Air Commercial Contract Performance & Management Lead Manager

MOD - Air - HQ Air Command, Director Resources (DRes), Air Commercial, Contract Performance and Management, This is a hugely exciting time to be joining Air Commercial. Through our continued transformation and investment in people, processes, and relationships, we are seeing increasing demand for our support across the whole of the commercial lifecycle at both an operational and strategic level to deliver technologically pioneering capability and support services for the RAF.
The Air Commercial team is a Front-Line Commercial Branch, a part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Commercial Function and the Government Commercial Function (GCF). We are embedded within the Royal Air Force (RAF) operating out of their HQ, Air Command, at RAF High Wycombe; a fast-tempo, strategic and progressive Military Headquarters, where the Air Commercial team deliver innovative commercial solutions and maximum value for the RAF.
This role provides a genuine opportunity to make a significant difference to the capability, efficiency and effectiveness of the Royal Air Force and UK Defence. You will be joining a highly capable commercial team as well as being part of a wider network of professionals across MOD and Government. The advertised role sits within the Air Commercial, Contract Performance and Management (CP&M) team who manage contract delivery of Air Commercial's major contract portfolio, currently 24 contracts with a combined value of £3.2bn.
CP&M is the focal point of all contract management activity for contracts that are high profile and complex in nature. We offer significant opportunities to work with stakeholders to ensure requirements remain taut and fit for purpose, deliver outputs effectively, control costs and hold suppliers to account.
The successful candidate will have Line Management responsibility for 1 HEO (C2 Grade).
Air Commercial is committed to increasing professionalism and to applying consistent standards across the function. The successful candidate will hold Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), Level 4 Diploma or a commitment to work towards it. On successful completion of the required training and a licensing board, the candidate may be eligible for a Market Skills Allowance.
Part-time or Job-share will only be considered provided full time hours can be covered.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week., Air Commercial's CP&M team offers an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of developing best practice in contract management. You will work alongside military and civilian colleagues as well as engaging collaboratively with contracted service providers. The role is challenging and extremely rewarding with the opportunity to develop core and functional skills and to support Air Commercial's Senior Leadership Team with cross team objectives and broader government initiatives., This job description is a general outline of the position duties and responsibilities and may be amended as the team evolves. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties as may be reasonably required from time to time.
+ Develop and deliver a high standard of contract management including, but not limited to; contract administration, negotiations, performance management, variations, stakeholder management and contract exit management.
+ Develop and maintain robust contract management plans, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, that are proportionate to the scale and complexity of the requirement.
+ Undertake deep dives of existing contracts as appropriate, to ensure VfM is realised with savings and benefits optimised.
+ Supplier and stakeholder management, provide guidance, challenge service delivery to drive better performance and work collaboratively with stakeholders and suppliers to drive out inefficiencies and promote continuous improvement.
+ Challenging key stakeholder direction and decisions where appropriate is a key attribute of this role but always, crucially, by working collaboratively.
+ Work closely with the Define and Procure team to transfer contracts across to CP&M in an efficient and timely manner.
+ Share best practice within the Air Commercial team and the wider commercial function.
+ Seek out opportunities to promote and to pro-actively engage with stakeholders to undertake further commercial awareness/upskilling and non-commercial training to support them in their roles.
+ Administer internal Management Information’s Systems and ensure records and data are up to date and correct and that policy is adopted and applied accordingly.
+ Prepare contract management briefs and statistical data for management purposes and ensure management of contract files is compliant with policy.
+ Identification, analysis and management of commercial risks working closely with suppliers and contract monitoring teams to mitigate risk; escalating when appropriate.
CP&M is part of Air Commercial distinct Commercial teams located around the UK, delivering critical commercial outcomes directly to military and non-military customers across the Defence portfolio as part of the wider Defence Commercial function. Although this post is advertised for a role in Air Commercial, should there be more successful applicants than currently required, we will establish a Merit List that may be used to offer successful applicants the opportunity to fulfil similar commercial vacancies in the Commercial Customer Delivery Directorate teams based at various locations across the UK and may not necessarily be the same as those stipulated in this particular advert.
Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Leadership
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
+ Managing a Quality Service, Please present your evidence using the S.T.A.R. format (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
Applicants are strongly advised to ensure that their submission uses the STAR format and demonstrates the behaviours detailed at SEO level in the Civil Service Success Profiles.
A 750 word statement of suitability and CV will be required for this position. You will submit using the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard, detailing job history, full qualifications, previous commercial experience and skills.
When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.
At sift, you will be assessed against and the following Behaviours:
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Leadership
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
+ Managing a Quality Service
At interview, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you use the information in the attached guide to Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience. Candidates must provide evidence of commercial experience in the Contract Management area in their examples to meet the essential criteria for the role. Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .
As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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.

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).

The successful candidate will line manage a HEO (C2 Grade) and have experience in contract management, an enthusiastic and proactive approach, excellent communication skills with the ability to brief up and down the civilian, military hierarchy and industry management chain.
Some travel will also be required as the CP&M team undertake site visits and engage with key stakeholders in managing contractor performance and contract delivery. They will be expected to work on cross team initiatives with other parts of Air Commercial to improve overall performance and development of the wider Air Commercial Team.
The right candidate will be self-motivated, commercially astute and enthusiastic. They will develop and drive new initiatives to meet contract management best practice requirements. There are significant opportunities and you will be encouraged to develop yourself as well as the staff you are responsible for., We are passionate about delivering professional and timely commercial support for our customers and, in doing so, we recognise that you will have a life outside of work; we respect your priorities and our industry leading flexible working practices will give you real freedom to balance work and life.
We employ talented people who challenge and guide each other. As part of the CP&M team within Air Commercial you will work with highly capable individuals who will support you to develop your skills, knowledge and experience.
Previous experience in commercial is essential, training and development will be provided to the successful candidate, a background in Project or Financial Management will be useful in adapting to the role. Problem solving and balancing multiple requirements will be of benefit in the role as will the ability to plan and prioritise at short notice.

Alongside your salary of £43,080, Ministry of Defence contributes £12,480 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Benefits include, but are not limited to:
+ Flexible working
+ Training and personal development opportunities
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ 25 days paid annual leave rising to 30 days on completion of 5 years’ service
+ In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
+ A highly competitive Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
+ Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
+ Subsidised membership to a fitness suite and lunchtime/evening Military led fitness classes
+ Café and shop on site
The post does not offer relocation expenses.
External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.
Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.
Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.
Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.