Associate Director Cost Improvement – Contract Spend in England

The NHS is operating under sustained financial pressure, with an increasing need to deliver material, recurrent savings while maintaining service quality and patient outcomes. NHS organisations require senior commercial expertise to identify cost improvement opportunities, challenge existing contractual arrangements and secure better value from third-party spend.

This Associate Director Cost Improvement (Contract Spend) role offers the opportunity to lead and deliver high-impact cost improvement activity within NHS providers. You will work closely with executive teams and stakeholders to identify opportunities, apply commercial levers and negotiate improved contractual outcomes, delivering tangible, measurable savings for the NHS.

Attain offers a genuinely different proposition to traditional consultancies. We are a values-led organisation with a strong mix of public sector values and private sector thinking. A high proportion of our people have worked directly within the NHS, giving us real credibility with clients. Our teams work shoulder-to-shoulder with long-term NHS partners to deliver tangible savings, improve services and make a lasting impact. We are deeply people-focused, investing heavily in career development, learning and leadership, with clear opportunities to progress within our business and into senior roles leading projects, care sectors or portfolios. As a growing business, Attain offers exposure to varied, high-impact work, meaningful responsibility, and the chance to shape how we operate. We reward contribution and performance, foster a supportive and inclusive culture, and place real value on doing the right thing, for our people, our clients and the communities they serve.

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Delivering cost improvement savings within NHS providers, with a focus on contract and third-party spend
• Working at pace to deliver an agreed savings target - normally in a pressurised “turnaround” environment - with a clear Return on Investment (ROI) expectation from your individual role.
• Identifying, quantifying and prioritising cost improvement opportunities
• Applying commercial levers, negotiation strategies and market insight to secure improved value for money
• Leading commercial strategies, such as, contract rationalisation / demand management / price-volume / indexation review / benchmarking
• Reviewing contracts to identify saving opportunities, commercial risk and optimisation potential
• Engaging confidently with executive leaders, including Directors of Finance and senior operational leaders
• Operating with a high degree of autonomy while contributing to wider Attain delivery teams
• Operating effectively in hybrid environments, with regular on-site presence on client sites

You will demonstrate:

• A strong focus on delivery of measurable savings. Taking accountability for personal savings targets and those of team members
• Confidence in commercial negotiation and influencing senior stakeholders
• Ability to analyse contracts, financial data and commercial arrangements
• Resilience and adaptability in turnaround and recovery environments
• Clear, confident communication skills, including at executive level

You will work closely with:

• Clinical leaders
• Executive and senior management teams (including Directors of Finance)
• Organisational stakeholders (including finance, procurement and operational colleagues)

Building trust, credibility and alignment will be central to your success.

The role will be in an NHS provider. The working environment is:

• Fast-paced, dynamic and often pressurised
• Frequently operating in turnaround or recovery contexts
• Highly accountable, with clear expectations around ROI and impact
• Requires resilience, adaptability and pace

You will bring:

• A strong track record of delivering savings within NHS providers
• Significant experience in managing contract spend, cost improvement or commercial roles
• Confidence operating autonomously while contributing to team delivery
• Experience of influencing and negotiating; delivering better pricing, performance or improved terms
• A clear personal track record of ROI and impact
• Operating within a clear governance structure
• Ability to prioritise to maximise benefits for clients

Successful candidates will be able to evidence:

• Delivery of material, quantifiable savings (in excess of £2m per annum)
• Success in identifying, quantifying and prioritising cost improvement opportunities
• Ability to understand, interpret and amend commercial agreements
• Successfully analysing complex financial information to identify opportunities
• Success in challenging existing commercial arrangements
• Strong negotiation skills and delivering outcomes against demanding targets to time
• Effective Executive-level influence, engagement and reporting

We are looking for candidates who have:

• Significant relevant experience
• A finance and/or commercial background
• Varied experience across public and private sectors
• Proven delivery in commercial or cost improvement roles
• A strong understanding of contractual and commercial drivers

You will be:

• Aligned to Attain’s values-led culture
• Highly accountable for your own ROI and driven by results
• Driven to make savings and improve services
• Dynamic and able to re-prioritise opportunities
• Confident and skilled negotiator
• Analytical, commercially astute and outcome-focused

The benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Performance/profit-based annual bonus of circa 10%
• 27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays on top
• 6% employer contribution pension scheme
• Company-paid subscription to a professional body
• Hybrid working but also opportunities to work in coworking spaces
• A suite of learning tools to support continuing professional development
• Experience a rich variety of delivery projects across different care areas

At Attain our culture and company values promote a supportive and inclusive environment where our employees’ differences are nurtured to enable everyone to reach their full potential. We are committed to a culture where respect and understanding is fostered, and the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances are positively valued as they enable Attain to continually bring creativity and innovation to our clients work and internally. Our recruitment process reflects this commitment, focusing on skills, capabilities, and experience to ensure fairness and equity at every step.