Procurement Lead Works & Works-Related Services Portfolio

ABOUT THE LAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

The Land Development Agency (LDA) is the State’s affordable housing delivery body.  Its main role is to acquire and develop State and other land to deliver affordable homes, supporting the creation of thriving communities and delivering ongoing positive social impact. It is overseen by an independent Board of Directors and has total capitalisation of up to €8.75bn. To date €6.25 billion of equity capital has been committed by Government and a further €2.5bn capitalisation is permitted under legislation from other sources/debt.

The LDA is active on more than 20 State Land sites and has a delivery pipeline in excess of 25,000 homes.  The Agency also works in partnership with the country’s largest and most experienced homebuilders and will deliver a further 8,000 homes under its Project Tosaigh initiative.

Additionally, the LDA is working on large-scale longer-term strategic areas by master-planning and bringing forward planning applications in locations such as Limerick Colbert Quarter, the Digital Hub in Dublin and Sandy Road in Galway.

Role Summary

The LDA is seeking two Procurement Leads – Portfolio Managers to play pivotal leadership roles in shaping and delivering a best-in-class public procurement function.

Each role will act as the Procurement Lead for a defined portfolio, owning strategy, governance, systems, delivery and risk management end-to-end, and will support the Head of Procurement in building and leading a high-performing, commercially capable procurement function.

You will partner at Director, Head and Lead level to shape strategy, investment decisions and commercial models. You will act as a trusted advisor and critical friend, providing robust commercial challenge, insight and support. You will build deep understanding of your portfolio, its supply markets, commercial and contract management requirements, risk profile and legal and governance context, and design and implement portfolio and category strategies that deliver outcomes, manage risk and enable housing delivery – while remaining fully compliant with Irish and EU public procurement law and the wider policy agenda.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Portfolio Leadership

• Act as the Procurement Lead for your portfolio, owning strategy, governance, systems, delivery and risk management.


• Support the Head of Procurement in shaping and implementing the overall procurement operating model, strategy, roadmap and risk framework.


• Lead, manage and develop procurement professionals within your portfolio, building capability and setting standards.


• Partner with Directors, Heads and Leads to shape procurement and commercial strategy, investment priorities and delivery plans.


• Act as a trusted advisor and critical friend, providing constructive challenge to ensure robust, defensible and outcome-focused decisions.


• Build and maintain a robust portfolio risk framework, identifying, assessing and actively managing commercial, legal, delivery and supply chain risks.

Commercial, Systems, Contract & Risk Management

• Design and implement commercial, contract and risk management frameworks that ensure suppliers deliver outcomes, manage risk and maximise value.


• Embed risk management into category strategies, sourcing decisions, contract models and contract management.


• Lead the development and use of procurement, contract and risk management systems, including contract registers, performance dashboards and assurance reporting.

Commercial & Senior Stakeholder Partnership

• Lead complex stakeholder environments, balancing delivery urgency, value for money and regulatory compliance.


• Influence, challenge and support senior stakeholders to ensure the right procurement and commercial outcomes are achieved.


• Provide senior-level commercial and procurement leadership across the portfolio.

Public Procurement Law, Governance & Assurance

• Lead complex, high-value and high-risk procurements under Irish and EU public procurement law.


• Apply deep, practical knowledge of public procurement law to design compliant, commercially effective sourcing strategies.


• Navigate and manage oversight and assurance requirements (C&AG, Department, DPER, OGP, internal and external audit).


• Ensure procurement strategies stand up to legal, audit and assurance scrutiny.

Tendering, Contracting & Delivery

• Lead end-to-end strategic competitions including market engagement, governance approvals, tendering, evaluation, award, Regulation 84 reporting, contract negotiation, mobilisation and transition.


• Ensure robust contract management frameworks are in place to deliver outcomes, manage risk and drive supplier performance.

Governance, Capability & Outcomes

• Contribute to the development of procurement policy, commercial governance and assurance frameworks.


• Maintain robust procurement records to support audit, C&AG and Public Spending Code compliance.


• Build commercial and procurement capability across the organisation through coaching, mentoring and knowledge sharing.

Requirements:

We are seeking senior public procurement professionals who:

• Operate as Procurement Leads / Portfolio Managers, not just tender managers.


• Have a strong track record of leading complex, high-value procurements under Irish and EU public procurement law is essential.  EU Member state or UK experience is considered equivalent.


• Have substantive knowledge and practical experience of risk and risk management frameworks, and can apply them across commercial strategy, sourcing and contract management.


• Have demonstrable experience designing and operating commercial, contract management and procurement systems.


• Are commercially minded, outcome-focused and able to design strategies that deliver value, manage risk and enable delivery.


• Have excellent senior stakeholder management skills, including acting as a trusted advisor and critical friend.


• Have a strong understanding of public procurement governance, assurance and oversight frameworks.


• Are comfortable working in ambiguity and complexity, shaping new categories and building structure where none previously existed.

Person Specification:

• Strong commercial judgement and negotiation capability


• Strategic thinking and analytical rigour


• Confidence operating in complex, sensitive environments


• A pragmatic, solution-focused approach to compliance


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills


• Good faith character with customers and suppliers

A professional procurement qualification (e.g. CIPS or equivalent) is advantageous but not essential – public procurement law expertise, commercial leadership, risk leadership and contract management capability are the core requirements.

To Apply: 

The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 1st February 2026

The Land Development Agency is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to promote and support a diverse and inclusive workforce, and we endeavour to provide reasonable accommodation as required.