Contract Development Manager

About the Government Legal Department

From healthcare to artificial intelligence, energy to national security, we provide legal advice to government departments on nation-changing subjects.

At Government Legal Department we have a vital, single-minded purpose: to help the Government govern well within the rule of law. This is complemented by our exciting vision to be an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism and a brilliant place to work where we can all thrive and fulfill our potential.

Our work touches almost every aspect of public life. We are the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters.

Our respected professionals are involved in everything from regulation and litigation to advice on drafting legislation. They provide expertise to the full range of government departments. We are at the heart of delivering the governments priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary, and employs nearly 4000 people, including nearly 3000 legal professionals. We have offices nationwide, in Bristol, Leeds, inner and outer London and Manchester. Our lawyers can also be located within other departments and overseas.

GLD also depends on a range of cross-functional professionals to provide our corporate services. There are nearly 1000 colleagues playing an essential part in helping GLD to achieve its purpose and truly deliver much more than law.

This is an exciting time to join GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service .

To find out more about what we do you can view our introductory film . On our website y ou can hear from team members, find out how to apply and learn about the benefits of working for GLD. You can also read more about the future vision for GLD in our GLD Strategy 2024 2027 .

About the Contract Management Team

The Contract Management team sits within the Commercial, Procurement and Contract Management team. It is a newly developing team to support GLD in all aspects of commercial activity.

We can be involved in the development of new contracts and the management of the ongoing performance of the contract and supplier relationship for anything, from legal services, to HR, IT and facilities management, and other goods and services.

The team sits within the finance directorate and is led by the Head of Commercial Strategy and Contract Management.

We work closely with the Sourcing team and other stakeholders across GLD.

This new and growing team is based in our vibrant and sociable office close to the heart of Manchester city centre.

About the Role

The key responsibilities for this role includes but is not limited to:

• Create new contracts, including development of contract management plans, risk assessment, benefits plans, and where appropriate design of KPIs and service credits.
• Support Business Owners to manage Gold contracts, including tracking spend, managing risks, tacking benefits, monitoring KPIs, escalating issues identified to the Head of Contract Management.
• Supporting Business Owners to prepare for contract expiry, developing exit plans for Gold contracts and supporting business owners to oversee the transition phase.
• Supporting the HEO with escalations.
• To lead on the development of team processes to ensure efficiency and adoption of innovation.
• To design training on the management of contracts to stakeholders across GLD .

Candidate Information Session

We will be holding a candidate information session for these roles on Microsoft Teams from 1:30pm - 2:00pm on Friday 17 th July 2026

Candidates will have the opportunity to hear from colleagues working within the contract management team , about what they do and their experiences working for government. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions about the role.

If you are interested in further information on this role please join the link below:

1:30pm, Friday 17 th July 2026

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 399 495 639 941 090

Passcode: Ck3n5SU9

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role. Demonstrating all the behaviours listed below is essential at either application or interview. You can read more about Success Profiles and how they are used as an assessment method before completing your application .

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Keys skills and Experience

Essential must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Managing contracts in a commercial or public sector setting
• Creating robust service specifications
• Experience in developing skills and capability in self and others
• Creating Key Performance Indicators and Service Credits

Desirable

Desirable criteria will be used when there is a need to distinguish between candidates who are closely tied or the same after the initial consideration of essential criteria, at sift and interview.

• Risk management identifying risks and designing and implementing mitigations
• Stakeholder management
• Process improvement and managing change

Technical

Essential must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Understanding of, and ability to apply, Contract law and procurement legislation
• Ability to design and apply Key Performance Indicators and Service Credits (Sanctions)
• Project Management

Qualifications

Desirable - Desirable criteria will be used when there is a need to distinguish between candidates who are closely tied or the same after the initial consideration of essential criteria, at sift and interview.

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