Procurement Policy & Process Lead

Salary: £45,100 - £60,400

Location: Cambridge, UK/Hybrid – minimum 2 days per week working from the office

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time – 35 hours per week

Help shape the future of procurement by driving the policies, processes, and governance frameworks that enable a high-performing, compliant, and globally connected procurement function.

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

About the role

As our Procurement Policy & Process Lead, you will play a key role in shaping how procurement operates across the organisation. Working closely with the Director of Global Procurement, you will help develop and embed the policies, governance frameworks, systems, and processes that ensure procurement activities are compliant, efficient, transparent, and aligned to organisational objectives.

You will be responsible for driving consistency and continuous improvement across the procurement function, supporting the development of best-practice processes, governance controls, and operational standards. Partnering with Procurement, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Sustainability teams, you'll help ensure procurement activities meet regulatory requirements while enabling effective and value-driven decision-making.

Key areas of responsibility include:

* Supporting the development and implementation of global procurement policies and governance frameworks

* Driving process improvement, standardisation, automation, and operational excellence across procurement activities

* Supporting audit readiness, compliance monitoring, risk management, and delegated authority controls

* Developing procurement tools, templates, supplier management frameworks, and training materials

* Producing insights, reporting, and performance metrics to support data-driven decision-making

* Supporting change initiatives that enhance procurement capability, efficiency, and stakeholder experience

This is an excellent opportunity to influence how procurement operates at a global scale, helping to create the standards, processes, and governance that enable procurement to be a trusted, strategic partner across the organisation.

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition.

About You

You will be an experienced procurement professional with a strong background in procurement governance, policy development, and process improvement. You'll understand how effective governance frameworks, controls, and operating models enable procurement to deliver value, manage risk, and support wider organisational objectives.

You will bring excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to build strong relationships across Procurement, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Audit, and Sustainability teams. Confident working with complex information and data, you'll be able to identify opportunities for improvement, influence change, and ensure policies and processes are practical, compliant, and consistently applied.

You will have experience implementing procurement processes, systems, and governance frameworks, with a strong understanding of compliance, regulatory requirements, and audit expectations. A proactive and continuous improvement mindset will be key, along with a passion for simplifying processes, improving user experience, and embedding best practice across the organisation.

If you meet the above minimum requirements, we encourage you to apply. Your application will be even stronger if you can also demonstrate the following desirable criteria:

* CIPS qualification (or working towards).

* Experience designing or implementing procurement systems, automation, or digital transformation initiatives.

* Experience developing and delivering procurement training, guidance, or capability-building programmes.

For a detailed job description, please refer to the link at the bottom of the advert on our careers site.

We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme's Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long-term health condition, and who best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable and/or appropriate, we prioritise those who best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the gov uk website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.

Rewards and benefits

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including:

* 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

* Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance

* Discretionary annual bonus

* Group personal pension scheme

* Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary

* Green travel schemes

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent. The closing date for all applications will be 6th September 2026. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place from week commencing 14th September 2026.

If you are shortlisted and progressed through the stages, you can expect:

* First stage virtual interview via MS Teams.

* Final stage interview: in-person at our offices in Cambridge.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process due to a disability or a long-term health condition, there will be an opportunity for you to inform us via the online application form. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to our recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your online application, contact the Recruiter.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that is exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe – for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it is safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.

We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.

Procurement Policy & Process Lead application closing date - 06/09/2026

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