Contracts Manager

4,000 professionals, 0 days wasted, 1 incredible purpose. Together we are beating cancer.

Contracts Manager

Salary: £48,000 - £58,000 per annum (dependent on experience)

Reports to: VP Operations, Therapeutic Innovation (TI)

Department: Cancer Research Horizons

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time; 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London or Babraham, Cambridge with travel to TI and CRUK sites 1-2 days per week.

Closing Date: 21 January 2024

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That's why we're looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you.

Cancer Research Horizons is the newly established in-house Cancer Research UK (CRUK) drug discovery and commercialisation unit, with a principal focus on establishing and prosecuting biologically themed multi-project alliances with industrial partners. Cancer Research Horizons is home to over 200 drug discovery scientists and is based on several sites across the UK.

We currently have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Contracts Manager to join Cancer Research Horizons.

In this new role, you will be helping to facilitate the end-to-end procurement process by putting in place contracts to support Therapeutic Innovation (TI), the drug discovery arm of CRH. You will work in conjunction with TI Scientific and Operational staff to implement and manage contracts as well as building and maintaining relationships with key suppliers and stakeholders across the business.

You will work collaboratively with internal teams and external suppliers to ensure that TI is obtaining the best possible value for money and quality of service.

The post holder is expected to travel to TI and CRUK sites on a regular basis (1-2 days a week in total) but there will be flexibility to work remotely. The cost of travel to sites other than the post holder's primary location will be covered by Cancer Research Horizons.

What will I be doing?

• Developing and maintaining relationships with external suppliers, ensuring appropriate Service Level Agreements are established where relevant, and acting as the key escalation point for internal staff where required.
• For new projects or supplier contract renewals: completing thorough reviews of available options in a timely manner, conducting supplier due diligence and documenting recommendations.
• Working with stakeholders to ensure appropriate and timely coordination with key functions including Commercial Partnerships, Procurement, Legal, Finance, Information Security and Data Governance.
• Establishing clarity with those stakeholders as to which contracts they can progress with on their own, versus which should come to the Contract Manager, and then which should be referred to external lawyers for a further review, i.e., streamline the contracting process.
• Coordinating contract reviews, monitoring agreement renewal dates and filing supplier contracts within the appropriate systems.
• Working with teams to identify potential suppliers and negotiate contracts for approved capital expenditure items as required.
• Working with Commercial Partnerships colleagues to implement CDAs, MSAs and MTAs where appropriate.
• Conducting initial reviews of terms and conditions for all new and renewed contracts and acting as a point of contact with legal for any further contract reviews. Acting as key point of supplier support for TI by providing advice and guidance to colleagues to assist with supplier management.
• Monitoring invoicing status and liaising with colleagues across R&I to ensure supplier payments are kept suitably up to date.
• Maintaining information on all TI supplier contracts and expenditure in conjunction with Commercial Partnerships, Legal, Procurement and Finance, and ensuring information is accessible to relevant teams where appropriate.
• Ensuring cooperation and compliance across TI with key policies and procedures, whilst making or suggesting improvements to these where relevant, to maintain effective ways of working.

What skills are we looking for?

• Experience working with Software, Equipment, Reagent and Consumables suppliers in the Contract Research Organisation (CRO), pharmaceutical or biotech industry.
• Experience reviewing legal terms and conditions in a procurement setting and familiarity with key terms of core legal agreements such as confidentiality agreements, supplier terms and conditions, software supply agreements, services agreements, etc.
• Demonstrable knowledge of supplier management processes.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively across channels with a wide-ranging audience.
• Highly organised with the ability to manage conflicting priorities, working under pressure and to tight timescales.
• Solution-driven mindset with a proactive approach to work.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Engages with confidence and builds trusting relationships.

What will I gain?

Every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that's impressive.

In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies, and processes to enable you to do your job well.

Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more.

We don't forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture.

Our work - from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy - will change the world. It's exciting to be part of our team.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won't be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.