Procurement & Contracting Officer

Salary: 33,756 GBP for London, commensurate with relevant experience and skills

Location: London

About the Job

Better Cotton is seeking a Procurement & Contracting Officer who will support the Procurement workstream. We are looking for an enthusiastic, energetic individual, with great attention to detail, who is eager to make a difference and will thrive in guiding and supporting staff.

Are you purpose-led and ready to embark on a journey to shape the future of sustainable cotton? Join us at Better Cotton as the Procurement & Contracting Officer and join a global team responsible for delivering high impact support for the world's largest cotton sustainability initiative - we support more sustainable farming practices and farm livelihoods for nearly 3 million farmers in the Better Cotton network in 23 countries around the world.

The Challenge

Looking ahead to 2030, we are targeting reducing GHG emissions from cotton production by half, big cuts in synthetic pesticide use, improve soil health across our network, improve farm income and support women's empowerment among farmers and farm workers.

As Procurement & Contracting Officer, you will join the Global Operations Team which plays a key role in supporting the daily global operations of the organisation and seeks to improve and facilitate how we operate!

Areas that play to your strengths

(All the responsibilities we'll trust you with)

We are seeking a motivated Procurement & Contracting Officer to join our Global Operations Team. In this role, you will be responsible for:

Day-to-day tasks & continuous improvement

• Assist with the implementation of processes and policies, including: review documentation as required; liaise with team members to support processes, how to guides; proactively identify areas for improvement as required.
• Lead on the Contracting process for procurements under 50,000 EUR and support the Procurement Team with various stages in high value procurements e.g. credit checks, advertising RFP's, flagging questions and queries.
• Monitor and address internal support requests raised by staff via various Procurement Tools.
• Work alongside the Procurement Officer - India on publishing and managing queries for RFP's & RFI's, monitoring the mailbox for any questions and queries and acting as the liaison between technical leads and suppliers.
• Guide staff to the Global Operations Page on The Thread keep them informed about upcoming and existing policies and processes.

Team support on systems & processes

• Support the team with content ideas for the Global Operations Thread Page to keep staff informed about upcoming and existing policies and processes.
• Offer one-on-one training to staff, as required.
• Play a pivotal role in New Starter Procurement Inductions and team trainings across the Organisation.
• Onboard new suppliers (forms and pre-invoicing financial checks).
• Utilise standard clauses and templates to write and review agreements, amendments, addendum's, MOU's and other related contracting steps (liaising with staff, suppliers and our legal partners, as required).
• Complete and file procurement documentation related to each contract ready for final review.

We are looking for someone who has

the following skills, knowledge, and experience:

• Existing experience in administration or in a relevant position
• Strong attention to detail
• Proficient English (written and verbal); Better Cotton's language of operation is English
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Happy to provide support to others
• Ability to work independently and to take initiative
• Strong ethics & reliability
• Solid working knowledge of Microsoft 365 package (Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint) or evidence of picking up IT programmes and systems quickly
• Excellent organisational skills, capacity to multi-task and handle a set of different priorities
• Experience communicating and working with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and cultures
• Experience working in procurement or purchasing (ideally for an NGO)
• Interest in and commitment to sustainability
• Knowledge of another language
• CIPS

What we offer

• Hybrid working - One day per week in the London office
• The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year
• Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time
• Continuous learning and development
• 25 days paid annual leave, plus 8-9 Bank Holidays and a further 3 discretionary days off over the year end period.
• Enhanced parental benefits
• A warm, positive working environment where everyone is valued
• The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference.

Working arrangements

The position is full-time (40 hours per week) and will be based in London. Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am - 4 pm.

Apply now

Send us your CV (2 pages maximum) and a brief cover letter (1-page maximum) by or before 20.06.2025 via the application link.

In your cover letter, please include an explanation of why your experience is specifically relevant to this role at Better Cotton. We want to see your personal style - what makes you tick and why you think your next opportunity is here with us.

Our hiring process

Initial Screening:

If you are selected, you will be contacted for an initial screening, which may involve a brief phone interview or video call. The purpose is to learn more about you, confirm basic qualifications, and discuss the role and organisation.

Interviews:

If you are confirmed after the initial screening, you will be invited for interviews. The interview process at Better Cotton may include one or more rounds of interviews with various stakeholders, such as the hiring manager, team members, and potentially senior management.

Assessment and Testing:

Depending on the role, you might be required to complete assessments, technical tests, or skills evaluations to gauge your competency and suitability for the position.

Reference Checks:

Once you progress further in the process, reference checks are conducted to validate your work history, skills, and qualifications, and for some roles, your education and criminal history.

After completing interviews, assessments, and reference checks, the hiring team evaluates your performance and fit for the role. If you are selected and your references are relevant and satisfactory, you will receive a formal job offer letter outlining the terms of employment, compensation, benefits, and any other relevant details .

About Better Cotton

Better Cotton is aglobal not-for-profit organisationsupporting theproduction of moreequitableandsustainable cotton at farmlevel. We exist to catalyse the cotton farming communitywithpartners,governments and others to continuously drive positive impact by setting standards and facilitating the supply and demand of more sustainable cotton from farm tobrand. In just 15 years we have aligned more than a fifth of the world's cotton with our standard and helped farmers and farming communities thrive. Join us in building a better, more sustainable future for cotton worldwide.

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:

• Trustworthy(including honest, transparent,credible)
• As havingIntegrity(including responsible,authentic)
• Positive(including problem-solving, pragmatic)
• Daring(including courageous, innovative,game-changing)

Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.