Lead Commercial Contract Manager

Summary

The Crown Prosecution Service is at the heart of the criminal justice system in England and Wales. We are a leading voice in transforming the criminal justice system, using our legal expertise and digital capability to make the public safer and build the confidence of our diverse communities. We are expanding and developing our Commercial Function to deliver a wide-ranging, transformative commercial strategy to ensure we have the best knowledge, expertise and experience to continue to support this vital work now and in the future.

The work of the Commercial team matters. We are central to delivering the CPS vision; sourcing and managing the best suppliers to deliver the highest quality services and unlocking innovation to drive transformation in service delivery. The Commercial work is varied, diverse and most importantly delivers real and immediate impact to our services and directly supports the work of our lawyers to deliver justice for victims and witnesses. Commercial are embedded in major transformation programmes that provide exciting opportunities to deliver complex commercial outcomes.

CPS puts people at the heart of everything we do. We passionately believe in empowering and developing our Commercial team, providing the support, training and qualifications required to grow in your role. It is important to us to recruit from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds, bringing different perspectives, experiences and diversity of thought that adds wealth to our culture. It is an exciting time to join the CPS Commercial Function. These roles provide you with the opportunity to be at the heart of our transformation and make a real contribution to our future Commercial strategy. You will work with global suppliers, internal experts and passionate colleagues to deliver the best solutions for our world-leading services.

This role, operating in a fast-paced environment within the newly formed Contract Management team, will primarily support the management of strategic relationships with external suppliers delivering large-scale, multi-dependent, complex contracts, including both digital and non-digital services. We are seeking an individual who will bring their experience of operating within a complex contracting environment along with their desire to build strong relationships through strategic relationship management.

Please note that this role can be based in any CPS office location, however successful candidates must be prepared to travel to York / London as and when required.

  Job description

Responsibility for delivering high quality Contract Management for a diverse range of services such as Digital and IT Services, HR & L&D Services, or those in support of our Court work.

Driving service delivery improvements, savings and innovation through effective contract management techniques, underpinning these activities with a focus on compliance and achieving excellent value for money. You will also be responsible for specified high risk/high value/complex contracts, managing supplier relationships to ensure that we achieve the highest quality goods and services. You will also work closely with procurement colleagues to ensure that intelligence from contract delivery helps shape future procurement strategies.

You are expected to be experienced in negotiating with suppliers, you will agree contractual terms and conditions, service levels, performance measures and resolve supplier disputes to manage risk exposure to CPS. You will monitor any areas of risk such as financial stability, to ensure continuity of supply. Reporting on risks, issues and performance, you will work closely with operational managers to provide a consistent, joined up approach to supplier management, escalating issues where required and ensuring that senior management have the data required to assess performance. You will also be integral to establishing and updating contract management policies and working practices, working with stakeholders in operational management to embed contract management toolkits. You will provide guidance, training and coaching in effective contract management to your team and stakeholders.
 

Responsibilities

• Lead on the design and delivery of the contracting management and supplier relationship management strategies for designated portfolio of contracts.
• Manage delivery of contract management plans, ensuring appropriate monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place to effectively manage performance against contractual targets.
• Allocate resources to support delivery across the contract management function, including allocating stretch projects in support of commercial strategy delivery.
• Manage team to deliver effective contract management to deliver savings and continuous improvement through effective contract management, resolving performance issues swiftly and resolving supplier disputes to minimise impact on service delivery.
• Work with procurement colleagues to plan and manage the handover of contracts to operational teams, providing contract management expertise and support according to contract size and risk profile.
• Negotiate with suppliers for contract award, contract change controls and manage exit of suppliers to avoid disruption to services.
• Pro-actively identify delays and resource issues in managing contract portfolio, mitigating these to keep contract management plans on track.
• Provide commercial advice to team members, colleagues and both internal and external stakeholders.
• Support the Head of Contract Management in the development and implementation of contract management strategy, commercial policy and working practices.
• There may be line management responsibilities for a team of Contract Managers and supporting administrative staff.