Contract Monitoring Officer in Cambridge

The Contract Monitoring Officer is a key role within the Adult Social Care Contract Management & Market Shaping service, responsible for ensuring commissioned adult social care services are delivered safely, compliantly, and to the required quality and value for money standards across Cambridgeshire. The team works closely with commissioning, brokerage, finance, and providers to maintain oversight of service performance and to identify and address risks at the earliest opportunity.

The role focuses on monitoring provider performance using agreed tools, data, and feedback from people with lived experience to assess whether services meet contractual and statutory requirements. It supports planned monitoring activity, analyzes performance and financial information, and works with providers to agree and track improvement actions where concerns are identified. The impact of the role is significant: by identifying quality, performance, or financial risks early and supporting timely escalation, the Contract Monitoring Officer helps protect people who use services, maintain service continuity, and safeguard public funds. The role also contributes to wider service learning by sharing insights with colleagues to support continuous improvement and inform commissioning and market management activity across the organisation.

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of a Standard Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the hiring manager to discuss adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy.

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension, and mileage:

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

You will monitor the delivery and performance of commissioned adult social care services, ensuring they meet contractual, statutory, and quality standards. You will maintain regular, effective communication with providers, both through visits and remote contact, to resolve issues and support positive outcomes for people with lived experience. You will identify, record, and report customer-facing risks, including service delivery concerns, quality issues, or feedback from people using services, ensuring timely resolution.

You will use established contract monitoring systems and tools to assess performance, record findings, and support quality improvement activity, implementing risk‑management measures as directed and ensuring all monitoring activity complies with Council policies, procedures, and governance requirements. You will support the development and tracking of service improvement action plans, identify risks to individuals and financial implications, and escalate concerns appropriately. You will also share insights and learning from monitoring activity with colleagues to support continuous improvement, assurance, and informed decision-making across the service.

This role requires regular on-site working, with attendance at the office or provider visits around the county at least twice per week.

You have experience in contract monitoring, quality assurance, commissioning, regulation, or service oversight, and understand how effective monitoring supports safe, high-quality services and positive outcomes for people with lived experience. You are confident working with providers and internal colleagues to review performance, address concerns, and support continuous improvement. You bring strong analytical and organisational skills, enabling you to review performance and financial information, identify risks or trends, and contribute to evidence-based decision making.

You understand the importance of compliance, governance, and accurate recording, and are comfortable working within established policies, procedures, and escalation frameworks. You are an effective communicator and relationship builder, able to adapt your approach to different audiences and clearly report on risks, issues, and improvement activity. You can work collaboratively, contribute to cross‑team learning, and demonstrate inclusive behaviours in your day-to-day work. Previous experience in adult social care or formal contract monitoring is desirable but not essential. We welcome applicants with transferable skills from areas such as inspection, auditing, performance management, regulated services, safeguarding, or data‑led service improvement. Relevant training or qualifications in contract management, quality assurance, public sector services, finance, or a related discipline are advantageous, alongside a commitment to learning, safeguarding, equality, and continuous improvement.

We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse. Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups, helps us foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.