60299 - Contract Manager

£41,747 - £47,591
2
12 Months
London
London
102 PETTY FRANCE (MOJ) LONDON, SW1H 9AJ
SEO
SEO
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Flexible Working
Procurement and Contracts Management

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We provide 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 ensure that you attach the Disability Confident Scheme Form when you return your application. You can use the same form to let the recruiting manager know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.

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 London East Contract Management team consists of eleven Contract Managers (SEO) and one Area Contract Manager (G7). 

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 Ministry of Justice (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 contract(s) 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 (e.g. through attendance and engagement with Local Family Justice Boards and Local Criminal Justice Boards) in order to contribute to the management of financial, political and reputational risk to the LAA and MoJ.
  • Hold responsibility across all elements of all types of LAA contracts within your portfolio of providers
  • 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

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and skills

Knowledge of Office 365 applications

Person Specification

·       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.

Assessment approach

Application Process

You will be asked to demonstrate the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

·        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 - Making Effective Decisions.

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

Against the following behaviours:

Making Effective Decisions

Communicating and Influencing

Working Together

Delivering at Pace

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.

Shortlisting is planned for week commencing: 12/07/2022

Interviews are planned for week commencing: 18/07/2022

If you would like more information on this opportunity, please contact – Hannah Stevens, 07985 079955

Complaints procedure

If you have any complaints about this recruitment activity, please share your concerns by emailing LAAPeopleTeam@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.

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on UKor Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Expected Mid July

28/06/2022, 23:55 hours.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com Please quote the job reference - 60299.

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. 

For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:

  • You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
  • You were studying abroad
  • You were living overseas with parents

In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

In the event that we receive a large volume of applications we reserve the right to conduct the sift based on one lead behaviour. The chosen lead behaviour for this campaign is Making Effective Decisions.
if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Behaviours
Making Effective Decisions - 250 word limit
Communicating and Influencing - 250 word limit
Working Together - 250 word limit
Delivering at Pace - 250 word limit
A sift based on the lead behaviour, Making Effective Decisions, may be held if a large number of applications are received. If a large number of applications remain after the initial sift, your application will be progressed to a full sift, where all behaviours will then be considered.

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Abilities
Roleplay
Behaviours
Making Effective Decisions
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
Delivering at Pace
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

· UK nationals

· nationals of the Republic of Ireland

· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.