23410 - Senior Contract Manager

Ministry of Justice; Wales; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom seeks a Senior Area Contract Manager (SACM) to oversee a portfolio of contracts including Commissioned Rehabilitative Services, with responsibility for contract management and interfaces with providers.

You will lead regional delivery, governance, and stakeholder engagement, collaborating with HMPPS colleagues to inform service planning, transition, mobilisation and commissioning activities across your designated area.

Responsibilities

• Managing portfolio of regional contracts (including CRS) to deliver service outcomes and value for money.
• Ensuring appropriate levels of assurance, including on-site observation of operations.
• Leading governance processes across CRS and other contracts, including chairing boards as required.
• Liaising with multiple internal teams and external providers to ensure informed contract management.
• Development and mobilisation of new or renewed contracts in line with commissioning strategies.
• Maintaining effective stakeholder relationships with providers and regional partners.

Job description

Accountable to the Deputy Director (DD) or Head of Community Integration in regions, the SACM is accountable for overseeing delivery and development of a portfolio of contracts, including Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS). This includes accountability for contract management and oversight of related interfaces with other providers in their designated area (e.g. prisons, Electronic Monitoring (EM), Bail Accommodation Support Service (BASS)) and for related stakeholder engagement, service planning, development, transition, exit and mobilisation and commissioning activity.

The post holder is accountable for managing a complex, innovative portfolio of contracts and for delivery of services that carry high levels of risk, that have not previously been commissioned in this way.

Summary

The SACM is a key member of the senior management team, accountable for oversight of a portfolio of contracts, including Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contract management and related interfaces with other providers, stakeholders and related service planning, development, transition, exit and mobilisation and commissioning activity.

The SACM will be allocated strategic/subject matter expert lead responsibility for an aspect of business. This may include: at national level leading on particular service specifications (e.g. Offender Management, Rehabilitation etc); leading on a particular cross-regional supplier; leading on a particular segment of the offender population (e.g. women, BME etc); or leading on liaison with other functions e.g. national strategic contract management, PPAS, Finance, Commercial, Commissioning Strategies Group etc.

The SACM will be responsible for evaluating sentencer demand and service delivery against local and national priorities, and for service planning, development, transition, exit and mobilisation and commissioning activities within their designated area.

The SACM will work collaboratively with colleagues within the Directorate (Deputy Directors, Service Managers, Contract Support Officers, Operational Audit Team, System Development Team, and Contract Support Unit) and other functions across HMPPS/MOJ.

The SACM will lead and promote effective relationship management and build effective working relationships with and between providers (e.g. CRS, PS, prisons, EM and BASS) and with key stakeholders and partners at regional level. The post holder will have sufficient seniority and authority to represent and deputise for the DD or Head of Community Integration and deal effectively with strategic commissioning partners (e.g. Police and Crime Commissioners) and with providers at Chief Executive, Deputy Director and senior manager levels.

At the discretion of the DD or Head of Community Integration and decisions about the most effective deployment and management of the Area team, the SACM will be accountable for the line management, performance, and development of a team of Service Managers, Contract Support Officers and Contract Administration Specialists in line with Area and National priorities.

The geographical base for the SACM post can be flexible within their contract management Area and will require some work in London and other locations.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

You will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• Managing portfolio of regional contracts (including CRS) to deliver service outcomes and value for money.
• Ensuring appropriate levels of assurance in relation to designated contracts, including as required, on-site presence within the organisation in order to observe and monitor operations, processes and practice.
• Ensuring financial payments are made in line with contract performance.
• Identifying service quality, contract compliance and supplier performance issues and priorities and liaison with the National Operational Audit Team in order to inform the programme of assurance activity required to deliver the Annual Service Quality Assurance Plan.
• Liaising with National Strategic Contract Management, Commercial Contract Management, Contract Improvement Team, System Development, and other HMPPS/MoJ functions to ensure that the necessary advice and support is obtained to inform effective management of the designated contracts.
• Leading on management of the contract management Governance processes in relation to designated CRS and other contracts, including dispute resolution and chairing as required the Service Management Board, Contract Strategy Board and other groups .
• Liaising with Commercial Contract Management to convene the Change Management Board as required.
• Accountable for overseeing the interfaces between designated suppliers, the PS and prisons, and other providers of community based offender services.
• Liaison with the PS within a designated area, and as required to inform the setting and oversight of the PS Divisional SLA, and oversight of service delivery across the whole Rehabilitation Services system.
• Maintaining effective stakeholder relationships with providers, particularly between CRS suppliers, PS and prisons, and with wider stakeholders in relation to community and 'through-the-gate' offender services, and holding suppliers to account for their stakeholder engagement commitments.
• Leading work to critically evaluate local sentencer demand, offender needs and priorities in order to inform, service planning, development and commissioning activities.
• Responsible for the planning and delivery of safe and orderly exit, mobilisation and transition between old and new contracts and/or providers across regional portfolio in line with commissioning intentions.
• Strategic or subject matter expert lead for an allocated area of Directorate business which may be at Area or national level.
• Managing a number of Service Manager, Contract Support Officers and Contract Administration Specialists.