Contract Relationship Manager

Audit, Compliance & Risk

• Coordinate responses to internal and external audit reviews.
• Monitor implementation of audit recommendations relating to contracted services.
• Ensure appropriate controls, governance and assurance arrangements are in place.
• Maintain contract risk registers and oversee mitigation plans.

People Management

• Provide effective line management, supervision and development for designated staff.
• Set objectives, monitor performance and support professional development.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and customer focus.

Decision Making Responsibilities

• Determine appropriate escalation routes for contractual and operational issues.
• Approve routine contract management actions within delegated authority.
• Recommend service improvements, contractual changes and corrective actions.
• Provide professional advice to senior officers regarding service performance and contractual risks.

Requirements

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of contract management, client-side commissioning or supplier relationship management.
• Experience of managing performance within large, complex service contracts.
• Experience of working with senior stakeholders across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of preparing reports and presenting information to senior management boards.
• Experience of analysing performance, financial and operational data to inform decision making.
• Experience of identifying and delivering service improvements.
• Experience of managing risk, governance and compliance processes.
• Experience of line management and staff development.

Desirable

• Experience within local government or the public sector.
• Knowledge of outsourced corporate services, revenues, benefits, customer services, debt recovery, payroll, housing or finance operations.
• Experience of procurement, mobilisation or contract transition activities.
• Relevant professional qualification in contract management, procurement, business management, finance or project management.

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Strong commercial awareness.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to challenge constructively and hold suppliers to account.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and competing demands.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills.
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound professional judgement.

Benefits

We believe employee benefits should go beyond just a free drink or fruit bowl. What’s more, we believe you should get to choose perks that suit your lifestyle. That’s why we’ve partnered up with the global benefits and rewards provider Perkbox, to offer something for all of our people.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

Perks Hub

• Hundreds of global and local perks, available online 24/7
• Free monthly lifestyle perks; such as free coffees, breakfasts, cinema tickets, etc
• Shopping discounts from the biggest brands, all year round
• Save money on everything from the supermarket shop to summer holidays

Wellness Hub

• Easy to follow videos for everything from yoga exercises, to strength training and HIIT workouts
• Mindfulness, meditation and sleep resources, available on all your devices
• Guides to help with everything from anxiety to stopping smoking
• Confidential mental health helpline, 24/7 access to a qualified counsellor

Celebration Hub

• Working with us means you're always part of Team BSS - celebrate and recognise fellow contractors, whether they're across the desk or across the world
• Company polls where everybody can vote for the winners

Culture Hub

• A single place to find company updates, photos, benefits information and lots more!
• Stay in the loop with what’s happening by accessing Culture hub anywhere, at any time

Pre-Compliance Checks for Successful Applicants

At BSS, we uphold the highest standards of screening and trust for every role. Successful applicants will undergo a comprehensive pre-compliance process in line with the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). This includes:

• Identity Verification: Confirming the authenticity of your identity documents.
• Employment History Checks: Reviewing your occupation history for the past 3-5 years (depending on client requirement).
• Right to Work Verification: Ensuring you have the legal right to work in the UK.
• Unspent Conviction Check: Conducting a Basic DBS Check to reveal any unspent convictions.

These checks are crucial in ensuring a secure and trustworthy work collaboration, aligning with best practices used in government and public sectors. While primarily standard in these sectors, our adoption of pre-compliance checks across all roles reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and trust in our recruitment process.

Equal Opportunities

Business Smart Solutions are a Recruitment Agency - We hire talented and passionate people from a variety of backgrounds because we want our global worker base to represent the wide diversity of our clients. If you’re excited about a role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every bullet point listed in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. If you're passionate about working for a role in local government and share our company values, we encourage you to apply.

BSS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. BSS considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable UK law. If you need assistance or an accommodation made due to a disability, please let your recruiter know.

Armed Forces Covenant

We endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:

• No member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen
• In some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.