Lead contract manager

Band 8b · Contract manager · 595 job evaluation points

Leads contract and supplier management across the organisation, setting the contract management framework and managing the contract team.

Responsibilities

Set the organisation's contract management framework, standards, and tools.
Lead the contract management team and its portfolio of contracts.
Lead the management of the most critical supplier relationships and resolve major disputes.
Set standards for exit planning and data return, and lead exits from strategic contracts.
Report contract performance, supplier risk, and savings to executive committees.
Advise on termination, re-procurement, and supplier failure.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Contract managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organisation's contract management framework and standards lead the management of strategic, high-risk contracts resolve major disputes and decide on termination or re-procurement
Supplier relationship managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organisation's supplier relationship strategy lead executive relationships with strategic suppliers lead the response when a critical supplier fails
Exit planning and data returnThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organisation's standards for exit, transition, and data return lead exits from strategic clinical and technology contracts
Commercial negotiationThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead high-value, high-risk negotiations with strategic suppliers coach others in negotiation and set the organisation's negotiation approach
Public procurement rules and policyThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise on the lawful route for complex procurements and contract changes manage the risk of challenge and handle standstill and debrief correctly write procurement policy and guidance for the organisation
Commercial managementUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: act as the escalation point and resolve large or high risk commercial management issues coach others in appropriate commercial management
Creating value for moneyUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: advocate for user needs, ensuring user value is balanced against cost and value for the organisation determine the benefit of a product and persuade others it's the right product to use write or contribute to business cases communicate business-value propositions help others make value-based decisions, influencing the direction of development
People managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: line manage a team, setting objectives and running appraisals support wellbeing and manage attendance, performance, and conduct plan the team's development and succession
Organisational risk managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: run the risk process for a directorate or programme assess risks against the risk appetite and escalate them report on risks to committees
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Working (2)	You can: explain the clinical and care workflows your work supports use common health care terms correctly with clinical and care colleagues recognise when a change could affect patient care and raise it

Typical qualifications and experience

A recognised procurement or contract management qualification at advanced level, or a master's degree in a related subject, or equivalent experience.
Extensive experience of leading contract management for complex services.

Band 8b outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge across several disciplines or a large service.
Autonomy: Shapes policy and strategy for a large area.
Scope: Several services or teams, or a principal-level discipline.
Leadership: Manages managers, or is the principal authority in a discipline.
Accountability: Several services, their staff, and their budgets.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	7	Highly developed specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (master's level or equivalent).	196
Analytical and judgemental skills	5	Judgements on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organisational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organisation.	60
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	4	Implements policy and develops policy or services for a service or several areas.	32
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	5	Holds or sets budgets, or manages assets, for several services.	45
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programmes as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	3	Takes formal minutes, regularly writes reports or queries, or maintains information systems as a significant duty.	16
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	4	Frequent prolonged concentration, or occasional intense concentration.	18
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8b: 585 to 629)			595

Health-sector adverts place this role at Band 8b. Planning is level 5 for the organisation-wide contract management framework, financial resources is level 5 because the job oversees contracts across many services, and people is level 4 because it line manages the contract team.