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Senior Contracts Advisor x 2

Location: Flexible (travel to other locations across Wales will be necessary) | Salary: G6, £35,994-£39,369 | Closing date: 10 July 2022

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full Time, 37 hours a week

Post number: 202974, 202976

As an organisation we support flexible working. This role allows hybrid working (a mix of home and office working) and a working pattern suitable for you can be discussed on appointment if you are successful.

You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home, of which you will be required to attend for regular meetings, training and for one-to-one meetings with your manager. These will be planned in advance.

Job Description

NRW’s purpose is to pursue the sustainable management of natural resources in Wales, this means that the work required of the new Contract Management Support Service (CMSS) will be extremely varied in interesting. NRW’s CMSS will support contract managers across a range of contract types, inclusive of, but not limited to, purchase contracts, grants, partnerships, leases and management agreements. NRW undertakes work relating to flood risk management, conservation, recreation, commercial work and land management activities.

The CMSS and its team members will play a vital role in the delivery of the NRW Commercial Strategy and Contract Management Plan; implementing best practice in contract management across NRW, promoting the benefits of a compliant, flexible process that achieves value for money for our stakeholders.

The department will rely on qualified and experienced contract management professionals to bring a depth of understanding of the subject matter, technical contract expertise and best practice contract management. The CM framework that the team will work within and support is aligned with the National Audit Office (NAO) Good Contract Management Practice and the Cabinet Office Contract Management Professional Standards.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include:

Support Contract Managers on medium to high risk contract management activities, advising on contract management process, governance, and outcomes throughout the contract management life cycle.
Provide specialist advice and guidance in order to manage commercial and sustainability risk, to improve ways of working and drive efficiency, as evidenced by improved value for money.
Ensures internal and external compliance with requirements e.g. data security, anti-fraud measures and supply chain sustainability, challenging instances of non-compliance.
Hold accountability under Managing our Money (NRW’s financial scheme of delegation), ensuring robust, compliant and value for money outcomes, with the ability to work autonomously and to make decisions without line manager input when needed.
Build and maintain influential and collaborative relationships with internal customers to ensure awareness of the opportunities, risks, and best practice relevant to contract management, influencing the work of our internal customers to provide positive outcomes.
Manage the structured transition between contract award and service delivery, communicating with stakeholders.
Mentor and coach others on commercial procedures, practices and techniques equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deliver their work in an effective and efficient manner.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

Knowledge and experience of the following:

Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) - Level 5/6, Diploma / Professional Diploma in Procurement and Supply (Working toward full membership or nearing completion) - (Essential)
The successful applicant will be expected to undertake and obtain the CMPC expert qualification in a timescale agreed with the Team Leader if not already qualified to that level.
Knowledge and understanding of relevant contract legislation and public sector policy. (Essential)
Substantial experience of influencing commercial decisions at a project or contract level. (Essential)
Experience of undertaking and leading commercial exercises, demonstrating success with their delivery. (Essential)
Transferrable experience of using commercial approaches to deliver business objectives. (Essential)
Knowledge and understanding of relevant contract legislation and public sector policy. (Essential)
Experience of undertaking high level and complex negotiations with supply partners. (Desirable)

Welsh language requirements:

202976, Essential Level 1 – Able to pronounce Welsh and use basic phrases

202974, Essential Level 4 – Fluent in spoken Welsh

Please note if you do not meet the level 1 requirement i.e., ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly, then NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us.

Competencies

Please note - Applications to this role will be assessed based on the following competencies, both at shortlisting and interview. Please give examples of how you demonstrate these competencies when completing your application form.

Essential Knowledge and Skills	Requirement to undertake a higher level of practical or technical task/work requiring specialist knowledge/expertise. Experts in a range of subjects relating to their profession. Delivery of technical/specialist services will require gravitas in their subject area. Objective advice to others on their knowledge and experience, keeping up to date with changes within technical/specialist fields. Experience gained from different organisations/roles/functions. Relevant substantial experience working in the relevant field. Ability to manage smaller, less complex programmes and/or manage projects on a larger scale.
Evaluation of Information	Interprets and understands the NRW operational delivery and strategy plans and it's wider context. Ability to analyse and interpret a wide range of complex information, extracting key points to communicate to individuals at all levels and contributing to the development of policy.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	Work guided by expected results but able to decide how best to achieve these. Guidance may be provided by peers but there will likely be a need for some degree of judgment or creativity to be applied. There may be a requirement to alter priorities due to conflicting demands. Objectives and targets will be reviewed on an intermediate basis. May involve management of medium sized projects. Responsible for making independent decisions with input from line management and peers and an understanding of NRW policy and the range of options available and their potential implications for the business. Involved in the development of organisation policy and will have a level of autonomy in the implementation of organisational policy. Decisions made could lead to changes in established procedure/practice for dealing with issues within the post-holder’s area of work. The consequence of taking wrong decisions could have an adverse effect on the organisation in relation to its external stakeholders such as partner organisations, lenders, service users etc. Decisions may concern a broad range of matters and the outcomes of some decisions may not always be immediately clear or apparent. Problems encountered may also relate to the work of other parts of the organisation and could be variable and diverse. The impact of decisions is likely to be wider than the immediate function or department and is likely to be medium term.
Impact	Moderate level of impact and influence, which is generally medium term in impact. Decisions and actions will influence others. The consequences of their decisions making/action will have a medium impact internally or externally. Identify or manage risks in their area of work.
Communication and Relationships with Others	Ability to link with other roles across the business, engaging the organisation in delivering polices and work plans in the most efficient way. Interaction with others may also be with people and organisations external to NRW. This will involve written and verbal communication, leading smaller, less complex projects, requiring persuasive skills. This may include facilitating and/or presenting at internal or external meetings, giving advice and input as required. There will be a requirement to foster and maintain good relationships and networks. Post holders will typically produce less complex documents, reports, accounts, contracts etc. Content will contain a lower level of advice, guidance or opinion which the recipient will act upon or use and which is likely to have detrimental consequences if incorrect or poorly drafted. Able to source information from multiple locations through research and apply professional judgment as to how the material should be interpreted; the impact of which is likely to be medium term in nature.
Responsibility for People	No direct line management responsibility but may have operational responsibility for leading specialist/technical staff, through non-complex technical/specialist programmes through a ‘matrix management’ structure. Will also mentor less experienced colleagues.

Benefits of working for us

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

agile and flexible working (role dependent)
Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 26.6% to 30.3%
28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days
generous leave entitlements for all your life needs
health and wellbeing benefits and support
weekly well-being hour to use at your choice

See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.

How to apply

Application form

Guidance on completing a job application form

Send completed applications forms to Applications@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk

Application closing date 10 July 2022

Interviews will take place on Microsoft Teams.

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Peter Lees on: peter.lees@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Natural Resources Wales embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunity. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented, including women, black and ethnic minority groups and people with a disability. We have a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

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