Contracts Officer

Location - Remote/Once a week to attend the Office either in Chichester or  Worthing   

Hourly Rate - £13.47

Full Time - Interim Position

Reference - 7860857

Please Note  we require 2 people. The post will be mainly worked from home, but there is a requirement to attend the office once a week - either Chichester or Worthing.

Background

Initially operating within the Children, Young People and Learning Directorate, you will be expected to have a good understanding of how local, regional and national education, health and social care markets operate and the ability to identify and manage opportunities and risk.

Working closely with internal and external suppliers, you will be required to develop and sustain key education and accommodation-based sectors. This will require confident influencing and negotiating skills to ensure that the required pace and shape of investment occurs.

Key Responsibilities

• Development and production of contract documents for low risk/low value contracts, including tenders, to ensure terms and conditions of contracts cover all necessary aspects, and reflect the services required.
• To develop, maintain and improve systems to record contracts and contract monitoring information.
• Responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the relevant database in relation to low value contracts.
• Assist in developing contract compliance, monitoring and review systems based on a risk assessment model.
• Advise and assist providers to ensure they can meet the requirements of the Quality Assessment Framework.
• Monitor low value contracts to ensure providers meet performance standards and targets. This will involve working in partnership with providers to assist them to achieve contract performance standards and improve the quality of support services.
• Communicate with and develop good working relationships with a range of people, such as providers, key stakeholders and colleagues in order to provide specialist advice and information.
• Knowledge and identification of local need in order to obtain best and most cost effective solutions.
• Contribute to the activity with providers in relation to, price change, specification and market changes in order to achieve improvements in contract terms, ensure value for money and effective maintenance of their services.
• Contribute to the management of a specified budget by ensuring that low value contracted providers use relevant grants in line with grant conditions and ensuring that any service development takes place within the limits of the budget for West Sussex.
• Contribute to the analysis of statistical information in order to enable effective commissioning.
• Contribute to and sustain a range of inclusive and consultative processes with the individual, groups and organisations involved in service programmes in West Sussex.
• Where appropriate represent the Authority by attendance at conferences and meetings in order to keep up to date with the current market.
• Contribute to the financial processing in the letting of contracts of low risk/low value.
• Contribute to the commissioning of services through the development of commissioning and tendering processes for both new service development and changing existing services.
• To assist with projects and/or reviews of corporate projects, challenging existing practices and generating ideas and solutions, recognising and balancing risks with reward, meeting agreed timescales.
• Remain up to date and compliant with all relevant organisational procedures, policies and professional codes of conduct in order to uphold standards of best practice.
• Support equality and diversity and respects customers, clients and other members of staff regardless of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion.

Key Skills

• Excellent literacy and numeracy skills in order to understand complex tender documents, contracts and to check statistical financial information and other documents.
• Ability to present information clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, either verbally or in written/electronic form, i.e. when producing a tender.
• Good analytical skills in order to interpret complex tender/financial information, with the ability to organise, plan and meet set targets e.g. for timely distribution of tenders.
• Communication and interpersonal skills in order to interact effectively with a range of clients and create and maintain effective working relationships. Including the ability to advise and guide clients to make sound decisions.
• Good negotiation skills in order to work with providers to achieve improvements in contract terms.
• Sound and accurate IT skills for the integral use of word processing, analysing data, creating and developing workflows or electronic presentations.

Qualifications and/or Experience

• BTEC/HNC/NVQ 3 level or equivalent experience demonstrating an appropriate level of numeracy, literacy and communication skills.
• Experience of operating in the contract management arena, ensuring best value and maintaining optimum service levels.
• Experience of working within Children’s Social Care. Desirable.
• Experience and enthusiasm for work with and for people or customers to achieve quality services.
• Experience of working within office systems/practices that provide support to children and young people.

If you are interested in this role, please call 020 3641 9193 for further details or email your CV to apply@instajobsuk.com