JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Part time (17.5 hours per week), fixed term for up to 12 months.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. The working pattern for this role is flexible and can be discussed at interview.

Organisation structure

Chief Operating Officer, Technology.

Your line manager will be Emma Stone, Associate Director – Development and Enterprise Systems. You will also work closely with the Director of Technology.

Place of work flexibility

The majority of your working week will be spent at our office in Reading and the rest at your home*. The exact split of days/hours is negotiable but will ideally include two working days each week in Horizons on the core days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). The office closes on Fridays. You can attend the office on Mondays if you have worked the three core days. *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable – please see the ‘Working from home’ section on our Careers Site for further information.

High level summary of job role

As the IT Purchasing Coordinator, you will support purchasing and renewal activities that enable the successful delivery of Technology services, playing a key role in supporting day-to-day operational procurement and the longer-term digital strategy.

You will prioritise value for money, sustainability, compliance with procurement policies, and strong supplier relationships, whilst working collaboratively with technical and non-technical staff and stakeholders across the University.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

Support budget management by monitoring expenditure, assisting with forecasting, and ensuring procurement activity aligns with approved budgets.
Support purchasing of technology goods and services, including software, hardware, and third-party services.
Provide purchasing support to technology teams, ensuring alignment with departmental priorities and strategy.
Assist in sourcing activities, supplier evaluations, and contract award processes.
Work collaboratively with the Finance team to ensure compliance with the procurement policy and financial controls.
Maintain supplier and contract records, supporting renewals, performance monitoring, and issue resolution.
Support cost efficiencies though consolidation of licence agreements.
Contribute to continuous improvement of technology procurement process, documentation, and best practice.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: None.

Budget responsibility: None, however you will contribute directly to the oversight of the technology budget.

In this role you will liaise with the following: All employees across the University, third party suppliers, and contractors.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed: This is not a heading

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of safer recruitment and onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure unless specified otherwise), and three years employment history. This is all part of our commitment to safeguarding our students. Keeping our students safe is a responsibility shared by everyone within the University.

Qualifications and training

GCSE Maths and English Language Grade C or 4 or above (E, A).

Training or certification related to:
- Public sector or regulated procurement
- Governance, assurance, or compliance
- Or equivalent demonstrable experience (E, A).

A relevant qualification in:
- Procurement/Supply Chain Management
- Business, Finance, or Commerce
- Or equivalent professional experience in a procurement or commercial role (E, A).

Previous experience

Familiarity with financial systems and processes(E, A, I).

In a purchasing or administrative support role, ideally within technology, education, or public/regulated sectors (E, A, I).

Supporting annual budgeting and in-year reforecasting (D, A, I).

Behaviours and attitudes

Alignment to the University’s core values and growth mindset approach, which reflect our culture. Refer to the specific behaviours within the Competency Framework (E, I) – summarised within the careers site.

Skills, knowledge, other requirements

Familiarity with contract management/supplier management (E, A, I).

Familiarity with requisition and budgeting software (E, A, I).

Understanding of technology procurement, including software licensing (E, A, I).

Good commercial awareness and attention to detail (E, I).

Organised, proactive, and able to manage workload effectively (E, I).

Ability to maintain positive and productive supplier relationships; strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills (E, I).

Ability to track procurement activity, spend, and contract milestones (E, A, I).

Ability to support requisition, tendering, evaluation, contract award, and supplier onboarding, reviews and renewals (D, I).

Knowledge of procurement frameworks or public sector procurement principles (D, A, I).

Ability to work with a range of customers, including both technical and non-technical audiences (D, I).

Digital skills confidence: We use MS Office which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technology (E, I, T).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students regardless of your area of work within the University; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed. The University is regulated by the Office for Students and Ofsted, and we have specific requirements and expectations around safeguarding, Prevent, and anti-harassment and bullying. This is all part of our Competency Framework requirements (E, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: Salary range from £16,000 to £17,000 per annum (£32,000 to £34,000 Full Time Equivalent).

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide life assurance (death in service) cover as standard to all employees.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.
You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.
We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Emma Stone on 0118 921 4600 or email E.Stone@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Tuesday 21 July 2026 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Dates for interview will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.

As this is a fixed term role, if you were (in the future) to be offered and accept this role, it would mean relinquishing your contractual permanent employment status with the University. Following the expiry of the fixed term period, your employment with the University would cease, unless an alternative role is secured. If instead you would like to apply for this role on the basis of it being a secondment (i.e. not relinquishing your permanent status), please discuss this with your current line manager. Only your line manager can consider and agree to a secondment because this impacts the resourcing in your current team. Please contact HR if you or your line manager need to discuss this further.

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IT Purchasing Coordinator