Procurement Apprentice
The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge
Cambridge (CB2 0RE)
Closes in 17 days (Tuesday 12 August 2025)
Posted on 24 July 2025
Contents
Summary
We are a world-leading cancer research institute dedicated to improving patient lives through discovery science. We believe that only through understanding all aspects of the disease can we prevent, detect and treat cancer so that everybody can lead longer, better lives.
- Wage
-
£19,781 a year
- Training course
- Procurement and supply assistant (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday-Friday (9am-5pm)
36 hours 30 minutes a week
- Start date
-
Monday 1 September 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 6 months
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
Join us at the world-leading CRUK Cambridge Institute. We’re a unique department of the University of Cambridge, core funded by Cancer Research UK’s charitable activities, and we’re eagerly searching for our new Procurement Apprentice.
Procurement at the CRUK Cambridge Institute is a small team passionate about delivering value for money and promoting sustainable practices. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of purchasing processes, providing timely, accurate and professional support to key stakeholders.
The role includes completing the Level 3 Procurement Apprenticeship qualification using the skills and knowledge that you will have built up to complete your projects and assignments.
The post holder will support the procurement team by ensuring high quality administrative support within a range of areas:
- Supporting a wide range of purchasing activities such as reviewing and approving purchase requisitions with “low value/risk contracts”, purchase order amendments and cancellations.
- Onboarding new suppliers on behalf of the wider team.
- Email management within the team by creating and managing folders by supplier, topic, colour code for priority or follow up, archiving old emails, using templates or standard responses for related questions.
- Order expediting by tracking deliveries, responding to internal queries about order status and resolving any delays or changes in order status.
- Understanding of the University Financial regulations with reference to purchasing, internal policies and procedures, to educate the wider team and adopt commercial best practice.
- Collating relevant information and accurate statistical data as required for reporting.
- Provide first line response to purchasing-related queries and support contract and supplier management activity across a range of commercial areas.
- Building excellent working relationships with peers, colleagues and suppliers.
Where you'll work
Cancer Research Uk, Robinson Way
Cambridge
CB2 0RE
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
WEST SUFFOLK COLLEGE
Training course
Procurement and supply assistant (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Monitor and order products, stock, equipment and services at appropriate times using the appropriate procurement method.
- Communicate to procurement's internal stakeholders, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to develop effective relationships and networks
- Create, maintain and amend purchase order and contract records.
- Interpret, evaluate and compare procurement information such as historical spend and usage using databases and spreadsheets.
- Present findings and data in all formats e.g. mathematically, written and oral.
- Determine value for money (VFM) and added value through the use of Total Cost of Ownership during the evaluation process, and apply the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria to the evaluation of quotes and tenders to support the recommendation at award. This may include the inclusion of green, low carbon, sustainability, and ethical criteria.
- Utilise relevant Procurement computer systems or internal databases.
- Select the supplier of the most appropriate products and services for purchases within their remit and place purchase order.
- Undertake appraisal of adhoc and low spend suppliers including setting them up on the purchasing system.
- Effectively research and analyse demand, spend, trends, potential suppliers and industries utilising qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Develop specifications of requirements and requests for quotes/tenders in line with organisational requirements.
- Apply considerations of responsible procurement in evaluating potential suppliers, quotes and tenders.
- Investigate and resolve purchase order, delivery and invoice queries.
- Own low risk value projects such as supply contracts for stationery, personal protective equipment (PPE) or other consumables, and contribute to higher risk activities such as contracts for building services or machinery, and track, log, expedite and review outstanding orders and stock availability where applicable.
- Maintain knowledge on all open orders and their status' and provide assistance to all purchasing staff e.g. expediting and feeding information back to the relevant stakeholders.
- Able to consider the impact of the decision making process when interacting with the supply chain.
- Able to support the contract negotiations and mini competitions with suppliers.
- Monitor and order products, stock, equipment and services at appropriate times using the appropriate procurement method.
- Communicate to procurement's internal stakeholders, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to develop effective relationships and networks
- Create, maintain and amend purchase order and contract records.
- Interpret, evaluate and compare procurement information such as historical spend and usage using databases and spreadsheets.
- Present findings and data in all formats e.g. mathematically, written and oral.
- Determine value for money (VFM) and added value through the use of Total Cost of Ownership during the evaluation process, and apply the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria to the evaluation of quotes and tenders to support the recommendation at award. This may include the inclusion of green, low carbon, sustainability, and ethical criteria.
- Utilise relevant Procurement computer systems or internal databases.
- Select the supplier of the most appropriate products and services for purchases within their remit and place purchase order.
- Undertake appraisal of adhoc and low spend suppliers including setting them up on the purchasing system.
- Effectively research and analyse demand, spend, trends, potential suppliers and industries utilising qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Develop specifications of requirements and requests for quotes/tenders in line with organisational requirements.
- Apply considerations of responsible procurement in evaluating potential suppliers, quotes and tenders.
- Investigate and resolve purchase order, delivery and invoice queries.
- Own low risk value projects such as supply contracts for stationery, personal protective equipment (PPE) or other consumables, and contribute to higher risk activities such as contracts for building services or machinery, and track, log, expedite and review outstanding orders and stock availability where applicable.
- Maintain knowledge on all open orders and their status' and provide assistance to all purchasing staff e.g. expediting and feeding information back to the relevant stakeholders.
- Able to consider the impact of the decision making process when interacting with the supply chain.
- Able to support the contract negotiations and mini competitions with suppliers.
Training schedule
- The learner will be studying the Procurement and Supply Assistant Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard qualification.
- Day release to West Suffolk College.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE or equivalent in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Initiative
- Organisation skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Customer care skills
- Attention to detail
Other requirements
The role will be based on site for the majority of the time initially, but some working from home time can be built in eventually depending on progress.
About this employer
The School of Clinical Medicine currently employs nearly 3,000 people, spanning all varieties of staff type from Academic Professors to administrative support. The School aims to provide leadership in education, discovery and healthcare. It will achieve this through; inspirational teaching and training, outstanding basic and clinical research and integration of these to improve medical practice for both individual patients and the population. The School will: Through inspirational teaching and training, educate individuals who: will become exceptional doctors or biomedical scientists combine a depth of scientific understanding with outstanding clinical and communication skills demonstrate a caring, compassionate and professional approach to patients and the public and are equipped to become future international leaders of their profession. Through its commitment to the pursuit of excellence, support scientists of international standing in basic and clinical research aiming to: understand fundamental biology and thereby the mechanisms underlying disease integrate basic and clinical research apply a rigorous mechanism-based approach to clinical problems and innovate to solve the health challenges of our society.
After this apprenticeship
You would be well placed to apply for entry level Procurement posts, particularly within the University and other academic/ research environments. There is no guarantee of a position at the end of the apprenticeship as it would depend on vacancies/ business need, but it has happened in the past.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
WEST SUFFOLK COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000333612.
Apply now
Closes in 17 days (Tuesday 12 August 2025)
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