Contract Officer

South Buckinghamshire; High Wycombe; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckinghamshire Council is seeking a Contract Officer to join a busy waste management team on a 12-month secondment. You will manage contract development, implementation, performance monitoring and compliance, working with contractors and partners to deliver excellent customer service.

The role involves data analysis using the Council's CRM, generating reports, and supporting procurement and budget monitoring to drive efficiencies.

Qualifications

• Experience in waste/street cleansing management or related field.
• Strong contract management principles and practices.
• Excellent communication and organisational abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.

Responsibilities

• Oversee waste contracts from development to performance monitoring and compliance.
• Utilise systems to collect, analyse and interpret data to improve service delivery and inform decisions; generate reports as needed.
• Communicate with contractors, stakeholders and internal teams; triage requests in the CRM and delegate tasks.
• Support procurement processes, service planning and budget monitoring to drive efficiencies.
• Create and manage documentation including meeting minutes and inspection records.

Skills

Customer service

Organisational skills

Data analysis

Communication

Tools

CRM system

Job description

Location: High Wycombe

Overview

We have an exciting opening within a busy and dynamic waste management team, for the full time position (37 hours) of Contract Officer.

You will be responsible for a range of contract management activities, from supporting contract development and implementation to monitoring performance, ensuring compliance, and driving efficiencies. This includes close liaison with contractors, managing key performance indicators, and ensuring excellent customer service.

A key aspect of the role involves data analysis and reporting, using systems like the Council's CRM to inform decision-making and improve service delivery.

This is an 12 month secondment opportunity

About us

We are a fast paced team managing a complex and exciting outsourced waste collection and street cleansing contract in the south of Buckinghamshire.

We are looking for an individual with excellent customer service skills, organisational skills and who can form excellent working relations with a wide range of internal and external partners, to enhance the reputation of the council.

About the role

As a Waste Contract Officer, you will be responsible for a diverse range of duties, including:

• Overseeing aspects of waste contracts, from development and implementation to performance monitoring and compliance. This includes managing contract meetings, enforcing standards, and tracking KPIs.
• Utilizing systems to collect, analyse and interpret data to improve service delivery and inform decision-making. You will also generate reports where required to support key service functions.
• Communicating effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including contractors, managing customer/stakeholder inquiries. This includes triaging requests on the Council's CRM system and delegating tasks as necessary.
• Providing specialist advice, supporting procurement processes, contributing to service planning, and assisting with service reviews to drive efficiency. You will also support budget monitoring and ensure accurate financial processing.
• Creating and managing essential documentation, including meeting minutes, inspection records, and duty of care information. Ensuring data is readily accessible in shared folders.

Fixed

As a 'fixed' worker, you'll spend most of your time in the same location, which will likely be a fixed office or location where your role is performed. Typically, you'll be based in the same location as the rest of your team, because you provide a particular service from that fixed location or need access to information there.

About you

As a Contract Officer, you will be responsible for supporting the work of waste contracts, ensuring compliance and driving continuous improvement. You will work closely with our waste contractor, stakeholders and internal team members to ensure service delivery meets our high standards, The role requires a proactive individual with excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.

The ideal candidate will have relevant experience in waste/street cleansing management or a related field, a strong understanding of contract management principles, and great analytical, communication, and organizational skills.

You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with internal and external. In addition to excellent customer service skills including experience in resolving escalated queries.

You are proficient in Microsoft applications with excellent planning and organisational skills, including the ability to prioritize workloads and meet deadlines.

Other information

This is an 12 month secondment maternity cover

The team work in the office 2 days a week, with Wednesdays being a set team office day. Your second day is dependent on business demands/team meeting priorities.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are - Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that's why we're working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it's important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day.

This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:

• collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
• maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
• ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
• managing Country Parks
• leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
• Licensing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Cemeteries and Crematoria

The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment.

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That's why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/