85478 - Contract Manager - Brighton - Legal Aid Agency

Salary range:

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.

Working Pattern:

The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely, part time or as part of a job share etc.

If you are applying for a part time role, please note that in order to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 27 hours and to cover 5 days of the week.

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), providing civil and criminal legal aid and advice in England and Wales to help people deal with their legal problems.  

Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service. 

Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The LAA is committed to diversity and inclusion and we positively promote flexible working, including job shares.

We will consider all applications on merit regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion, ethnicity, preferred working pattern and except for exceptional circumstances your working location.  

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.  

If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes. 

The LAA’s goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities. 

Diversity is the presence of difference, this can include one or more of the protected characteristics (Gender, Age, Race, Disability etc.) or it can be about working patterns, whether we like to jump into a task or reflect on it before acting. 

Inclusion is how we welcome, value, and celebrate diversity, giving everyone a voice, tapping into ideas, and enabling everyone to be themselves at work and achieve their potential. 

Contract Management and Assurance

Contract Management and Assurance (CMA) work closely with our provider base to ensure the smooth running of our contracts and assure the delivery of legal aid.

Contract Management

Contract Management work collaboratively with other LAA departments to interpret and apply the Contract to the providers which we manage. We ensure that Providers deliver quality legal aid services in accordance with contractual requirements and relevant legislation. We interpret and analyse data to effectively manage risk and to influence providers to improve performance and effectively deliver change. We also engage with the wider Justice System to promote partnership working and influence provider behaviour.

The Brighton Contract Management team consists of five SEO Grade Contract Managers and one Grade 7 Area Contract Manager.   

Job Summary

This role requires the successful candidate to manage relationships with Legal Aid Providers, i.e. solicitor firms and advice agencies, and other key external stakeholders. Contract Managers (CMs) will ensure robust management of a portfolio of provider contracts in line with priorities as established by the business. Within defined geographical areas across England and Wales, they act as the main point of contact for the providers and internal Legal Aid Agency (LAA) departments on all funded work. CMs will provide insight and information on the provider base to the MoJ.

Additionally, job holders will develop and manage relationships with external stakeholders, mostly, but not exclusively, within the Justice family, to manage local political and reputational risk to the organisation and the MoJ.  

Key Responsibilities:

•    Manage a portfolio of providers in line with the terms of their contracts with the LAA. 
•    Using management information and other intelligence, take a risk-based approach to identify and prioritise action required across your portfolio and utilise the contract to manage performance.
•    Undertake specific activities with contracted providers as defined by the LAA to ensure contract compliance and value for money for the taxpayer. 
•    Work collaboratively across all LAA departments to ensure effective and efficient provider contract management.
•    Aid the successful implementation of all planned and future reforms and initiatives and have a broad knowledge of all business-critical areas. 
•    Be the face of the LAA with contracted providers and key local external stakeholders within the justice family in order to contribute to the management of financial, political and reputational risk to the LAA and MoJ. 
•    Gather and share local external intelligence from providers and key external stakeholders to ensure it becomes part of all relevant LAA and MOJ teams’ knowledge base. 
•    Maximise or contain media coverage by updating the Communications team and their Area Contract Manager (ACM) on local issues as they arise and taking appropriate action as directed. 
•    Identify risk to the disruption of service delivery, considering contingency arrangements and escalating to the ACM. 
•    Develop and manage any other external stakeholder links as required by the LAA and MoJ. 
•    Coach and support less experienced team members; mentor new starters. 

Essential knowledge, experience and skills

•    You are a highly organised self-starter, able to motivate yourself. At times you will work independently taking ownership to achieve specified outcomes.
•    You are driven, embrace change and are comfortable working within a fast-paced environment where no day is the same. You are not fazed by uncertainty and continue to deliver core objectives showing resilience and the ability to maintain composure when faced with challenges.
•    You will have a busy diary and will be responsible for managing your own time. 
•    You can analyse information to inform your decisions to identify and prioritise key tasks.
•    You will enjoy working with a range of key stakeholders and build effective working relationships both inside and outside of the organisation. You can influence others and flex your style accordingly whilst maintaining integrity.
•    You are confident when delivering difficult messages and able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

Desirable knowledge, experience and skills

Knowledge of Office 365 applications

Assessment approach 

Application Process

You will be asked to demonstrate the following Behaviours during the application process, using a maximum of 250 words per Behaviour:

•    Making Effective Decisions
•    Communicating and Influencing
•    Working Together
•    Delivering at Pace

If a large number of applications are received the initial sift will be based on the Lead Behaviour – Communicating and Influencing. 

Interview / assessment Process

If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview, likely to be conducted by MS Teams, and you will be assessed as follows: 

•    Against Strengths relevant to the role
•    Some or all of the following Behaviours:  
•    Making Effective Decisions
•    Communicating and Influencing
•    Working Together
•    Delivering at Pace
•    Against your Experience of promoting or implementing diversity and inclusion. 

For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important in a work environment. We would also expect examples of action they have taken to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding for self or others) or improve inclusion at a team or wider group level. 

•    You will also take part in a role play assessment. This will involve analysing information and using this to take part in a role play scenario. Full details will be shared on the day of your interview. This will be tested against the behaviours Communicating and Influencing and Making Effective Decisions.

Making Effective Decisions – Understand own level of responsibility and empower others to make decisions where appropriate. Analyse and use a range of relevant, credible information from internal and external sources to support decisions. Invite challenge and where appropriate involve others in decision making. Display confidence when making difficult decisions, even if they prove to be unpopular. Consult with others to ensure the potential impacts on end users have been considered. Present strong recommendations in a timely manner outlining the consideration of other options, costs, benefits and risks.

Communicating and Influencing – Communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner, choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact. Encourage the use of different communication methods, including digital resources and highlight the benefits, including ensuring cost effectiveness. Ensure communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people’s individual needs. Share information as appropriate and check understanding. Show positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same. Ensure that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests.

Working Together – Encourage joined up team work within own team and across other groups. Establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders. Collaborate with these to share information, resources and support. Invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another. Put in place support for the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs. Make it clear to all team members that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable. Actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Delivering at Pace – Show a positive approach to keeping the whole team’s efforts focused on the top priorities. Promote a culture of following the appropriate procedures to ensure results are achieved on time whilst still enabling innovation. Ensure the most appropriate resources are available for colleagues to use to do their job effectively. Regularly monitor your own and team’s work against milestones ensuring individual needs are considered when setting tasks. Act promptly to reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands to maintain performance. Allow individuals the space and authority to meet objectives, providing additional support where necessary, whilst keeping overall responsibility.

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing 2nd April 2024

Interviews are planned for week commencing 8th April 2024

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact – Mike Forrester mike.forrester@justice.gov.uk, 07469 740886.

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAARecruitment@justice.gov.uk initially. We aim to respond to any complaint within 10 working days.  

If you are dissatisfied with our response, we will forward your complaint to the Civil Service Commission, an independent body, for review.