Transport for London
Contracts and Procurement – London Underground
Value for money is the key here. On our Contracts and Procurement scheme, you'll develop expertise in letting and managing contracts to achieve it creatively and effectively - for our business and our passengers.
Transforming the Tube
As part of our investment programme to Transform the Tube, London Underground is delivering upgrades on a scale never seen before in our history. And commercial procurement has an important role to play. Here, you'll help us to oversee the management and letting of multi-billion pound Public Private Partnership (PPP), Private Finance Initiative (PFI), maintenance and upgrade contracts. You'll also be involved with:
- Competitively letting major contracts for a range of services, construction activities, and supplies for maintenance and delivery
- Supporting day-to-day operational service and ongoing commercial management
- Supporting the delivery of line upgrades such as the Victoria Line and the Sub Surface Railway
- Procuring and managing commercial arrangements related to major signalling, power and fleet renewals
- Managing contractual relationships for the maintenance of existing assets
Our projects include station refurbishments at Tottenham Court Road, King's Cross St. Pancras and Regent's Park. And our huge White City development programme saw major upgrades at Shepherd's Bush and White City stations and even a new station built at Wood Lane. It gives you an idea of the scope of our work - and the unparalleled experience you'll enjoy.
Placements
Procurement, commercial management (including that of asset maintenance), PPP performance and implementation, project delivery and PFI contracts are our core areas. So, that's where your placements will be. Plus of course, you'll also have the chance to try other areas across TfL in the second year of the scheme.
Operational placements
No matter what direction your career takes here, the practical experience of working in one of London's Underground services will be invaluable. Whether it's trains, stations or service control, our Operational Learning team are there to help. They'll take care of any safety critical qualifications, people management skills or technical knowledge you need, and shadow you to make sure that each placement is as valuable and engaging as the last.
You'll be contracted to work a minimum 35-hour week, but depending on your department, your hours may vary. Office-based placements will generally involve weekday working during usual office hours. Your three-month operational placement, meanwhile, may involve varied hours, including weekend working and shifts.
Further education and professional studies
We want to see your career progress as much as you do. Which is why we support and encourage you with your professional studies - including achieving graduate membership of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). When you've completed the scheme, the role you'll go into will give you the experience needed to gain Chartered status with your chosen professional body.
Duration
Two years.
Entry requirements
We look for a 2:1 honours degree in any discipline but preferably in a legal, business or economics subject.
If you're successful you'll have to pass pre-employment checks before joining. These will include reference checks, qualifications checks, right to work in the UK and in some cases a medical and a Criminal Records Bureau check.
Applications
Our graduate applications open on Monday 5 October 2009 and we recruit on a rolling basis. This means that when we have sufficient number of applications to fill positions for particular schemes, we will then close that particular application track. Therefore, applying as early as possible is vital, particularly if you want to apply for your preferred scheme.
Applications
