Job Description

Assistant Category Specialist -

People (Adult Social Care, Children's Services and Public Health) -

Ref: RT04225

Grade: G7; Salary Range: 34,412 - 38,220

About our Procurement and Contract Management Team

We are pleased to share that following a review and restructure, Walsall Council has a number of new and exciting opportunities in its Procurement and Contract Management team.


Our team support a wide range of service areas across the Council including services for Adult Social Care, Children's Service, Public Health, Construction, FM, Waste, Fleet, Finance, HR, and ICT to name a few.


With significant changes in public sector procurement with the UK's Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) coming into force, bringing with it the challenges of a major overhaul of the procurement and contract management rules, and a heightened focus on transparency, integrity and commerciality, this is an ideal time to join our established team and positively impact change.

About our Assistant Category Specialist

We are seeking a commercially minded positive individual with a 'can do' attitude to work collaboratively with stakeholders to successfully deliver a range of procurement activities. Ideally, you will:


be flexible and pragmatic in your approach have the ability to manage multiple workstreams across your category area at different stages of the procurement cycle. work with a variety of teams planning and defining services and ensuring procurement projects meet local objectives to support the Council's corporate vision of delivering excellent services and improving life chances for all Walsall residents.

About the People Category

Our People Category has four fantastic opportunities available for two Category Specialist roles and two Assistant Category Specialist to strengthen our capacity to deliver a wide range of procurement activity.


We work in close collaboration with many key internal and external stakeholders that include Council wide service areas, vulnerable service users, providers, VCSEs and of course, our valued supply chain.


We are not afraid to think outside the box and challenge the 'norm', we pride ourselves on our flexible and pragmatic procurement advice to achieve the most advantageous procurement strategy, and to ensure successful project delivery.


Our projects vary in value and complexity with sometimes challenging timescales. Examples of recent and current/future projects include:


Healthy Child Programme circa 6M annually (lifetime value 60M) - Provider Selection Regime Integrated Sexual Health Services circa 2M annually (lifetime value 20M) - Provider Selection Regime Community Based Support Services circa 28M annually (lifetime value 224M) - PA23 Light Touch Framework Support Living Services circa 20M annually (lifetime value 160M) - PA23 Light Touch Framework Residential and Nursing Care Services circa 54M annually - PA23 User Choice Home to School Transport circa 10M+ annually - PCRs 2015 DPS Healthy Eating for Families and Children circa 250k annually (lifetime value 1.25M) - PCRs 2015 Open Process
If you want to be supported by passionate and dedicated Category Managers and Category Lead, believe you could add value to our team and you have relevant category knowledge, or the desire to learn, then we would like to hear from you.


Closing Date: 7th December 2025


View: and Employee Specification


It is our intention to notify applicants of their outcome at the earliest opportunity after the closing date, subject to the volume of interest and to interview short listed applicants during week commencing 5 th and 12 th January 2026.


If you have any questions or wish to discuss any of the opportunities available, please contact Susan Wilson, Category Lead for People at susan.wilson@walsall.gov.uk


This post is covered by the Government's Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

Information for Applicants

Important note:

When completing your online application form, you will be asked to enter supporting information. You must enter a detailed supporting information statement describing how your skills, abilities and experience meet the specific criteria included in the employee specification.

If you do not include a supporting information statement, you will not be shortlisted.

Please also ensure that you complete the work history and qualifications sections of your application form. Please do not add a CV as we do not accept them. See our Information for Applicants leaflet for further information.

We kindly request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this job vacancy. We are not accepting Agency applications or referrals at this time

Here at Walsall, we want to attract the best talent. That's why - as well as a satisfying and rewarding job - we offer a range of attractive benefits . Working arrangements in most jobs are flexible (you may work flexitime, full or part time and job sharing is usually available) and you can expect generous holiday entitlements, a first class pension scheme and plenty of opportunities for training and personal development.



We advertise vacancies because we want the best talent available. If that's you, we're waiting for your application.

Living in Walsall

Part of the Black Country, famous for its enterprising and industrial past, Walsall is reinventing itself to become a progressive modern community. The borough is centred around the major town of Walsall, but also includes five smaller and distinctive district centres (Bloxwich, Aldridge, Willenhall, Darlaston and Brownhills), together with numerous villages.

Walsall Council is committed to Safer Recruitment.

To achieve our commitment, we will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce.

Social Work Matters - Children's Social Worker Recruitment

Some of our children require a special kind of support: yours. Visit our microsite to find out more about joining Walsall Council as a Children's Social Worker.