Senior contract manager

Band 8a · Contract manager · 553 job evaluation points

Manages the organisation's strategic and high-risk contracts, such as the electronic patient record and cloud hosting, and leads relationships with key suppliers.

Responsibilities

Manage strategic contracts for clinical systems and technology services, including mobilisation of new contracts.
Lead strategic reviews with key suppliers, covering performance, roadmap, risks, and improvement plans.
Use contract remedies, such as service credits and remediation plans, when performance falls short.
Negotiate contract variations, renewals, and settlement of disputes.
Write and test exit and transition plans, including data return in standard formats and secure deletion.
Assess supplier risks, such as financial health, cyber security, and supply chain, and plan for supplier failure.
Coach and supervise contract managers.

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	Practitioner (3)	You can: segment suppliers by risk and value and plan how to manage each group run strategic reviews with key suppliers, including roadmap and improvement plans manage supplier risks, such as financial failure, cyber incidents, and supply chain issues
Exit planning and data returnThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: write exit and transition plans with technical, data, and clinical leads make sure data is returned in usable, standard formats and then deleted securely manage transition risks so that care is not disrupted
Commercial negotiationThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: plan and lead negotiations, setting objectives, limits, and fallback positions negotiate contract variations, renewals, and settlement of disputes keep negotiations lawful and well recorded
Technology and cloud procurementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: buy cloud, software as a service, and clinical systems, choosing the right commercial model build requirements with technical, clinical safety, and information governance leads include interoperability, open standards, data ownership, and exit terms in contracts avoid lock-in by planning for portability and competition at renewal
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	Practitioner (3)	You can: take responsibility for complex relationships with contracted suppliers identify appropriate contractual frameworks and identify appropriate suppliers negotiate with contracted suppliers get good value out of contracts and suppliers
Stakeholder relationship managementUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: work with the team to develop and maintain an understanding of stakeholders work with the team to develop and implement stakeholder communications strategies identify and resolve issues, influence stakeholders and manage relationships effectively build long-term strategic relationships and communicate clearly and regularly with stakeholders
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.
Substantial experience of managing strategic technology or outsourced service contracts.

Band 8a outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge of a discipline and its management.
Autonomy: Interprets organisational policy for a service; sets the team's direction.
Scope: A service area or a discipline across the organisation.
Leadership: Manages a team, or leads a discipline without line management.
Accountability: A service area, its staff, and its budget.

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	4	Plans a broad range of complex activities or strategies, adjusting them as needed.	42
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	4	Holds or sets the budget for a department or service, or buys or maintains its assets.	32
Responsibility for people	3	Manages a group of staff day to day, teaches core or specialist training, or gives core HR advice.	21
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 8a: 540 to 584)			553

Health-sector adverts place this role at Band 8a. Knowledge, analysis, and freedom to act are scored at the Band 8a profile because the job manages the organisation's strategic contracts with little supervision. Financial resources is level 4 because the job manages the spend and assets of high-value service contracts.