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Management Entry Route

Accelerate your career with your own practical pathway to MCIPS.

The Management Entry Route (MER) is designed for procurement professionals, operating in a senior strategic role.

You'll receive a practical pathway that will guide you to MCIPS status, without having to go down the traditional learning and exam route.

You will be assessed for your experience, knowledge and responsibility through an online assessment and a remote (Zoom/Teams) interview.

Applications are also accepted from professionals with the relevant experience who may currently be between roles, on maternity leave, or taking a career break.

 

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Am I eligible for MER?

To find out if you are suitable to apply for MER, please use our MER Eligibility Tool by clicking the link below.

USE OUR ELIGIBILITY TOOL
 

How to apply for MER

Step one: submit your application

If you are eligible to apply for MER (check your eligibility above) you'll need to make payment of £980.00 and complete the MER Application Form, via your MyCIPS Dashboard.

As part of this application, you'll need to submit your CV, Job Description, full Organisational Chart, Line Managers letter and evidence to show the completion of the CIPS Ethics Test.

A member of our team will then review your application to see if you are ready for the next step.

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Step two: online assessment test and interview

When you are invited onto this step of the application, you'll first be asked to complete an online Competency Assessment Test - consisting of 100 multiple choice questions around the 10 themes of the Professional Level of the Global Standard.

Once the assessment test has been completed, you'll then be invited to attend an interview with one of our assessors, where you will be asked a range of questions based around the same 10 themes.

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Step three: results and outcome

After your assessment test and interview has been completed, you'll get your results based on the 10 themes of the Professional Level of the Global Standard and be informed on whether you have been successfully upgraded to MCIPS or not.

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Ready to kick off your pathway to success?

The first thing you’ll need to do is join as an Affiliate member today, and we’ll guide you through the next steps set out below.

BECOME AN AFFILIATE
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Membership benefits

For all you need, at every step of your career, to help you realise your full potential.

VIEW BENIFITS
 

Hear from our members

Gary van der Staay

Procurement Professional

Freemantle Ports

“I have worked in the Procurement industry for my entire career and identified the need to be formally accredited with the largest organisation in the world dedicated to procurement. I felt the need to test myself - the MER was a rigorous process well designed to test my experience, knowledge, ethics and skills at a strategic level….I’d thoroughly recommend the exercise to identify strengths and to officially demonstrate commitment to the industry.”

"I have certainly experienced positive impacts since being awarded MCIPS through MER. It was important to me that given I encourage my broader team to study CIPS, that I could lead by example having achieved MCIPS myself – and doing it via MER makes it even more special I think.”

Vanessa White MCIPS,  DCS, Defence Commercial Services

"Choosing to go through my MCIPS through the MER route has been beneficial for me professionally, it has also increased my engagement with the CIPS membership community and remains to be a great source for professional advancement for me."

Fatima Balfaqeeh MCIPS, RKAH Consultancy, UAE

Management Entry Route FAQs