Commercial & Contracts Investigating Lead

Connect2Dorset; Dorchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional council transformation agency in Dorchester is seeking professionals to provide commercial expertise for 3rd party spend. Responsibilities include conducting investigations, supporting contract reviews, and identifying savings opportunities. Successful candidates will work closely with the leadership team and must be available until the end of December. The role offers flexibility to work remotely as required.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing 3rd party spend and contract negotiations.
• Ability to conduct cost analysis and develop savings profiles.
• Skills in stakeholder engagement and commercial best practices.

Responsibilities

• Undertake investigations on contracts for scrutiny.
• Support the review and consolidation of contracts.
• Identify opportunities for savings in 3rd party spend.

Skills

Commercial expertise

Cost analysis

Contract review

Framework development

Risk assessment

Job description

Overview

The roles are required to work on the council's transformation programme "Our Future Council". Our Future Council is a whole council transformation plan, that aims to change the way we work, to not only make sure our services are financially sustainable for the future, but are also achieving the best outcomes for our residents, families, communities and businesses across the county. To do this, the council are implementing a new operating model and in this first year, will go live with new structures that will consolidate teams and introduce new ways of working across business support, commissioning and procurement, community partnerships, customer experience, strategic and enabling functions. The can be reviewed online. We require additional commercial expertise to enable the council to unlock efficiencies in 3rd party spend within the current financial year and for future years.

Scope of this work is to:

• 3rd Party Spend

• Undertake direct investigations of areas and/or contracts identified for deeper scrutiny.
• Assess and make direct recommendations for reducing and/or consolidating 3rd party spend contract types.
• Identifying the in-year cashable savings clearly articulating the route to contract closure and the delivery forecast profile.
• To support early termination activity.
• Support with the review, scrutiny and oversight of new emerging contracts.
• Provide cost analysis and return on investment analysis of contracts.
• Review and provide quality assurance assessment on contracts and suppliers as directed.
• Investigate, identify, and capture future-years 3rd party spend reductions and develop savings profile and delivery pipeline.

• Strengthen & Secure
• Investigate and review the Councils current approach to frameworks.
• Identify where framework opportunities exist and work with procurement team to understand alternative options.
• Support with the standing up, consolidating existing where possible, identifying new opportunities regarding frameworks and other commercial best practice approaches.
• Make recommendations and support with the identification of tools and guidance which can support our people when undertaking commercial activity.
• Identity opportunities for better consolidation of work and use of assets to gain maximum value (considering both financial and social value) across the commissioning eco-system including with VCR's etc.
• Design and develop a robust commercial assessment framework which balances both empirical evidence and data alongside more transitional financial evidence and promotes systems-thinking.
• Develop the risk appetite and risk assessment approach incl. risks of doing/not doing, national standings and best practice impacts cost translation.

• The Opening of Opportunities
• Review the historical reports which identify a potential £40m savings opportunity and provide framework plan for further investigation.
• Support in the assessment of Stop/Go/Delay opportunities/decisions aligned to the 3rd Party Spend and broader cross organisational commissioning activity being undertaken within CPP and the wider Council commercial landscape.
• Proactively identify underperforming contracts and recommendations for reimbursement.
• Proactively research additional/alternative income sources such as through bids and grants, services charges, and others, which to date have been unable to be fully optimised due to capacity constraints.
• Proactively identify areas where the Council can improve it commercial position and approach and provide a report.

Working arrangements: These roles will be managed by the Head of Change/Strategic lead for the Our Future Council portfolio of change. Roles will also be accountable to the Executive Director for Adults & Housing and the Corporate Director for Children\'s Commissioning as the senior leadership team leads for this cross-council programme.

The Change Team helps the organisation to deliver change by leading projects. This is governed through the Transformation Programme and delivery of the Dorset Council Plan. We work with services to help them make meaningful change. This includes: delivery of projects as defined in the transformation programme delivery of other initiatives to enable the transformation programme to deliver supporting services to deliver change within their service improvement plans.

We are working to very tight deadlines and you must therefore be available to work from now until end December. You will be expected to deliver some of these activities in person in our offices in Dorchester. At other times you will be able to work remotely.

Connect2Dorset is a trading style of Dorset & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Dorset Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Dorset is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates