Contract Manager in Reading

Are you an experienced contracts professional with a strong understanding of NHS contracting, excellent negotiation skills and a passion for delivering value through effective partnership working? Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has an exciting opportunity to join our Income and Contracts Team. In this influential role, you will manage a portfolio of small to mid-sized acute contracts worth approximately 40 million, while supporting the Associate Director of Income and Contracts and the Contracts Lead with the management of contracts valued at around 1 billion.

Main duties of the job:

• You will play a key role in negotiating, implementing and monitoring contracts that support high-quality patient care and the Trust's strategic and financial objectives.
• Working closely with commissioners, partner organisations and internal stakeholders, you will help maximise income opportunities, ensure contractual compliance and contribute to the delivery of sustainable healthcare services.

This role is ideal for an individual with significant experience of the NHS Contract and NHS Payment Scheme, together with expertise in contract schedules, income and activity modelling, and stakeholder management. Commercial contracting experience would be an advantage.

Visa Sponsorship: This position is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must already hold the right to work in the UK for the full duration of the contract.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too. We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

Job responsibilities:

• Lead the negotiation, implementation and ongoing management of a portfolio of NHS and non-NHS contracts, ensuring they deliver value for money and support the Trust's strategic priorities.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with commissioners, healthcare providers and other partners to support collaborative working and successful contract delivery.
• Monitor contractual performance by analysing activity, finance and quality data, identifying risks and opportunities, and ensuring contractual obligations are met.
• Produce high-quality reports and present complex contractual and performance information to senior managers, commissioners and Trust committees.
• Support the development of income modelling, contract schedules and business cases to maximise income and inform strategic decision-making.
• Provide specialist advice on NHS contracting, national policy and contractual compliance to colleagues across the Trust.
• Contribute to procurement exercises, commercial opportunities, tender submissions and service development initiatives.
• Support robust contract governance, risk management and continuous service improvement to ensure high standards of performance and compliance.

Person Specification:

Qualifications:

• Essential: Educated to degree level or equivalent professional qualification or experience in a health or business-related discipline.
• Post graduate qualification or equivalent experience.
• Desirable: Project Management skills (e.g. MSP/Prince2).

Experience:

• Essential: Considerable experience in one or more of the following areas: Information Analysis, Contract Management, Commissioning or Business Management.
• Demonstrable experience of interpreting and analysing national guidance and or requirements.
• Experience of delivering training to small multi-disciplinary groups.
• Demonstrable experience of critically evaluating processes and recommending change.
• Desirable: Acute Trust experience.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Essential: Experience of technical contracting requirements.
• Experience and understanding of the contract negotiations framework within the NHS and impact on the business planning cycle.
• Ability to build relationships & communicate with stakeholders across organisational boundaries internal and external to the Trust.
• Ability to represent the Trust in contract negotiations with external stakeholders, including negotiating within the agreed boundaries to reach agreement.
• Demonstrable examples of analysing and interpreting complex, sensitive and contentious information, including presenting information to a wide range of audiences.
• Ability to use Word, Excel and Contract Management software to create contract summary reports, monitoring reports and contract performance reports.
• Demonstrate a Professional attitude with personal credibility, assertiveness, and self-confidence.
• Able to resolve conflict in a calm and professional manner.
• Must be able to also demonstrate experience in managing potentially contentious situations with staff and stakeholders, in particular the contract negotiation element of the role.
• Ability to manage a diverse portfolio of contracts and projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including clinical and executive colleagues.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to assimilate non-verbal communication.

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.