Senior Contract Assurance Manager

This is a fantastic opportunity to take on a high-impact senior level role where you’ll help strengthen our commercial capability and deliver real value for money for the taxpayer. As part of a close-knit, supportive team, you’ll work across a diverse range of procurement and contract management activities, giving you variety, visibility and the chance to make a meaningful difference.

As our subject matter expert for Quantity Surveying and Contract Management, you’ll shape how we operate by leading improvement initiatives, developing clear and practical guidance, and ensuring lessons learned are shared across the organisation. You’ll also play a key role in building capability by supporting and delivering training across NRS, helping colleagues work with confidence and consistency.

What will you be doing

In this role, you will play a central part in strengthening commercial governance and assurance across the organisation. You’ll support or lead the implementation of key internal control mechanisms, ensuring robust management practices are consistently applied, and deliver deep-dives into how contracts have performed, highlighting areas of improvement. A key part of your work will involve creating clear, practical guidance and delivering training on relevant processes, policies, and best use of the NEC contract structure, particularly during contract creation. You will also be responsible for ensuring that lessons learned from projects, contracts, and key activities are captured and shared across the function and wider organisation. You will drive clarity in roles and responsibilities within contract management and take the lead on developing and embedding contract assurance mechanisms. You’ll own and maintain key commercial processes, ensuring they remain accurate, relevant, and up to date. Working collaboratively with colleagues in programme delivery, finance, and estimating, you will support successful project and contract delivery, as well as effective contract close-out.

Who are we looking for

To succeed in this role, you will bring a Level 6 (England/Wales) or Level 10 (Scotland) qualification, or equivalent relevant experience, alongside CIPS Level 6 or Chartered Membership of a relevant institute. You will have comprehensive knowledge of best-practice procurement principles, contract law, the operation of the NEC suite of contracts, and UK public procurement legislation, as well as strong experience in contract management and providing authoritative commercial advice both verbally and in writing. Strong planning and organisational skills, excellent stakeholder relationship management, including at senior levels, confident presentation skills, and solid IT capability are all essential. Experience in creating and maintaining governance and assurance processes is desirable and would further strengthen your application.