Contract Officer
| Posting date: | 14 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £35,745.00 to £40,221.00 per year |
| Additional salary information: | £35745.00 - £40221.00 a year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 11 June 2024 |
| Location: | Northallerton, DL7 8AE |
| Company: | NHS Jobs |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | F0025-24-0030 |
Summary
The Procurement and Contract Management Service (PCMS) are responsible for ensuring that all procurement and contract management activities (commercial arrangements) provide the very best value for money for the council. We provide professional advice, guidance and insight regarding markets, suppliers, and contractual options to help support service delivery and improvement. The council spends approximately £650m pa across a wide portfolio of services. The post will work as part of a professional team to support the delivery of value for money across the council; operating within the framework of the councils procurement strategy, ensuring compliance with procedures and processes. The postholder will be part of a centre of expertise for the contract management, ensuring at all times that there is proper compliance with the overall Category Sourcing Strategy, the Councils Procurement and Contract Management Strategy, Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules, Financial Regulations, and UK Legislation on public procurement and contract management. The postholder will have a key role in working with suppliers and service areas. A key part of the role is the ability to analyse, interpret and report on performance information and be proactive in finding solutions / resolutions. Job Purpose: The core focus of this job is to support a specific category for all contract management activity. This will include supporting the delivery of the contract management actions and targets from within the category sourcing plan for the category area, ensuring they are delivered on time and within budget. Operational Management: Be responsible for the delivery of medium-high value/ risk contract support activities to the required cost, time and quality. Ensure that contract activities are delivered to relevant Council standards and within the governance framework. Be responsible for maintaining accurate and up to date information on progress of contract activities allocated, on the appropriate systems (for example, Forward Procurement Plan and publishing of Contract Awards/ modifications). Utilise the tiered approach (Bronze, Silver, Gold) to contract management activity. Support the contract management training programme to ensure skills and capabilities are embedded across the council. Responsible for ensuring contracts allocated, deliver the expected goods, services and works including activities such as; contract variations, risk management, leading day to day interactions with suppliers and managing KPIs, performance data, contract award and administration. Have strong commercial awareness and use appropriate challenge to deliver value for money. Coordinate and Chair regular contract meetings including preparing agendas, document packs, taking notes of meetings and ensuring actions are followed up, including monitoring spend, performance and delivery and completed. Identify and manage risks/issues, escalating to line manager as appropriate. Support the Service in execution of category management and ongoing contract management activity. The role will assist with the development of proposals for the future contract management action plan and activity across the council. The post will need to use problem solving techniques and innovative thinking to propose solutions and challenge results. The postholder will have a contributory role in helping to support the contract management of contracts currently worth up to £10m per annum or where the risk is deemed medium-high. The post holder will be expected to undertake any duties which may reasonably fall within the level of responsibility and the competence of the post as directed by the Line Manager or Head of Procurement and Contract Management. Undertake price and process benchmarking and reporting. Deal with supplier performance issues (cost, quality, delivery etc.) and risks as they arise, escalating as appropriate. Monitor and report on supplier performance and report into category performance indicators and provide statistical returns as required. Ensure the use of standard formal documentation and procedures in relation to the contract management activity undertaken for the category. Identify improvements and efficiencies in contract management governance and policies. Contribute to the achievement of targets agreed with the Contract Manager or Senior Commercial Manager as appropriate. Resource management: Support specific category related services for the day-to-day management of all category contracts to aid delivery of the service. Support the line manager in delivering high standards of performance against agreed indicators. Provide relevant information to contract managers/ officers. Provide a detailed explanation of the information to help them in their understanding of financial matters affecting suppliers and implement measures to support contract delivery. Ensure operational contract managers are provided with accurate and timely information on commercial expenditure in their areas of activity, identifying any irregularities or inconsistencies in the data. Where appropriate make recommendations to rectify. Provide accurate statistical returns as required in a nominated category of spend. Effectively contribute to the overall work programme of the Service. Partnerships: Contribute to lessons learnt through contract management to ensure specification development provides future service improvements. Work with the Councils supply chain to achieve required outcomes. Work with colleagues across the Council to ensure effective contract management, including legal, and finance. Work with colleagues in directorates and specific category related services to ensure that new external arrangements will meet their needs and to understand the pipeline of work. Seek best practice from colleagues and other Local Authorities and wider public sector. Contribute to the delivery of contract management activities at a regional level, where required for example, coordinating the Regional Adoption Agency contract management and Strategic Procurement Group. Contribute to commercial opportunities and collaboration around procurement delivery. Communications: Ensuring the most appropriate form of communication is used to achieve timely responses and not over relying on email. Ensure the required customer service standards are understood and exceeded where possible. Deal professionally with all enquiries via e-mail, telephone or in person. Undertake personal interaction with the public, officers in a positive way which creates a good impression of the Service and the Council. Communicate with customers around the performance of the service and act on any feedback received, demonstrating any action taken as a result. Build strong working relationships with principal stakeholders such as service area managers demonstrating awareness and sensitivity to the needs of key stakeholders. Manage conflict situations effectively and pro-actively seek to be creative in developing solutions to deliver win-win. Systems and information: Use systems and information as appropriate to quality assure the work of suppliers. Effectively evidence oversight of critical decisions and practice. Ensure service information is available to service users, their families and the general public as appropriate. Use procurement-specific systems and processes (for example, Public Contract Regulations 2015) in the management of suppliers.