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.
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 £1000.00 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.
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 themes of the 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 themes.
Step three: results and outcome
After your assessment test and interview has been completed, you'll get your results based on the themes of the Global Standard and be informed on whether you have been successfully upgraded to MCIPS or not.
Hear from our members
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
We welcome applications from self-employed candidates or those who are currently in between roles. When applying, you will need to complete the self-certification letter. This can be located within the MER application form or by following this link Download self-certification letter
You will be eligible for a refund if you are within your 14 day cancellation window, you can view our Terms and Conditions. For more information, please contact us via mer@cips.org
The MER assessments are based on the CIPS Global Standard and candidates are expected to demonstrate competence in all themes at the professional level. There are no practice questions however you can prepare by reviewing the CIPS Global Standard. You can get further guidance on how to prepare for the online assessment and the interview by reading the CIPS MER Assessment Candidate Guide.
We can only reinstate or extend access to the online assessment in exceptional circumstances. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions or get contact us via mer@cips.org
You will be able to do this via your original booking confirmation email. If the change is required within seven days of your interview, a charge may apply. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions or get in touch via mer@cips.org
We advise you complete both assessments on a laptop/desktop computer, have a clear camera on your computer and a stable internet connection. Please note, the responsibility lies with you to ensure that your technology is reliable and appropriate to complete the online assessment and interview. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions or get in touch via mer@cips.org
You will need a form of photo ID, for example a passport, driving licence or national identity card. You will need to show the ID to your assessor at the start of the interview and you must also have your CIPS membership number to hand prior to the start of the interview.
We want to reassure you that our MER Assessors are all very experienced and familiar with global variations of the professional terms used. They will be able to draw out the information they seek, as long as you have the relevant experience and are able to clearly provide personal and appropriate examples.
Should you be unhappy with the outcome provided at the conclusion of your MER application, our dedicated team will be able to guide you through our review and appeals process. Please refer to our policies or get in touch via mer@cips.org
The MER has been updated to reflect the new Global Standard. This update further segments professional competency into relevant themes and refreshes the terminology to better align with the current procurement environment.
As part of this update, the possible outcomes of the MER assessment have changed. Applicants will now either be awarded MCIPS or be unsuccessful.
The development plan is no longer an assessment outcome.
The decision was made following a review of how development plans sit within the MER assessment model.
MER is designed to assess a candidate’s current professional capability. The face-to-face interview enables trained Assessors to validate this directly through questioning, discussion, and evidence against the Global Standard.
Development plans, however, were completed after the face-to-face assessment and outside the controlled assessment environment. By focusing assessment decisions solely on the face-to-face interview, outcomes are based on evidence gathered directly and consistently by CIPS Assessors.