HS2 (High Speed 2)
Technical Author
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Location: Birmingham or London
Base salary: £54,878pa - c.£64,562pa (Birmingham) or £59,268pa - c.£69,727pa (London) depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer a flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top of base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website.
HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.
The Role
The Technical Author provides comprehensive support to the procurement teams to oversee and manage NEC Information throughout the procurement process, from inception to contract award. The primary responsibility is to ensure the development and coordination of consistent NEC Information documents across all NEC contracts for HS2, while also identifying and eliminating duplication to reduce commercial delivery risks. By maintaining oversight of all NEC contract documents, the Technical Author team supports a standardised approach across the business, enhancing engagement with subject matter experts. This role ultimately simplifies document collation and aids in transferring knowledge and skills to the wider HS2 team.
Responsibilities
- The Technical Author is responsible for developing and managing scope documents by leading the creation of unambiguous, specific, and concise business requirement documents for contracts, ensuring they are aligned with NEC forms and eliminate the need for interpretation, thus reducing risk of disputes.
- Collaborate with subject matter experts by working closely to capture and incorporate specialist requirements into contract documentation, ensuring clarity and relevance to the procurement package.
- Conduct reviews and challenges to align documents with commercial strategies, driving value for money (vfm), and performing read across checks to eliminate discrepancies, duplications, and inconsistencies in contract documentation.
- Monitor and report progress to track and forecast document delivery, report on performance, escalate issues as necessary, and support the continual improvement of document processes in line with HS2 values.
- Provide post-contract support by maintaining and updating scope documents with stakeholder input, manage changes from various sources, conduct audits, and ensure alignment with governance and good practices throughout the contract lifecycle, including during negotiations and strategic changes.
- Carries out tasks in post contract environments with transparency and communicating timescales and progress for the Project Manager to ensure contractual time constraints are met, or managed.
- Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.
- Reports through the appropriate channels forecasts and tracking of scope document delivery. Highlighting in a timely manner, matters for escalations, issues, and trends.
- Contributes and supports continual improvement initiatives including but not limited to coordination reviews across contract documents, and review, update, development or introduction of governance documentation and guidance.
- Ensure that the team is aligned to the HS2 Vision, Mission, and Values.
- Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.
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About You
Skills:
- Ability to analyse contractual documentation and apply Commercial thinking.
- Ability to compile tender and commercial documents.
- Ability to deploy a range of negotiation tactics and strategies to secure optimal outcomes.
- Ability to build effective collaborative relationships to understand requirements, facilitate others’ understanding and to ensure the requirements can be discussed and met as closely as possible.
- Ability to communicate considerations to be accounted for in contract and option selection.
- Ability to act as a mentor others to help and support effective performance and development.
- Ability to tailor communication to engage with different audiences using pertinent argument and influencing techniques.
- Ability to problem solve and implement efficiencies, solutions and improvements.
Knowledge:
- Knowledge of Strategy Development.
- Knowledge of Project Management and Planning.
- Knowledge of NEC3 and NEC4 forms of contract.
- Knowledge of Procurement processes and Legal framework and governance.
- Knowledge of Contract Management and Administration.
- Knowledge of Risk and Value Management.
- Knowledge of Change Management.
- Knowledge of Document Management processes and systems.
Experience:
- Experience in a matrix environment, with influencing and communication skills – able to persuade on the basis of objective argument founded in fact and analysis.
- Experience in procurement or delivery of Civils, Infrastructure or Railway Systems projects, and can articulate understanding of the component parts of structures and systems, as well as the supporting services that are required to deliver an asset in a programme environment.
- Experience of procuring/delivering large value complex programmes, or projects within a programme, in the Government, local government or an arm’s length body environment using public funding.
- Experience of sponsor / Stakeholder relationship and management experience.
- Experience of management of aspects of NEC3 or NEC4 contracts. To be able to identify the purpose of the Conditions of Contract, Contract Data 1&2, Scope, Site Information and the key features of the contracts.
- Memberships / Qualifications – Achieved or working towards chartered member grade of any Built Environment discipline’s chartered institute.
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The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect. It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.
As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept. Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.
We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert. Watch this video on how we remove bias in the recruitment process: Removing bias in the recruitment process - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWs5gdAY1Vg]
Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
About HS2 Ltd
High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK’s new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.
HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.
In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.
HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our ‘Safe at Heart’ programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.
HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.
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