Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / Natural Resources Wales
DDaT Contract Framework Manager
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The Role
As the DDaT Contract Framework Manager, you will be responsible for developing the Contract Management Support Service within Digital, Data & Technology (DDaT). You will provide effective leadership and direction to your team, demonstrating a high degree of commercial knowledge and awareness to internal customers and wider stakeholders.
You will advise senior managers on strategic contractual issues across a broad range of contract types, managing risks as required. You will also refine and implement improvement measures that increase business performance, working closely with other enablers to strengthen contract management across the organisation through a structured framework that complements existing procurement policies and procedures.
As a member of the Natural Resources Wales Management Team, you will play a key strategic role in supporting the organisation's transformation to deliver the sustainable management of natural resources. You will set the strategic direction for the function, evolve and progress the DDaT procurement framework, and contribute to the delivery of the NRW Commercial Strategy, promoting good governance and compliance throughout.
As an organisation, we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home, and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed upon appointment. Any regular face-to-face meetings or training will be planned in advance.
To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Ray Sherry at ray.sherry@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
Interviews will take place w/c 22 June 2026 through Microsoft Teams
What You Will Do
In this role, you will lead the end-to-end management of complex, high-value, and strategic contracts, taking full accountability for their successful mobilisation, delivery, performance, and closeout. You will operate at the centre of contract activity, ensuring that supplier performance, financial outcomes, risk management, and governance requirements are effectively managed and aligned to business objectives. Through strong stakeholder engagement and commercial expertise, you will drive value for money, resolve issues, implement change, and ensure contractual obligations are met, maintaining a clear focus on achieving high-quality service delivery and tangible outcomes within each contract.
- Provide strategic leadership of the Contract Management Support Service within DDaT, shaping organisational policy, long-term direction, and commercial strategy.
- Act as a senior adviser to organisational leaders on complex and high-risk contractual matters across a diverse portfolio of contract types.
- Provide authoritative commercial insight to inform strategic decisions, anticipate and manage enterprise-level risks, and ensure contractual approaches align with organisational strategy, governance expectations, and public-sector obligations, policies, and procedures already in place for procurement.
- Provide assurance on critical DDaT contract management control processes and help build and develop commercial capability and professionalism both inside the function and across the business, promoting compliance across NRW and challenging senior leaders where non-compliance is identified.
- Develop a deep knowledge of diverse business areas, their needs, and priorities, looking at the bigger picture to ensure that the business understands the regularity and propriety implications alongside value for money in the work they undertake, providing commercial advice to ensure contracts are progressed within the confines of managing Welsh public money, legislative boundaries, our scheme of delegation, and other external best practice guidance.
- Lead major programmes of work to strengthen commercial governance, capability, and assurance across NRW, providing advice and guidance on policy and governance issues with a commercial impact; contributing to new initiatives and projects, developing procedures, consulting with other governance leads to assess potential impact and manage policy changes.
- Work collaboratively with enabling functions to drive continuous improvement across NRW, delivering a structured, organisation-wide contract-management framework that complements procurement policy, strengthens governance, and supports long-term strategic outcomes.
- Manage the team that will lead on the DDaT procurement framework procedures, providing effective leadership and direction, working with senior stakeholders to identify and own commercial risks, drive organisational-wide improvements, and implement robust measures that strengthen commercial governance and resilience.
- Exercise delegated financial authority for the DDaT procurement framework, ensuring all contracts are compliant and deliver value for money. This includes applying NRW's financial governance framework, adhering to schemes of delegation, monitoring financial performance, and escalating risks or non-compliance where required.
- Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
- Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post.
- Be committed to your own development and that of your staff through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
- Required to take part in incident response activities.
- Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.
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Your Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
In your application and interview, you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method.
- Relevant professional qualification (e.g., Full Corporate membership of The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS), the Government Contract Management Capability Programme (CMCP) expert qualification) or equivalent and extensive experience of working within a commercial environment, ideally in the public sector.
- Expert understanding and application of commercial concepts, practices, governance, and techniques.
- Ability to communicate and influence effectively with a diverse range of audiences using a high standard of written and oral communication skills and able to use influence and persuasion to shape outcomes and gain support - both internally and externally.
- Relevant experience of managing and developing teams (for example, Contract/Commercial/Procurement teams).
- Substantial contract management or similar (for example, procurement or project management) experience.
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Welsh Language Level Requirements
Essential: Level A1 - Entry level
Welsh language levels
Please note if you do not meet the A1 requirement, i.e., ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly, then NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us.
Additional Information
Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.
This role meets the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. Natural Resources Wales welcomes applications from non-UK citizens who are eligible to apply under this route, subject to confirmation by the Home Office.
Please note that while we may be able to support the Certificate of Sponsorship required for a visa application, the organisation does not cover the cost of the visa itself, including any associated fees for dependants.
The applicant must still meet the UK Skilled Worker Visa Eligibility and Requirement. For further information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
Benefits
This role will offer a range of benefits, including:
- Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 28.97% (successful internal staff will remain in their current pension scheme)
- 28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days
- generous leave entitlements for all your life needs
- commitment to professional development
- health and wellbeing benefits and support
- weekly wellbeing hour to use as you choose
See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.
Please Keep Reading
We're passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
We are committed to equal opportunities, and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.
We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on a variety of topics, stay current in their field, and continue to learn as their career progresses.
We are a Bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards. Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW, and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop, and use their Welsh language skills.
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