Senior Contract Manager

About this role

Birkenhead, North West England, CH41 6DU : Croydon, London (region), CR0 2AQ : Coventry, West Midlands (England), CV1 2WT : Durham, North East England, DH1 5TR : Weymouth, South West England, DT4 9TT : Gloucester, South West England, GL1 1DQ : Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and the Humber, HU2 8JN : Leicester, East Midlands (England), LE3 5DR : Nottingham, East Midlands (England), NG2 1AW : Peterborough, East of England, PE2 8YY : Plymouth, South West England, PL6 5WS : Warton, North West England, PR4 1TE : Swansea, Wales, SA7 9FQ : Telford, West Midlands (England), TF3 4NT Job Summary We are looking for a Senior Contract Manager to be a senior member of the Contracts Support Team, responsible for the effective management of business-critical contracts throughout their lifecycle, ensuring that contractual obligations are met and that services deliver value for money, performance and strategic outcomes. The postholder will act as the primary interface between HM Land Registry and its suppliers, leading contract management activities including performance management, governance, change control, risk management and compliance monitoring. They will develop and maintain contract management plans and obligations frameworks, ensuring that supplier performance is managed effectively and contractual remedies are identified and applied where appropriate. Working collaboratively with colleagues across Commercial, Legal, Finance and operational teams, the postholder will ensure that contracts continue to meet business requirements, support organisational objectives and deliver continuous improvement. The role will also contribute to future commercial activity including contract renewals, sourcing strategies, business case development and transition planning. Job Description Main Duties Contract Management • Lead the development, implementation and maintenance of contract management plans, governance arrangements and contractual obligations matrices. • Manage supplier performance against contractual commitments, KPIs and service levels, ensuring delivery against agreed outcomes. • Monitor contract compliance and identify emerging risks, issues and performance trends, escalating where appropriate. • Support the enforcement of contractual obligations through performance improvement activity, dispute resolution and application of contractual remedies where necessary. • Maintain effective contract management information systems, ensuring all contract documentation is accurate, current and readily accessible. • Provide commercial insight and advice to operational stakeholders on contractual matters and supplier performance. Supplier and Stakeholder Management • Act as the central point of contact for operational contract matters. • Build and maintain productive relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders to support effective service delivery and collaborative working. • Facilitate supplier governance meetings and communicate outcomes, actions and decisions to relevant stakeholders. • Work closely with Commercial, Finance and Legal colleagues to resolve contractual issues and support contract decision making. • Keep stakeholders informed of key contractual obligations, risks and performance issues. • Support projects and business initiatives where commercial considerations may impact contractual agreements or supplier delivery. Contract Changes and Commercial Support • Initiate and manage contract change and variation processes, ensuring appropriate governance and approvals are obtained. • Monitor change controls through to implementation, ensuring solutions are fit for purpose and appropriately funded. • Support the preparation of business cases, spend approvals and commercial submissions. • Contribute to sourcing and contract renewal activities, including market analysis, supplier engagement and transition planning. Operational Service Delivery • Facilitate the monitoring of supplier service delivery, analysing management information and performance data. • Ensure services are delivered in accordance with contractual service levels and business requirements. • Monitor supplier risk registers and business continuity arrangements, ensuring appropriate mitigation and escalation. • Provide assurance that contractual obligations relating to continuity, resilience and exit planning are maintained and regularly tested. • Produce management information and reporting for senior leadership and governance boards. Financial Management and Value for Money • Maintain oversight of contract expenditure, committed spend and forecast costs. • Work closely with Finance Business Partners to ensure accurate budgeting and forecasting. • Monitor contracts for value for money opportunities through benchmarking, open-book accounting and continuous improvement initiatives. • Identify opportunities for efficiencies, cost savings and service improvements across the contract portfolio. • Escalate actual or forecast expenditure concerns where expenditure exceeds agreed tolerances. Leadership and Team Development • Line manage, supervise and develop members of the Contracts Team where required. • Contribute to succession planning, skills development and knowledge sharing within the wider commercial community. • Act as a subject matter expert on contract management, providing advice and guidance to colleagues and stakeholders. For More Information, Please See The Attached Job Description. Main Duties Contract Management • Lead the development, implementation and maintenance of contract management plans, governance arrangements and contractual obligations matrices. • Manage supplier performance against contractual commitments, KPIs and service levels, ensuring delivery against agreed outcomes. • Monitor contract compliance and identify emerging risks, issues and performance trends, escalating where appropriate. • Support the enforcement of contractual obligations through performance improvement activity, dispute resolution and application of contractual remedies where necessary. • Maintain effective contract management information systems, ensuring all contract documentation is accurate, current and readily accessible. • Provide commercial insight and advice to operational stakeholders on contractual matters and supplier performance. Supplier and Stakeholder Management • Act as the central point of contact for operational contract matters. • Build and maintain productive relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders to support effective service delivery and collaborative working. • Facilitate supplier governance meetings and communicate outcomes, actions and decisions to relevant stakeholders. • Work closely with Commercial, Finance and Legal colleagues to resolve contractual issues and support contract decision making. • Keep stakeholders informed of key contractual obligations, risks and performance issues. • Support projects and business initiatives where commercial considerations may impact contractual agreements or supplier delivery. Contract Changes and Commercial Support • Initiate and manage contract change and variation processes, ensuring appropriate governance and approvals are obtained. • Monitor change controls through to implementation, ensuring solutions are fit for purpose and appropriately funded. • Support the preparation of business cases, spend approvals and commercial submissions. • Contribute to sourcing and contract renewal activities, including market analysis, supplier engagement and transition planning. Operational Service Delivery • Facilitate the monitoring of supplier service delivery, analysing management information and performance data. • Ensure services are delivered in accordance with contractual service levels and business requirements. • Monitor supplier risk registers and business continuity arrangements, ensuring appropriate mitigation and escalation. • Provide assurance that contractual obligations relating to continuity, resilience and exit planning are maintained and regularly tested. • Produce management information and reporting for senior leadership and governance boards. Financial Management and Value for Money • Maintain oversight of contract expenditure, committed spend and forecast costs. • Work closely with Finance Business Partners to ensure accurate budgeting and forecasting. • Monitor contracts for value for money opportunities through benchmarking, open-book accounting and continuous improvement initiatives. • Identify opportunities for efficiencies, cost savings and service improvements across the contract portfolio. • Escalate actual or forecast expenditure concerns where expenditure exceeds agreed tolerances. Leadership and Team Development • Line manage, supervise and develop members of the Contracts Team where required. • Contribute to succession planning, skills development and knowledge sharing within the wider commercial community. • Act as a subject matter expert on contract management, providing advice and guidance to colleagues and stakeholders. For More Information, Please See The Attached Job Description. Person specification To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate the following throughout the recruitment process. Essential Technical Skills And Qualifications: • Demonstrable experience of contract management and supplier performance management. • Strong understanding of contract lifecycle management, governance and compliance. • Experience of managing contractual risks, issues and change control processes. • Ability to analyse performance, financial and management information and provide recommendations. Essential Experience: • Significant experience managing suppliers and commercial relationships within a complex operational environment. • Proven ability to develop productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders. • Experience of monitoring supplier performance and delivering improvements against contractual commitments. • Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills. • Experience of contract governance, reporting and commercial assurance. • Ability to challenge constructively and influence senior stakeholders to achieve positive commercial outcomes. Where an individual taking up the role will work from the Swansea Office, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: • Changing and Improving • Making Effective Decisions • Communicating and Influencing • Managing a Quality Service Alongside your salary of £47,084, HM Land Registry contributes £13,640 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window). #WeAreHMLR At HM Land Registry our vision is a world leading property market as part of a thriving economy and a sustainable future. We are unique in terms of the economic and social impacts of our work, our ability to make a positive difference to the lives of our customers, our sense of mission, and our great people. They are the foundation of all we have achieved and all we aspire to in the future. We want our people to feel proud to work for HM Land Registry and able to fulfil their full potential. We have a strong and positive culture, a commitment to inclusivity, an emphasis on continuous learning and development, and flexible ways of working. We offer competitive pay and annual leave, attractive pension options and a wide range of other benefits. • We have integrity – we value honesty, trust and doing the right thing in the right way. • We drive innovation – we are forward-thinking, embrace change and are continually improving our processes. • We are professional – we value and grow our knowledge and professional expertise. • We give assurance – we guarantee our services and provide confidence to the property market.…