Lead Commercial Contract Manager
Please note that this post can be based in any location within England and Wales, where a CPS office is located. Whilst it’s an expectation of the role to travel to CPS locations as per business needs, CPS is disability confident employer and all reasonable adjustments will be considered in line with Equality Act of 2010.
Job Summary
It’s an exciting time to join the commercial team and we are seeking people with a can do attitude to help us continue to improve our commercial function’s offering, supporting the vital work that the Crown Prosecution Service does both now and in the future.
As a lead commercial contract manager, you will work within a fast-paced environment, primarily supporting the management of strategic relationships with external suppliers, delivering large scale, multi dependent, complex contracts. You will be expected to operate within the contract management framework, influencing key contract negotiations with suppliers, ensuring that we secure value for money and manage risk appropriately, as well as collaborating with internal customers to develop contract management and supplier relationship strategies.
The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. There’s no guarantee that we will grant this approval.
You must be aged 16 before starting in this role. The start date is expected to be 8-12 weeks after the application deadline.
As part of this role, you are expected to undertake direct line management responsibilities.
Job Description
Your roles and responsibilities
- You will lead on the design and delivery of the contracting management and supplier relationship management strategies for designated portfolio of contracts.
- You will manage delivery of contract management plans, ensuring monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place to effectively manage performance against contractual targets.
- You will negotiate with suppliers for contract award, change controls and exit management avoiding disruption to services.
- You will lead the team to deliver effective contract management to deliver value for money, continuous improvement assurance of team activities within governance model. Through effective contract management, resolve performance issues swiftly and resolving supplier disputes to minimise impact on service delivery.
- You will support the Head of Contract Management in the development and implementation of contract management strategy, commercial policy and working practices.
- You will pro-actively identify project delays and resourcing difficulties, mitigate these to ensure smooth delivery. You will meet client expectations and keep purchasing programmes and individual projects on track.
A copy of the full job description is available if requested from Connie.Hill@cps.gov.uk
Your roles and responsibilities
- You will lead on the design and delivery of the contracting management and supplier relationship management strategies for designated portfolio of contracts.
- You will manage delivery of contract management plans, ensuring monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place to effectively manage performance against contractual targets.
- You will negotiate with suppliers for contract award, change controls and exit management avoiding disruption to services.
- You will lead the team to deliver effective contract management to deliver value for money, continuous improvement assurance of team activities within governance model. Through effective contract management, resolve performance issues swiftly and resolving supplier disputes to minimise impact on service delivery.
- You will support the Head of Contract Management in the development and implementation of contract management strategy, commercial policy and working practices.
- You will pro-actively identify project delays and resourcing difficulties, mitigate these to ensure smooth delivery. You will meet client expectations and keep purchasing programmes and individual projects on track.
A copy of the full job description is available if requested from Connie.Hill@cps.gov.uk
Person specification
To Be Eligible To Apply, You Need
- Experience of leading commercial contract management activity and providing business partnering support for large scale contracts.
- Experience of developing relationships with strategic delivery partners to deliver benefits to the organisation.
- Experience of working in a complex commercial environment, devising tactical and strategic solutions to deliver contract management strategy.
- Experience of implementing contract management to ensure supplier performance standards are met; as well as ensuring savings, CI and added value is delivered to the organisation.
- Experience of delivering commercial projects, as a lead or part of a delivery team.
- Experience of working with stakeholders as a trusted commercial advisor.
- Leading negotiation with suppliers, including devising negotiation strategies.
- Assisting colleagues with supplier exit and transition management.
- Experience of ensuring compliance with governance, legislative and policy requirements.
To be eligible to apply, you need to meet the qualifications criteria outlined below:
- MCIPS Level 5 or above; or relevant commercial experience.
If the following qualifications are held there is additional taxable allowance payable:
- Certificate of Level 4 Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Level 4 CIPS) - £1,500 pa or
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Full MCIPS) - £2,500 pa
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- MCIPS Level 5 or above; or relevant commercial experience
Alongside your salary of £42,530, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £12,320 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Join the Crown Prosecution Service and find your purpose.
Why we work for the Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service is passionate about ensuring that we're a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We're a committed equal opportunities employer, creating a culture where you can bring your whole self to work, and individuality is truly appreciated.
This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering disability, faith and belief, LGBTQI+, race, social mobility alongside our mental health first aiders programme and wellbeing sessions.
The Crown Prosecution Service commits to offer its employees the following experience.
- You can do impactful, purposeful work that’s making a difference to your local communities.
- You are able to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources.
- We care about your wellbeing.
- We want you to feel valued, trusted and included.
We also offer the following range of benefits:
- Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
- 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
- £350 each year to spend on personal development
- lawyer training programme for all new prosecutors
- an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
- competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
- flexible working including flexitime, and a family friendly approach to work
- Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings.
Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identity or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application or contact Connie.Hill@cps.gov.uk.
We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. We offer a hybrid working policy. You must spend at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period at court, in an office or another official workplace depending on business need and the kind of work you're doing.
The Crown Prosecution Service also has a range of development programmes to support all aspiring, new and experienced managers with developing the skills, behaviours and knowledge to build their confidence and capability. Our Manager Induction Programme is mandatory for all newly appointed managers. This is a fantastic opportunity to support all our new Crown Prosecution Service managers with the tools required to perform effectively in their roles.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
Recruitment Process
The recruitment process will consist of an online application, interview & assessment which are expected to take place on w/c 7th April 2025.
Your interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with further guidance. If you have any queries about this please contact Connie.Hill@cps.gov.uk
You should keep this week free or notify us if you are not available. We will make every effort to accommodate you in your preference for dates; however we cannot guarantee that they will be met.
Cover Letter and CV
Please Upload An up-to-date CV Which Should Include
- three years’ employment and/or academic history
- skills and experience
- achievements
- qualifications.
You need to attach your CV as an anonymised document of no more than two A4 pages, to provide the panel with an insight into your work history and experience. We ask that you do not provide personal details which could identify you like name, age, home address.
It’s your responsibility to provide the specified application information in the requested format to ensure that you’re considered for the post.
If you’re unable to cover three years through employment and/or academic history, you need to provide a character reference for clearance purposes. The reference will be required at onboarding if you’re offered the role.
Your Cover Letter and CV will be assessed against the following essential experience:
- Experience of leading commercial contract management activity and providing business partnering support for large scale contracts.
- Experience of developing relationships with strategic delivery partners to deliver benefits to the organisation.
- Experience of working in a complex commercial environment, devising tactical and strategic solutions to deliver contract management strategy.
- Experience of implementing contract management to ensure supplier performance standards are met; as well as ensuring savings, CI and added value is delivered to the organisation.
- Experience of delivering commercial projects, as a lead or part of a delivery team.
- Experience of working with stakeholders as a trusted commercial advisor.
- Leading negotiation with suppliers, including devising negotiation strategies.
- Assisting colleagues with supplier exit and transition management.
- Experience of ensuring compliance with governance, legislative and policy requirements.
You will also be assessed against the following essential technical:
- MCIPS Level 5 or above; or relevant commercial experience
In addition, you will need to demonstrate the CPS or Civil Service Values.
The Following Experience Is Also Desirable
- Experience managing complex, high value, high profile contracts.
Interview
Role
We use the Success Profiles behaviours to help us understand the experience you have that would help you to do a great job in this role. The interview will be assessed against level 3 in the behaviour framework. We’ll be assessing four behaviours at the interview stage:
- Leadership - lead behaviour
- Changing & improving
- Making effective decisions
- Communicating & influencing
Please note, the panel reserve the right to refer to the lead behaviour ‘leadership’ at the interview stage to determine merit order.
Assessment
Please note, you will be asked to undertake an assessment as part of the recruitment process for this role, details of which will be provided immediately prior to your interview.
Strengths
Please note, strengths will be tested at interview stage, the strengths being tested will not be shared in advance of the interview.
Accuracy
You must ensure that your application, including your personal statement and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
Other
This is a full-time post. We do consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, always considering the operational needs of the department.
Clearance Required
If successful, you are required to secure a Disclosure and Barring Service check for which you must have a current valid UK address.
If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form and nationality and immigration questionnaire.
If you're a Crown Prosecution Service member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.
The job you’re applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act doesn’t apply. You’re required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions including spent convictions. Failing to make a full declaration will result in withdrawing your offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that haven’t been disclosed.
Reserve List
If you're recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy, you’re put on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another lead commercial contract manager post in the chief finance officer directorate if a vacancy comes up during this period. We may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles that require similar knowledge and experience.
Feedback
We only provide feedback if you attend an interview or assessment.
Fraud check
The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. We won't employ anyone included on the database unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.
The Strategic Resourcing team in the Crown Prosecution Service will, on behalf of the vacancy holder, inform applicants when they are refused employment because of their inclusion in the Internal Fraud Database.
Civil Service Commission
If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.
If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilservicerecruitmentcomplaints/
Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at
https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/
Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules
Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
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)
- 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)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
- Name : Connie.Hill@cps.gov.uk
- Email : Connie.Hill@cps.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : strategic.resourcing@cps.gov.uk
