The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) has released a new version of its Global Standard for procurement and supply professionals.
The practical framework – which was developed in conjunction with a worldwide panel of practitioners and academics from diverse sectors and skill sets – outlines the skills, knowledge and competencies expected at every level of the profession, spanning all sectors across the globe.
The Standard helps individuals to understand the skills required for progression, whether preparing for appraisals, planning career development or structuring job applications.
It also helps organisations to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of teams and departments, provides a benchmark for developing high-performing teams and a positive working culture, and helps with the recruitment process by providing a framework for job descriptions and specifications.
What’s new?
In the refreshed Global Standard, CIPS has:
Reduced the number of competency levels from five to four – to now cover:
- Delivering: Operational/tactical, focused on the day-to-day
- Managing: Managerial with some complexity
- Leading: Complex with challenging requirements
- Influencing: Strategic with a significant level of complexity and challenges
Added some new themes – totalling 15 – to capture the knowledge areas and skills that every procurement professional needs to demonstrate to deliver best practice.
Removed the four pillars and replaced these with two new core areas:
- Enablers: The strategies and skills that enable procurement professionals to operate effectively including communication, critical thinking, developing relationships, ESG implementation, innovation, learning & development and technology
- Practices: The application of knowledge that procurement professionals need to perform a skill including contract management, evaluation & improvement, managing performance, operations management, risk & resilience, sourcing, spend & value and stakeholders
The 15 competency themes are broken down into competency indicators, each with defined competency standards. Ethics and Behaviours have also been embedded throughout.
Streamlined 50 percent of the content to reduce duplication while introducing Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) throughout.
“The Global Standard is a key driver to achieve our goals and a vital resource to ensure that you, as a procurement professional, have the most relevant skills and knowledge to succeed,” said CIPS CEO Ben Farrell.
“Raising our standard globally won’t happen in isolation. It takes our entire community to make meaningful change. Which is why, together, we power change and continually raise the standard for ourselves, for our profession and for our society.”
The new Global Standard is freely available to both members and non-members.
