Senior Contracts Manager - National

Do you have experience of working in a contracts management or legal role?

Do you have extensive experience drafting and negotiating a variety of legal agreements and contract related documentation?Consider the role of an Senior Contracts Manager at Reed in Partnership!
We are on a mission to be the partner of choice for developing people and their communities. Reed in Partnership is a public service provider specialising in skills training for the long-term unemployed, increasing employment opportunities by working with employers and providing youth services. 

The base location for this role is flexible, this can be discussed at interview stage. 

What is the role about?

The Senior Contracts Manager reports to the Associate Director of Contracts and Procurement and provides essential support to Operations Management, Heads of Support Teams and to the Finance Director in contracting for purchased services. The Senior Contracts Manager role will require the individual to support Operations by supporting the production and negotiation of all contractual documentation relating to mobilisation, contract management and close down of suppliers in the supply chain network.

Key to the role is an ability to understand complex and varying contractual relationships with commissioners, supply chain partners and subcontractors and ensure that these are accurately reflected in all drafted contractual documents.

The role will require a capability to produce contracts that fully reflect the passing down of commercial and financial risk to supply chain partners, while identifying and mitigating risk in the commissioner contracts. Interest in ensuring accuracy in contractual documentation and an attention to detail are essential for this role.  The Contracts Manager role will be largely office based and will involve excellent coordination, liaison and communication with the wider Operational Management team who will be out meeting and negotiating with partners and subcontractors.

The role will also produce and coordinate signatures for Heads of Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements and supplier agreements among others. The role will be responsible for producing back to back contracts which flow down to supply chain partners and ensuring that as the delivery moves into business as usual, that any necessary variations and amendments are undertaken and a speedy response is provided to notifications of breaches, or request for terminations.

Just some of your day-to-day responsibilities will include

Contract management and control

• Reporting to the Associate Director of Contracts and Procurement on all aspects of contracts management
• Supporting the production of finalised contracts assigned to the role
• Coordinating the administration, across the whole UK provider network, to keep contracts up to date, deal with any amendments, variations or breaches and handle contract terminations.
• Working with the whole Operations team where delivery is outsourced to respond to contractual requirements and communicate updates on progress.
• Maintaining accurate records and archives of all contract documentation
• Production and coordination of heads of agreement document including delivery profiles and pricing schedules.
• Liaising with the finance department regarding the commencement of any contracts work further to the production of heads of agreements.

Mobilisation

• Supporting the Associate Director of Contracts and Procurement in producing contracts relevant to the type of Supply Chain partner which are in line with the Heads of Agreement and any subsequent agreed variations to meet all contractual requirements.
• Managing the administration and coordination of contract and SLA signatures across the whole network
• Ensuring that all necessary expectations, including infrastructure, resources, performance, delivery, data security, control environment and finances, are accurately reflected in all agreements.
• Mobilisation of specific supply chains as necessary
• Internal communication and briefing as necessary with Operations and other teams with regard to specific contractual terms

Management and Business As Usual (BAU)

• Production of contract variations or amendments for assigned contracts
• Invocation of step in rights.
• Notification and management of minor and major breaches and attendance at meetings as required to support in the delivery.
• Termination for cause or by mutual agreement: facilitation and documentation.
• Identifying risks in contracts as part of the risk management framework.
• Identification of improvements and best practice as part of the performance improvement framework.

Close down

• Archiving of all documentation.
• Ensuring all communications are line with contractual agreements and arrangements in relation to systems and data access.

Other Contracts

• Drafting and negotiation of supplier contracts following procurement of goods and services through to signature
• Drafting and review of confidentiality agreements
• Negotiation and review of customer contracts through to signature.

What’s in it for you?

Alongside a generous base salary (pro-rata for part time), and great flexibility with your working schedule, we offer training, development and progression opportunities. You will have access to the range of Reed in Partnership benefits, which include:

• 25 days annual leave (pro-rata for part time) plus statutory bank holidays 
• Reed Pension Scheme
• Award Winning Management & Leadership training
• Professional & Personal Development Funds
• Bi-annual pay reviews
• Plus much more that can be found Here

With the chance to dramatically make a difference to the local community, this role offers immense job satisfaction.

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone with

Essential Criteria

• Extensive experience drafting and negotiating a variety of legal agreements and contract related documentation.
• Experience of working in a contracts management or legal role.
• Experience of working in a proactive and reactive manner to respond to urgent contract change requests whilst continuously focussing on improvement.
• Demonstrably strong organisation, verbal and literacy skills in order to facilitate the coordination and administration of multiple agreements and contacts across a supply chain.
• Sectoral experience must have been gained within a fast-paced service focussed, client or account management, target driven business environment. Examples of this may include Sales, Government department, Contract Management, Agency Recruitment, Training, Account Management or any other B2B Sales/Customer Management environment.
• Experience of conducting face to face meetings with a variety of organisational levels both internally and externally and across business and organisational types at various stages of the lifecycle.
• Degree or equivalent relevant qualification. Degree topics may include; law, management, business studies, finance, economics, psychology, sociology or jurisprudence.

Desirable Criteria

• Technical skills including the ability to interpret and/or use MS Office applications.
• Previous experience in a Public Sector contracting environment

Diversity and Inclusion

We aim to ensure that no candidate or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity. We offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria.

Job reference: RinP07701