Deputy Head of Contracting and Performance in Newcastle upon Tyne

The Contracting and Performance Team is recruiting a Deputy Head of Contracting and Performance, providing continuity, resilience, and additional capacity for the team at a key time for the Trust. The Contracting and Performance function sits at the heart of how NEAS plans, delivers, and assures high-quality services. As Deputy Head of the team, you will support the Head of Contracting and Performance to ensure robust contracting and sub-contracting arrangements, strong performance oversight, and effective collaboration with operational and corporate leaders across the Trust and wider health system.

You will play a key role in ensuring that NEAS is able to demonstrate delivery against contractual requirements and national and local performance standards, and in supporting internal work to improve services, drive efficiency, identify and manage risks, and assure the services provided on the Trust's behalf by a range of independent sector ambulance providers.

Main duties of the job

• Support the development, negotiation and management of high-value healthcare contracts, sub-contracts and service level agreements (SLAs), ensuring compliance with NHS standards and legal requirements.
• Help lead the Trust's performance management approach, including supporting the delivery of the Integrated Quality and Performance Reporting (IQPR) framework and production of clear performance insight for Executive, Committee and Board audiences.
• Support delivery of national and contractual performance standards, including Ambulance Quality Indicators (AQIs), Integrated Urgent Care KPIs, and associated improvement plans.
• Maintain effective relationships with commissioners, suppliers, regulators and internal stakeholders, representing NEAS in relevant forums and deputising for the Head of Contracting and Performance as required.
• Provide leadership and development support to colleagues within the Contracting and Performance team, helping to maintain a high-performing and professional culture.
• Contribute to the annual planning and contracting cycles, and cross-functional projects supporting service improvement and long-term sustainability.

About us

We employ 3,500 staff in 63 locations and serve a population of 2,600,000 in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, and Tees over 3230 square miles. Many people think the job of the ambulance service is to collect patients and take them to hospital, but we do much more! Paramedic skills have developed hugely in recent years, meaning we carry out more treatment at the scene and en-route to hospital. We have a dedicated clinical assessment service that allows us to provide patients with the most appropriate care from the beginning of the patient journey. We have a specialised branch of the Trust called HART which deal with explosions or terrorist attacks. Ultimately patients are the heart of everything that we do to support our mission of 'safe, effective and responsive care for all'. We value and respect the diversity employees bring to our workplace. We recruit a workforce that reflects the community we serve, and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds.

To ensure we deliver on our aims in relation to diversity and inclusion we assess ourselves against a range of frameworks. We are ENEI Gold employer, Disability Confident Leader, Dementia Friendly, and part of Mind Blue Light programme and the Race at Work Charter from the Princes Responsible Business Network and are achieving across all objectives in NHS Equality Delivery System.

Person Specification

Education, Qualifications and Training

• Educated to Degree level in Healthcare Management, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent level of experience in a contracting and/or performance related role.
• Able to demonstrate working towards Post Graduate or Masters qualification in Healthcare Management, Business Administration, or relevant field.
• English language GCSE grade 4 or above.
• Mathematics GCSE grade 4 or above.

Desirable

• PRINCE2 or equivalent project management qualification.
• CIPS accredited Diploma in Procurement and Supply.
• Making Data Count training.

Experience

• Experience of prioritising and managing own workload to agreed deadlines with limited supervision.
• Experience of successfully negotiating high value healthcare contracts under tight deadlines and in challenging circumstances.
• Experience of leading collaborative performance improvement initiatives at a strategic level in conjunction with Directors and Senior Managers.
• Experience of developing and presenting high-quality papers and reports to Directors, Non-Executive Directors and Senior Managers on highly complex topics to provide situational awareness and support decision making.
• Experience leading and developing a team of highly capable professionals.

Desirable

• NHS Ambulance Service experience.
• Previous experience in senior NHS contracting and performance leadership roles.
• Experience leading complex procurement projects, including the establishment of new contracts and frameworks.
• Experience of delivering positive outcomes and results under financial constraint.

Key Skills, Knowledge and Aptitude

• Extensive knowledge of NHS contracting, performance and procurement frameworks for Ambulance Services and the key operational standards associated with each.
• Extensive understanding of NHS planning and contracting processes and documentation, including an in depth understanding of the NHS Standard Contract and Sub-Contract for Healthcare Services.
• In depth knowledge of the current climate within the NHS and the longer term strategic context that ambulance services are operating in.
• Excellent client/customer service and negotiation skills, with experience of proactively resolving issues in a collaborative way with members of staff at Senior Management and Director levels.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, able to deliver results on concurrent complex projects within challenging timescales.
• Able to analyse, interpret and present highly complex information tailored for specific audiences.
• In depth IT skills, with extensive experience in MS Office packages and remote access technology.
• Adept critical thinking and problem solving skills, with the ability to think creatively and stimulate action.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.