Senior Contract Manager

Base salary: £54,878pa to £64,562pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website. HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.

In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities. The Senior Contract Manager will provide corporate contract management across HS2 Ltd’s contracts portfolio. HS2 have a growing portfolio of contracts, including both standard government forms and NEC3 contracts mostly utilised by professional services.

The NEC3 form of contract embodies a strong procedural approach to support collaboration, discipline and control and HS2 Ltd must comply with statutory requirements along with relevant government policies to deliver value for money.

About the Role • Take the Lead in Supporting HS2 Ltd’s delivery teams in the commercial and contract administration of NEC forms of contract, specifically in relation to Phases One and Two of HS2. • Provide leadership, commercial assurance, and governance support to the relevant Directors, Heads of Department, Contract Managers, Assistant Contract Managers and Project Managers around the effective administration of corporate contracts. • Coach and supervise team members and direct reports to bring about technical competence and consistency of corporate contract management across all contracts and check that HS2 related actions or inactions which could result in constructive contract changes are identified and making recommendations on their resolution. • Develop and manage procedures to recognise and identify contract issues as they develop (whether formally crystallised disputes or not) and managing their resolution under the change’s provisions wherever possible, obtaining claims and legal expertise as appropriate. • Work with the Functional Managers and Directors to check that decisions with commercial implications receive careful consideration, that appropriate business cases are developed, and commercial reporting is fully reflective of a true commercial position. • Takes the lead in the drafting of change instructions on corporate contracts and the assurance of such work produced by direct reports. • Manage the progress of change requests through the company’s governance structure and in association with other HS2 functions. • Proactively support mitigation measure initiatives captured on the respective contract risk registers and ensuring compliance with contract processes. • Liaise with teams with respect to consultants’ progress, spend and performance reporting. • Take the lead in the assessment of quotations and assessments by others in connection with compensation events. • Oversee corporate contract management of other HS2 Ltd contracts. • Work to achieve value for money at each stage of the contract and Develop and manage appropriate mechanisms to monitor compliance with contract terms and conditions. • Maintaining a working relationship with Construction, Engineering, Procurement, Legal and Risk Management to facilitate organizational interfaces between those performing (sub)contract management. • Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

About You Skills • Ability to coordinate, develop, support and assure the work of team resources to deliver contract management tasks. • Analytical, commercial and negotiating skills. • Ability to lead stakeholders through contract change request processes. • Ability to manage contract risk.

Type of Experience • Experience in applying knowledge recognised by other senior professionals, who is called on by others for advice on the competence and educates others. • Experience of corporate contract management in publicly funded projects. • Experience in working with or for publicly funded bodies such as central government departments. • Experience using different forms of contract and management of risk allocation. • Experience managing different forms of Professional Services contract through the contract management cycle and management of risk allocation.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert.

Watch this video on how we remove bias in the recruitment process: Removing bias in the recruitment process - YouTube. Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered. High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK’s new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs. HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent.

We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities. HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation.

Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our ‘Safe at Heart’ programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times. HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.