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To navigate the collaboration between BDEF and Adult Social Care (Bristol City Council), making sure that people with lived expertise lead decisions about the services they rely on, guided by the Co‑Production Policy and Disability Equality principles. Please see the attachments for full Job Description and Person Specification, including links to definitions and relevant policies.
Co‑Design and Co‑Production Worker
Hours: 28 hours per week. Must be flexible and be available for occasional work outside of usual work hours.
Salary: £30,229.28 pro rata (depending on successful completion of the Probationary Period). For the hours, this would work out at £24,183.43 annually. Point 7 on BDEF Pay Policy.
Purpose: To navigate the collaboration between BDEF and Adult Social Care (Bristol City Council), making sure that people with lived expertise lead decisions about the services they rely on, guided by the Co‑Production Policy and Disability Equality principles.
Reports to: Director of BDEF.
Based at: Chelsea Room, Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street, Easton, Bristol, BS5 6AW. However, we support flexible working arrangements and hybrid working as we are committed to supporting our workers to meet their needs. If this is relevant for you, this can be discussed.
Contract: This is a fixed term contract until March 2029.
Access: We are a Disabled people led organisation. This role is for Disabled people to apply for. As such, support to make reasonable adjustments and/or support to apply for Access to Work will be embedded from the start of working with us.
As an organisation, we also use Social Model Identity First language such as ‘Disabled people’ and ‘impairments’ or ‘health conditions’.
We know there are Disabled applicants who will have faced many barriers in developing their careers. When you read the job description and person specification, think about your potential to meet the requirements.
If there are items on the person specification where you feel you don't strictly meet the skills or experience listed but you already have strategies, support, or technology to meet these skills in a way that works for you (or you feel with the right support you could excel at) then please apply.
Co-Design and Co-Production
BDEF’s Director previously supported Bristol City Council Adult Social Care to create a Co‑production Policy. This policy was developed because there was no clear, fair, or consistent way for the Council to involve people with lived experience of using Adult Social Care services.
The policy:
- Is designed through co-production between Disabled people, Carers, Community and Voluntary Sector workers and council officers.
- Clearly defines consultation, engagement, co‑design and co‑production.
- Sets expectations for inclusive, equitable involvement.
- Has been fully adopted and approved by Adult Social Care.
- Is intended to guide all future Adult Social Care work.
Following feedback, Bristol City Council has now contracted BDEF, a Disabled‑people‑led organisation, to take this work forward. This, as part of this contract, role will focus on supporting, embedding and putting the policy into practice, ensuring that people with lived expertise are meaningfully involved in shaping Adult Social Care services.
The role will work closely with people with lived expertise of Adult Social Care services (Disabled people and carers among others), Bristol City Council Adult Social Care officers, community and voluntary organisations and BDEF colleagues. The role holder will work directly with BDEF Director who will offer advice and support.
The main duties can be found in the attached Job Description and Person Specification.
We particularly encourage people with intersectional experiences to get in touch, including but not limited to:
● Disabled people who are Black, Brown or racially minoritised communities.
● Disabled non-binary, trans or gender fluid people.
● Disabled people with lived understanding of refugee or asylum experiences and/or systems (although must now have right to work in UK).
● LGBTQIA+ Disabled people.
● Any other Disabled individuals with lived experience of multiple marginalisations.
Deadline:
Please return the application (in whatever form you choose) by 5pm on Tuesday 24th March 2026.
We will accept applications in the forms of written word, voice recording and/or video if writing an application form isn’t the best format for you. Application packs are also available in accessible formats.
If you would like this application form in any other format or would like to submit your application in a different format, please contact us.
With your CV, please include minimal relevant experience, including volunteering, professional and other. The focus in assessing your application will be based on your answers to the screening questions.
We will not accept applications that appear to be written entirely by generative AI without personal input.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About the opportunity
As Procurement Officer within our Finance & Assurance directorate, you'll be part of an agile, flexible team that's transforming how we deliver financial partnership across the organisation. We're on an ambitious journey to become the Society's single point of financial truth - trusted partners and credible experts who enable the organisation to make faster, better-informed decisions. This is where your procurement expertise meets meaningful impact, where your ability to engage colleagues and drive understanding directly enables us to focus on what matters most: transforming lives affected by dementia.
In this role, you'll provide hands-on procurement support to colleagues across the Society, helping them navigate contracts, suppliers and purchasing decisions. You'll implement our procurement strategies at an operational level, ensuring contracts are delivered with quality and on time. Working collaboratively with Finance, Legal, Risk and Audit colleagues, you'll develop and manage contracts, maintain supplier relationships, and collect the financial data that helps us understand procurement performance. Crucially, you'll engage widely to build understanding of procurement policies, making compliance accessible rather than burdensome, and fostering a culture where best practice becomes the natural way of working.
You may also have the chance to line manage a Procurement Assistant, developing their capabilities while role-modelling the high-challenge, high-support culture that drives our team's success.
About you:
You're an experienced procurement professional who understands that operational excellence comes from making procurement easy for colleagues to get right. You know how to balance rigorous processes with practical support, and you're skilled at engaging people at all levels to improve how procurement works. You're as comfortable analysing spend data as you are explaining contract requirements or building rapport with suppliers.
You'll have:
- Experience driving efficiencies and cost savings through supporting the design and implementation of procurement plans in large organisations.
- A track record of improving understanding of and engagement with procurement across diverse audiences to boost compliance and effectiveness.
- Experience of contract development, management and negotiation, with knowledge of the procurement landscape and relevant legislation.
- Good relationship-building skills with experience working across multiple business areas and with colleagues at different levels, particularly those in financial roles.
- Excellent communication and influencing abilities, able to engage effectively with internal colleagues and external suppliers alike.
- Some experience working with finance systems and processes, or in a financial environment, with an interest in the dementia landscape and its procurement implications.
What you’ll focus on:
- Implementing our procurement strategies operationally, ensuring quality contract delivery while building understanding and compliance across the Society.
- Forming strong relationships with colleagues at all levels to provide expert procurement support that makes purchasing decisions clearer and easier.
- Collecting and translating financial and procurement data into reports that demonstrate impact and spotlight opportunities for better value.
- Managing supplier relationships and developing contracts that protect the Society's interests while collaborating across departments for appropriate oversight.
- Building effective relationships with colleagues to improve value for money and/or drive efficiencies, particularly with colleagues in financial roles.
- Taking personal ownership of monitoring your work's progress and impact, while supporting the team's efforts to track overall procurement performance.
Can you see yourself as the procurement partner who turns policy into practice through effective relationship building and clear guidance? Are you ready to combine operational rigour with authentic engagement to drive both compliance and efficiency? Can you bring technical procurement knowledge and people skills to ensure every pound is spent wisely in our mission to end the devastation of dementia?
Important Dates
The deadline for applications is 23:59 on 17th March 2026.
First-stage interviews will take place on Monday 30th March and Tuesday 31st March.
Second-stage interviews will take place on 14th and 15th April.
About Alzheimer's Society
Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.
Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.
Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.
Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.
We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society.
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.
Our hiring process
During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply. Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.
To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.
We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.
We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.
Giving back to you
Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society.
You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.


