Contracts Manager

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will support the Contracts and Procurement Team to deliver contract management services, supporting the management on a day-to-day basis the delivery and negotiation of contracts across the dimensions of service delivery, activity, performance, quality and cost. The post holder will ensure robust contract and performance management of a range of providers working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

The role will be required to build relationships with other stakeholders in the contracts ensuring they are appropriately involved in the shaping of the commissioning intentions, management of the contracts, and that there are mechanisms in place to understand local ICB concerns and issues and ensure that feedback is provided on these.

The Contracts Manager will have responsibility for ensuring day to day issues relating to the contracts are resolved quickly and effectively.

Core Functions

Deliver a range of functions to support the contractual processes for the contracts within the portfolio to ensure that the quality of contracted services is of a consistently high standard;

Develop day-to-day working relationships with stakeholders;

Input to the development and improvement of contract management processes, working with other functions within the ICB and key staff in partner organisations;

Support the systematic review, analysis and report on contracts within the portfolio, meeting ICB requirements;

Support the agreement of robust plans with providers to recover off track performance and assist with monitoring and managing recovery in line with agreed plans;

Support delivery of the agreed process to negotiate new contracts and re-negotiate existing contracts relevant to the portfolio so that customer priorities are met and contracts are agreed in accordance with Department of Health / NHS England guidance;

Maintain the contract governance processes for contracts within the portfolio including ensuring that the contract registers and contract documentation is up to date and complies with national requirements;

Support processes to forecast contract activity, performance and cost for contracts for which the post-holder is responsible and assist in contract modelling processes that support contract negotiations;

Assist with the process to ensure that contract activity and payments are validated;

Support the identification of opportunities for efficiencies and better value for money within and across contracts and recommend actions to the ICB;

Assess the performance of providers within the portfolio against trend analysis and benchmarks;

Develop knowledge on contract currencies including local prices and assist in managing the process to ensure that prices are applied in accordance with applicable PBR guidance and represent value for money;

Assist in the management of the process of monthly contract review. Assist with the process of ad-hoc contract review meetings ensure that agreed actions are undertaken;

Deputise for the senior colleagues in the Procurement and Contracts Team as a point of contact for contract delivery issues for contracts within the portfolio, ensuring that issues are escalated as appropriate and resolved;

Input to the gathering and dissemination of soft provider intelligence to stakeholders;

Provide contract support to procurement exercises;

Undertake ad-hoc reviews of specific contracted services, for example to support commissioning decisions, working with complex data, facts and situations requiring analysis; interpretations and comparisons on a range of options and making recommendations on the most appropriate approach;

Establish consistent standards and procedures for contracting. Interface with finance and performance teams to ensure appropriate use of national and local data sets in contracts;

Development and production of information systems and reports and supporting analysis to inform commissioning decisions, contract planning, and the ongoing monitoring of contract performance, including the production of formal contract documentation and ongoing development process to support contract variations;

Act as a contract specialist within the ICB, responsible for the negotiation and agreement, monitoring, review and reporting performance against contracted levels of finance and activity as well as key performance indicators and quality measures. Maintaining a robust and professional approach to contract management and ensuring all appropriate contract levers are utilised;

Keep up to date with all relevant guidance, legislation and NHS targets, and ensure the effective dissemination of relevant information;

Require a high level of specialist skills and knowledge and will be able to assimilate, interpret and apply highly complex guidance, information and data, relating to contracting, activity, performance and quality;

Provide specialist advice in relation to all contractual arrangements and related policies;

Provide specialist advice to the development of services through active participation in programme management and service development & transformation;

Support and represent senior colleagues in the Procurement and Contracting Team across a wide range of internal and external meetings and working groups;

Manage providers, service users and patients as necessary. This will require the post holder to discuss sensitive issues in relation to decisions, including directly to service users and carers as may be required from time to time;

Responsible for developing complex management reports, including the presentation and analysis of statistical data pertaining to performance and quality. Ensuring invoices presented for payment align with the contractual agreements and passed as such in a timely manner.

General Duties:

Ensure ICB Board decisions are implemented effectively.

Any other duties as agreed with the Strategic Contract Lead / Head of Contracts and the Assistant Director of Procurement and Contracting.

Management and Leadership Responsibilities

Full line management responsibility for members of the Contracts Team and responsible for the day-to-day range of staff management matters for the wider contracting team, which will include: responsibility for supporting appraisals, development of staff, recruitment and where necessary processes such as grievance and disciplinary matters.

Work with a great amount of autonomy.

Communicate complex issues to representatives from both internal and external organisations.

Holding to account providers for delivery of contract performance. Supporting management of delivery.

Provide leadership and support to ICB staff and support to ICB colleagues & partners and support to ICB staff and support to ICB colleagues & partners.

Planning and Organisational Responsibilities

To be responsible for the proposing and drafting of changes, and the implementation and interpretation of policies that may impact on the contracting function.

Responsible for ensuring that all contract workstreams and project delivery is planned and organised using robust project, methodology and processes.

Propose changes to own function making recommendations for service improvement.

Support the development of the ICBs processes relating to any specialised contracting areas, ensuring effective processes are in place to maintain budgetary control and manage performance.

Contribute to the strategic planning process as required and delivery of priorities, managing adjustments to delivery activities as required. Development of short and medium-term plans including identifying interdependencies, managing risks, modelling the potential impacts on the wider organisation, determining resource requirements and building in contingency where necessary.

Key Relationships

The post holder will have key relationship with the following teams, departments and organisations:

Other staff members / teams within the ICB

Finance / Business Intelligence teams / Commissioning Leads both internal and external

Service Providers & Suppliers

Local authorities

Commissioning Support Unit

Primary Care including GP Federations & Practice Managers

NHS England including Specialist Commissioners

Other ICBs and networks

Managing Resources Responsibilities

Responsible for managing delivery of contract information and advice for services including support to market testing, procurement, business case development, performance management and benchmarking;

Responsibility for contract management and proactive support from Business Intelligence is highly frequent and integral to this role;

Responsible for the monitoring of service budgets to ensure projects and programmes are delivered within financial limitations.

Education and Training Responsibilities

To assist in the development and delivery of relevant training across the organisation

Research and Audit Responsibilities

Input into any research and development initiatives that may arise.

Provision of support systems and processes to both internal and external organisations for audit purposes having due regard to robust internal controls and governance to deliver unqualified audit opinion.

Standard Paragraphs

It is the responsibility of each member of staff to maintain confidentiality at all times.

Staff must be aware of and adhere to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act and to ensure their own safety and the safety of colleagues and patients.

Mandatory training requirements that are relevant to the post must be decided during Personal Development Review and a training plan developed.

This job description is not meant to be exhaustive. It describes the main duties and responsibilities of the post. It may be subject to change in the light of developing organisational and service needs and wherever possible change will follow consultation with the post holder.

Person Specification

Skills and competencies

Essential

• Must be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information; negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues and present complex and sensitive information to influential groups;
• Negotiate on difficult and controversial issues including performance and change;
• Demonstrable skills for working in a management role within a contracting function;
• Skills of working at a senior level liaising with directors, other senior managers and clinicians;
• Management of staff and effective leadership and creation of teams;
• Work planning and setting and achieving challenging timescales;
• Preparation and presentation of complex data or information to individuals or groups of people with different levels of understanding on the subject matter;
• Achievement of challenging deadlines while maintaining quality and professional standards;
• Contributing to the preparation of Business Cases proposing investment or the evaluation of such cases;
• Skills and competencies of contract management techniques;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral;
• Good interpersonal skills;
• Negotiating and persuading skills;
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately;
• Leadership and team building skills;
• High level of proficiency in the development of spreadsheets (using Excel) together with proficiency in the use of Word, PowerPoint and email systems

Desirable

• Preparation of operational plans
• Negotiating service agreements or similar with partner organisations
• Working in a multi professional, complex organisation in the NHS or statutory sector

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a commissioning or contract management environment, within a health and social care setting;
• Experience of the NHS and relationships between the Department of Health, health providers and regional and local commissioning bodies;
• Highly developed specialist knowledge of areas relating to the contractual relationships between commissioners and providers;
• Evidence of managing change;
• Comprehensive experience of project principles, techniques and tools such as PRINCE2 and of managing successful projects;
• Comprehensive experience of using data and information to understand issues and to formulate recommendations and decisions;
• Significant experience of working across organisational boundaries, and of negotiating with other organisations;
• Expert understanding of the NHS commissioning cycle and the contract management process;
• Numerate and IT literate (working knowledge of Microsoft Office)

Desirable

• Experience in purchasing and supply in a senior role;
• Experience of budget setting and working knowledge of financial procedures;
• Experience of working successfully in a multi-disciplinary team;
• Committed to public service

Qualifications

Essential

• Education to Masters Level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in a specialist area;
• Member of a relevant professional body;
• Committed to personal development and continued professional development.

Desirable

• Comprehensive understanding of the key issues and targets for monitoring performance of a commissioning organisation;
• Good understanding of the future for the NHS as expressed in policy documents;
• Knowledge of the commissioning organisation performance management regime with an understanding of key targets;
• Understanding of investment and option appraisal techniques used in the preparation of business cases.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (857)

Address

Health House

Grange Park Lane

Willerby

HU10 6DT

Employer's website

https://humberandnorthyorkshire.icb.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)