Purchasing Manager

The IAA is the civil aviation regulator for Ireland. We are responsible for the regulation of safety, security, and consumer interests. Our responsibilities are set out in the framework of applicable global, European, and national legislation/regulation. For more information, please visit our website: About the Irish Aviation Authority (iaa.ie).

Mission: The Irish Aviation Authority regulates to the highest professional standards to ensure a safe, secure, sustainable and consumer-focused civil aviation environment. We support world class performance and innovation in Irish and global aviation.

Values: Our values reflect what we believe in and how we behave when engaging with each other, our clients and partners, and the society in which we live.

Safety First: We uphold the highest standards of civil aviation safety and security in everything we do for the benefit of aircraft passengers and aviation personnel and in the public interest.

Consumer-focused: We protect the rights of consumers, ensuring a safe, secure and efficient civil aviation experience.

Sustainability: We support the development of aviation in a sustainable manner that meets the present demands for safeguarding the needs of the future.

Integrity and Accountability: We act with transparency, fairness and responsibility in all our decisions and actions.

Professionalism: We maintain the highest levels of expertise, ethics, responsiveness, efficiency and conduct in our work, and we recognise our true strength is in our people.

Collaboration: We work closely with stakeholders to promote trust, alignment and shared success.

Respect and Inclusion: We value diverse perspectives and foster an inclusive, respectful workplace and stakeholder environment.

Job Description

The Purchasing Manager will be responsible for leading and managing the organisation's procurement function, ensuring that all procurement activities are conducted in accordance with Irish and EU public procurement legislation, government procurement policy, and organisational governance requirements.

The role will develop procurement strategy, provide expert procurement advice, oversee low to high value IAA procurements, manage supplier and contract performance, and promote value for money while supporting the achievement of organisational objectives.

The postholder will lead the purchasing team and will work closely with senior management, budget holders, and external stakeholders to deliver compliant, effective, and sustainable procurement outcomes.

Job requirements Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership & People Management
Lead, motivate, and support the team to deliver organisational and team objectives by setting clear priorities, performance expectations, and timelines, while fostering an inclusive, professional, and adaptable working environment. Manage recruitment, workforce planning and succession planning within the team to ensure the team has the capability, capacity and talent required to meet current and future organisational needs.

Performance Management & Coaching
Provide clear guidance, constructive feedback, and timely intervention to address performance issues and support employee development.

Planning, Organisation & Delivery of Results
Take accountability for delivering objectives by planning, prioritising, and managing multiple workstreams; delegate effectively; and apply appropriate systems, controls, and quality assurance to ensure high quality, timely outcomes.

Decision Making, Problem Solving & Strategic Awareness
Make sound, evidence based decisions, considering organisational, policy, and stakeholder impacts, and take responsibility for outcomes.

Change & Continuous Improvement
Identify and support opportunities to improve processes, performance, and service delivery fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, accountability and customer focus, and contributing positively to change initiatives.

Communication & Stakeholder Management
Build strong and effective relationships with internal stakeholders, external suppliers and key partners to support the successful implementation of procurement initiatives and processes. Act as an effective link between reporting employees and senior management, communicating clearly and confidently in both written and verbal formats. Educate, influence and collaborate with stakeholders on public procurement best practice, fostering strong engagement and ensuring decisions are made in the best interests of the organisation.

Self-development
Demonstrate commitment to continuous professional development to enhance capability and effectiveness in the role.

The Purchasing Manager role includes the following activities:

Develop and implement the organisation's procurement strategy and annual procurement plan.

Align procurement activities with organisational objectives and public sector procurement policies.

Identify opportunities for cost optimisation, service improvement, innovation, and collaboration.

Support the delivery of organisational transformation and strategic initiatives through effective procurement planning.

Promote best practice procurement across the organisation.

Maintain procurement policies, procedures, templates, and guidance.

Monitor procurement compliance through facilitating audits and regular reporting.

Manage procurement risks and implement mitigation measures.

Provide authoritative advice on procurement governance and regulatory requirements.

Ensure procurement competitions are conducted fairly, transparently, and in accordance with procurement law.

Ensure the compliance of requisitions to purchase orders on the purchase order system (SmartOffice).

Supporting the administrative processes relating to supplier on boarding and the ongoing maintenance of supplier records and associated requirements.

Ensure contracts and service level agreements concluded meet all the business and operational needs of the organisation.

Manage high value contracts and supplier relationships.

Oversee contract performance monitoring and supplier reviews.

Support contract renewal and contract exit planning.

Support the achievement of value for money objectives across organisational expenditure.

Analyse procurement spend and identify opportunities for savings and efficiencies.

Ensure robust commercial evaluation of procurement proposals.

Contribute to financial planning and budgeting processes.

Ensure compliance with:

EU Public Procurement Directives.

Irish public procurement regulations.

Office of Government Procurement (OGP) guidelines.

Circulars issued by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

Internal governance and financial control policies and procedures.

Manage the end to end tendering process from tender development through to contract award in accordance with public procurement rules, involving all relevant stakeholders at each stage of the process. This will involve preparing/overseeing the preparation of:

Contract award recommendations.

Issuing all tenders on relevant websites and management of this process.

Ensure procurement processes consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives where appropriate.

Support the implementation of green public procurement policies.

Encourage supplier diversity, innovation, and social value outcomes.

Prepare procurement reports for senior management and the Board/Audit Risk and Finance Committee.

Provide management information on procurement activity, savings, compliance, risk, and contract performance.

Manage all relevant administrative duties to ensure good record keeping and knowledge sharing.

Skills, Competencies, and Qualifications

The successful candidate should have the following qualifications and skills:

Required

Relevant Professional / Academic Qualifications: Business degree and/or Purchasing qualification e.g. Institute of Public Procurement Management (IPPM) (formerly IIPMM), Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), or equivalent professional procurement body.

A minimum 3 years purchasing experience, including at least two years in a public sector environment.

Must demonstrate an in depth knowledge of public procurement legislation and practice.

Excellent verbal and written interpersonal and communication skills with previous suppliers and/or direct customer experience.

Ability to work both independently and in a team environment.

Self-confidence, initiative, and drive with the ability to perform within a team.

Strong Data analytical skills.

Experience in stakeholder management, influencing and engagement.

Excellent IT skills and working knowledge of Office 365 and Microsoft Office Suite applications such as Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook.

Displays a high standard of professionalism at all times.

Positive flexible attitude, be committed and keen to learn new skills/systems.

Purchasing or other financial management system experience.

Key Competencies Required for Effective Performance

For assessment of applicants for this role we will use the following competency model. This model reflects the changing and more complex environment in which those at this level operate . click apply for full job details