a wide range of topics from technical demos to project management to mental health. On different days of the week any team member may be working from home, so we use tools like Teams and video conferencing to keep in touch.  

 

We encourage critical thinking and the exploration of new ideas. We often form cross-team special interest groups for specific topic discussions, both ongoing and for fixed projects. By design we encourage that the engineering standards that we set are influenced from the ground up, as the people working within the standards are the ones most informed.  

 

We promote a healthy work/life balance. Work outside of standard hours is rare and agreed in advance. We take the care of our team members' mental health seriously.  

 

 

Company Benefits

• Hybrid Working 
• Flexible start/finish times
• Health insurance for employees
• Defined contribution pension scheme
• On-going well-being initiatives
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Taxsaver Ticket scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Professional education support
• Comprehensive group and individual training & development initiatives

 

What we need from you 

 

• Extensive experience in public procurement 
• Extensive knowledge of Irish and EU procurement rules and guidelines 
• A high level of understanding and experience of open, restricted, negotiated without competition, dynamic purchasing systems procurement procedures. 
• Strong attention to detail.
• Trustworthy, open and transparent with a high degree of personal integrity and ethical in nature with a compliance mindset
• Strong methodical approach with the ability to manage multiple tenders and other tasks 
• Experience presenting to senior stakeholders 
• A high level of motivation and enthusiasm for the role, with a self-driven attitude
• Experience of managing tenders through the e-tenders portal

 

Bonus points 

• Green procurement professional credentials
• Certificate in Public Procurement
• Advanced Diploma in Public Procurement law (King’s Inns).
• Awareness of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies
• An understanding of the ICT requirements in the education sector
• A degree or equivalent 

 

More important information 

At HEAnet we celebrate diversity and understand how important it is to our ongoing success.  We would like to hear from candidates who are great at what they do and whose values align with ours.  

If you need any adjustments made to the application or selection process so you can do your best, please let us know.