Commercial Manager - Contract Management (Ref: 91687)

Job DescriptionJob Title: Commercial Manager (Contract Management)Job Grade: SEOReporting to: Senior Commercial ManagerJob Location: National Contract Type: Permanent Business Area: MOJ Commercial & Contract Management DepartmentType of role: Contract Management, ProcurementWorking pattern: Flexible working, Full-time Number of Posts: 1About the Department:The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. Responsible for courts, prisons and probation services, we work to ensure sentences are served and offenders are given rehabilitation opportunities to become law-abiding citizens.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has one of the largest and most complex spend profiles in central government. The Commercial and Contract Management Directorate (CCMD) is responsible for coordinating procurement and contract management across the MoJ, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The MoJ spends 7.5bn a year and manages over 1600 active contracts, all of which are sourced and managed by CCMD. We are running some of the most ground-breaking programmes such as Prison Reform and His Majestys Courts and Tribunal Service Reform. The scope of our contracts ranges from building, maintenance and the operation of Prisons, Courts, and Young Offender establishments through to food for prison dogs. The directorate also buys and manages contracts for feeding up to 80,000 prisoners, the secure escorting of prisoners from numerous establishments based around the country and translation services. CCMD is organised into category teams, each with an interesting portfolio of contracts and diverse customers and suppliers to manage. We also have systems, programme management office, supplier relationship and risk management teams who work across all areas.Scope of the Role/s:The role sits within a sub team (Professional Services) within the wider portfolio supporting two of the MoJs indirect spend categories, the Consultancy and Professional Services category and the Contingent Labour category. The team delivers commercial support across the whole range of MOJ directorates, giving a unique and fascinating insight into the operations of one of the largest government Departments. Contract management is a key part of the commercial lifecycle, both delivering value achieved through procurement activity but also driving continuous improvement and value add activity. The Contingent Labour category has a longer-term focus on contract management as well as supplier and stakeholder relationship management with the majority of the spend routed via a pan Government Framework Agreement. This is an exciting time to join the team as the mobilisation of the government framework which will replace the existing contract, is currently underway, offering the opportunity to become involved in managing the transition to the new contract. Within the Professional Services team, commercial contract management support and guidance is also provided for internal customers.This role will report into the Senior Commercial Manager (Contingent Labour) and provide commercial contract management within the contingent labour category as well as developing best practice contract management approaches and continuous improvements across the Professional Services team. Working alongside operational contract managers the role will provide a commercial lens through thorough commercial understanding of designated contracts and how to leverage for optimal delivery. The role will provide spend and data analysis across the contingent labour category to bring essential insight and identify continuous improvement opportunities across the team. There may also be opportunities to work alongside colleagues on the Consultancy and Professional Services side of the team providing specialist contract management advice, support and best practice sharing.The team includes both procurement and contract management professionals working together to deliver effectively. There is potential scope for the role to carry out procurement activity within the category should this be required and depending on the successful candidate. However, this role is predominantly contract management focused.The roles sit within a busy, friendly and supportive team, offering an interesting and varied workload with opportunity to inform and continually improve the ways of working. Key Responsibilities:Providing contract management for one or more contracts within the contingent labour category.Providing contract management support, advice and best practice sharing across the team.Act as escalation point for contractual matters such as disputes, non-performance and contract breach.Ensuring a focus on continuous improvement opportunities, ability to question and challenge existing ways of working where appropriate to ensure value for money, compliance and efficiencies made.Providing commercial support and guidance to a range of stakeholders, ensuring the delivery of the departments objectives is informed by commercial best practice,Develop and manage the team SharePoint site ensuring accurate sharing of required information across team and version control.Undertake all work in compliance with applicable legislation, Cabinet Office guidance & controls, MoJ policies, processes, procedures, and governance.Analysis of supplier and contract spend data to inform contract performance and prioritise areas of focus.Take ownership for/use electronic sourcing and management systems to ensure contract records are accurate and up to date.Support the Senior Commercial Manager to deliver team, CCMD and MOJ priorities.Potential line manager responsibilities.Essential Criteria: Relevant commercial & contract management experience with a strong understanding of the benefits delivered through best practice contract management. Excellent people engagement skills across all levels of internal and external stakeholders A collaborative approach to drive decisions and deliver on timely outcomes. Ability to apply judgement to make quick and effective decisions. Customer and delivery focus to meet deadlines in a fast paced and ever-changing environment. Ability to manage multiple demands and conflicting priorities. Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly in delivering commercial advice to senior leaders. Proficient with Microsoft Office suite of products including Outlook, Word, Teams and Excel Evidence of strong data analysis skills and presenting data in a clear and user-friendly wayGood understanding and practical knowledge of risk management and appropriate risk mitigation techniques when managing Desirable Criteria: An understanding of public sector procurement principles and legislation and how they apply to contract management. Experience of contract management within a services category Working knowledge of sourcing systems Experience of running procurements in a regulated environmentWorking towards or a willingness to work towards MCIPS or relevant Contract Management accreditations incl. Contract Management Capability Programme (Practitioner and Expert).Application form stage assessments:An initial sift will be performed against the following elements: Experience:CVStatement of Suitability relevant to Contract Management around the essential criteria(Max 750 words)Behaviours Changing and Improving Please provide an answer in a STAR format as explained below.Interview:There is one interview stage for this vacancy and as part of the interview process you will be required to provide evidence of the following behaviours, and experience at SEO level:BehavioursThe Civil Service Success Profiles Framework sets out the standard skills, knowledge and behaviours that all civil servants are expected to meet. You will be assessed against the below at interview: Managing a Quality Service.Communicating and InfluencingMaking effective decisionsPlease provide an answer in a STAR format as explained belowExperienceAs part of the interview, we will test your experience specifically in relation to contract management. This will include those areas as outlined in Essential and Desirable criteria above.Please also refer to the People Standards for the profession (Associate Commercial Lead) Attributes for Government Commercial Professionals Section A: Judgement and Leadership.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/984460/__Government_Commercial_Function__GCF__People_Standards_for_the_Profession_Version_3.0_.pdfStrengthsYou will be asked questions to understand whether you have the strengths relevant to the job role. It is important to remember that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. Do not rehearse your answers because we are looking for your initial response.STAR approach to structure your examplesSituation Describe the situation you found yourself in and what happened. Task The Hiring Manager will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation that you found yourself in. Action What actions did you take and how did you do it. Make sure to use I, not we to explain how your actions lead to a result. Result Use facts and statistics to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience. Further information on the Success profile elements can be found on Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Additional New entrants are expected to join on the pay minimum. Higher starting salary and / or Recruitment & Retention Allowance (RRA) may be available for successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience. We will consider applications from non-qualified candidates, who are willing to develop and work towards a recognised qualification in ...