Contracts Managers

HAYS are delighted to be partnering exclusively with Birmingham City Council to recruit several Senior Contracts Managers on a permanent basis, as part of a large-scale recruitment campaign. This role will sit within the IT and Digital category and will be responsible for the management of the Council's digital and technology Contract and Vendor Portfolios'. The successful candidate will support the Lead Contract Manager in delivering an effective contract management framework, ensuring that all contracts are in line with relevant regulations, compliance and best practice., You will support the delivery of an effective, efficient, and robust contract and commercial management framework for DTS to deliver and continually improve business value, quality, and cost-effectiveness. You will be tasked with delivering high quality commercial and contractual documentation, including but not limited to statements of work and contractual variations, as well as providing commercial and contractual advice to relevant stakeholders in line with commercial strategies. Building, managing and sustaining strong stakeholder relationships both internal and external, is a key element of this role, as you will be acting as the point of contact for any contractual and commercial issues while also striving to meet budget targets and ensure payment terms are being met. Ultimately, you will be responsible for the management of agreements throughout their lifecycle, using market knowledge to identify savings and add value for the Council wherever possible. The ideal candidate for this role would be an experienced IT and Digital contracts or commercial manager, ideally with a background in the public sector, who has had experience of managing complex, large-scale contracts within their previous roles, with the ability to identify and drive operational and cost optimisation opportunities. They will be responsible for obligation tracking, management, and reporting, in addition to managing supplier performance, monitoring KPI's and achievement of milestones, and the provision of commercial support in situations of under/non-performance.

• Technical knowledge and experience: Experience and knowledge of contract and performance management. Negotiation skills, cost optimisation and dispute resolution processes. Experience of managing significant or multidisciplinary contracts with a proven track record of supporting IT procurements.
• Regulatory understanding: Significant knowledge of Public Sector regulations, business processes, procurement, contract and commercial governance e.g., contract and procurement compliance, planning, monitoring, and reporting.
• Interpersonal skills: Communication, influencing and negotiation skills, with a proven ability to build credibility with senior managers, partners, and external stakeholders. The ability to articulate contract issues and produce high-level reports for senior managers and partners.
• Systems experience: Knowledge and Experience in Digital, and technology contract management platforms e.g., ServiceNow, In-Tend and Oracle or equivalent.
• Qualifications: WCC, CIPS or MCIPS qualifications or equivalent experience are required.
  
  This is an exciting time to be joining Birmingham City Council, Europe's largest local authority, and specifically supporting the digital and technology categories. The Council are embarking on a transformative journey towards establishing themselves as a truly data-driven organisation. With unprecedented investment in people and technology, a solid strategy, empowering leadership and a newly redesigned service to get behind, they are building services centred on the needs of our citizens, business and communities that will deliver on Birmingham's bold ambitions for the city of today and tomorrow.
The IT Contract Management team are part of and work closely within the multidisciplinary Digital and Technology Services (DTS) directorate, contributing to the transformation of public services for the UK's second-largest city. The team work across a multitude of areas, including hardware, software, infrastructure, networking, telephony, development, data and cybersecurity, and are key to delivering procurements within our major programmes and projects, to deliver essential services across Birmingham to over 1.2m citizens. The Council are embracing and promoting a truly digital, human-centred approach for the whole organisation, underpinned by collaboration, openness and innovation. The council takes advantage of unparalleled access to data, doing things at scale and new ways of using technology as an enabler to re-imagine the way services are delivered and build the digital council of the future. This bodes well for the procurement side of things, promising a dynamic and exciting environment for the right candidate.

This permanent vacancy comes with a salary of between £40,221 and £48,474 per annum (dependent on skills and experience), 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays, a hybrid working pattern and a generous pension scheme.