Graduate Trainee - Procurement
Fixed Term, Full Time
£28,090 up to £33,047 per annum
Location: Chelmsford
Working Style: Anywhere worker
Kick-start your career in procurement with our Graduate Procurement Trainee programme. You'll gain hands‑on experience across diverse categories, develop strategies that make a real impact, and receive full support to achieve your CIPS qualifications.
Role and Service Overview
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, 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 £1.2 billion and a contract portfolio of £5.8 billion.
Our graduate programme will equip you with the necessary skills and experience 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.
As our Graduate Procurement Trainee, you will study towards the Procurement and Supply Chain Practitioner Apprenticeship alongside CIPS Levels 4 and 5 with the opportunity to complete Level 6 to become fully chartered (MCIPS).
What you’ll do
* Fulfill a planned programme of rotations across some of the many categories within the Procurement function: Corporate; Economy & Investment; Climate, Environment & Customer Services; Adults with Disabilities; Older People; and Children & Families.
* Conduct robust research and analysis to ensure category plans are relevant, useful, and informative. Use these plans to create short, medium, and long‑term strategies and action plans for individual categories.
* Remain up to date with market conditions, shaping markets to achieve organisational goals and responding to change efficiently.
* Lead the delivery of sourcing processes, ensuring compliance with the Authority’s Procurement Policy and Procedures.
* Manage contracts and top‑tier supplies to ensure that performance standards are achieved and any contractual, commercial or market risks are identified; to ensure appropriate mitigations are put in place.
* Support the Strategy and Assurance team to develop policies and procedures that promote cross‑functional, best practice ways of working.
What we’re looking for
* Essex County Council have a minimum qualification requirement you must meet in order to be considered. Generally, you will need a 2:1 or be expecting to graduate at this level by summer 2026. Ideally, we are seeking applicants with a degree in a discipline with a strong numeracy and/or analytical bias, but we will consider strong applicants irrespective of the degree subject.
* We will consider applications with a minimum of 2:2 but we will need further information from you so we can consider the impact any extenuating circumstances may have had on your grades. Please detail all your circumstances on your application for our screening team to assess, and ensure your CV includes details of your Degree, A Level and GCSE (or equivalent) grades.
* Willing to study toward CIPS Level 4 and Level 5 diplomas, with the opportunity to go on to study for Level 6 and gain MCIPS accreditation.
* Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels.
* Demonstrated ability to contribute to proposals and decisions.
* Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with others to successfully achieve tasks and deliver.
* Demonstrated ability to assist in developing solutions to tackle problems and achieving outcomes.
* Demonstrated ability to build relationships with others, both internally and externally to the organisation.
* Working knowledge and understanding of Microsoft office packages.
What you’ll get
* 26 days annual leave + bank holidays + option to buy more.
* Recognised CIPS qualification.
* Paid time off for study and exams.
* Ongoing learning and development to support your career journey, including six sigma, carbon literacy, project management.
* Generous Local Government Pension Scheme.
* Essex Rewards – discounts at hundreds of retailers.
* Lifeworks Health & Wellbeing Platform.
* 2 paid volunteering days (individual) + 2 team volunteering days annually.
* Flexible working (location and time) as standard so that you can achieve the right work/life balance.
Interview Stages
If you’re shortlisted, you’ll be invited to a first‑stage one‑way video interview. Successful candidates will then be invited to attend our in‑person assessment centre at County Hall, Chelmsford on 26 March 2026. The final stage will be an interview via MS Teams.
Please ensure your CV includes details of your Degree, A Level and GCSE (or equivalent) grades. We may not be able to consider your application if these details aren’t readily available.
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk.
We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.
Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.
As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
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