Contract Officer

Job Summary

Are you looking to embark on a career within the NHS? An exciting opportunity has arisen for exceptional candidates to join the Trust as Contracts Officers. The four acute Trusts in the Black Country (The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust) have recently agreed to the creation of a single contracting team who will manage all clinical service contracts on behalf of the Trusts. We are now looking for two Contract Officers to join this team. Reporting to a Contracts Manager, these posts will manage a specific portfolio of contracts and be responsible for ensuring that all contractual implications are accounted for.

This is a role that would suit someone looking to forge a career within the NHS. The Trust offers a stimulating, supportive and enjoyable work environment with a mix of office and home-based working. An office base is potentially available at any of the Trusts within the Black Country. The postholder would benefit from training in NHS contracting as well as access to other professional development opportunities and the opportunity to progress within the team.

Main Duties of the Job

The post holder will be responsible for:

1. Assisting in the negotiation and management of a range of healthcare contracts including NHS, Non-NHS, Community, Council, Third Party (Voluntary) Sector and any other emerging contracts.
2. Responsible for the production of reports within agreed timescales.
3. Organisation and co-ordination of meetings, creation and distribution of agendas and meeting papers.
4. Disseminating information to a range of internal and external stakeholders.
5. Assisting in the development and maintenance of contracts database and shared folder.
6. Supporting the process of ongoing contract review for a range of Providers.
7. Supporting Contracts Managers to manage their portfolio of healthcare contracts.

About Us

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the West Midlands providing primary, acute and community services and we are incredibly proud of the diversity of both our staff and the communities we serve. We are building a workforce that can help us to fulfil our values, improve the quality of care for patients, and solve the health care problems of tomorrow. We're passionate about the value that diversity of thinking and lived experience brings in enabling us to become a learning organisation and leader in delivering compassionate care for our patients.

We are delighted that we have been rated as 'Good' by CQC. We have achieved numerous awards; The Nursing Times Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff in 2020.

The Trust is a supportive working environment committed to creating flexible working arrangements that suit your needs and as such will consider all requests from applicants who wish to work flexibly.

Date Posted: 29 October 2024

Pay Scheme: Agenda for Change

Band: Band 5

Salary: £29,970 to £36,483 a year per annum

Contract: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full-time

Reference Number: 225-CORP-6691646

Job Locations: RWT, DGFT, WHT or SWBH, Wolverhampton, WV10 0QP

Job Responsibilities

1. To support the effective contractual management of a portfolio of Black Country Acute providers with the direction from Contracts Managers.
2. Monitoring and report the progress of the financial, activity quality aspects of contracts and associated workstreams, tracking of milestones, KPIs and reporting of key risks.
3. Support operational, managerial and corporate colleagues in the management of their contracts and act as a centre of excellence on SLA-related topics.
4. Assist in the development and construction of robust contracts such as NHS subcontracts, provider to provider subcontracts, provider agreements and memorandum of understandings.
5. Ensure effective engagement and working relationships with Commissioner and Provider representatives to ensure performance monitoring of contracts is undertaken and recorded in line with appropriate regulations and frameworks.
6. Prepare and collate the information required for regular contract performance meetings and reports highlighting areas of risk and concern, including outcomes data.
7. Support Contracts Managers across a wide range of internal / external meetings and working groups.
8. Provide effective administration cover and flexible support to the wider contracting team, including maintenance of office processes and protocols and develop maintain the contracts database.
9. Take responsibility for the efficient organisation and maintenance of a centralised computer-based filing system for all Trust contracts.
10. Support the administration of the contract database and facilitate and track the issue of contracts for signing.
11. Ensure the integrity of the Contracting Team by maintaining a professional manner and ensure all contacts with internal and external stakeholders are in a professional and welcoming manner.
12. Develop a good working knowledge of contracts held by the Trust and sources of information to be able to respond to queries where required.
13. Undertake specific project management work to assist in the delivery of key objectives and work strategies.

Please refer to the attached job description and personal specification for the full job description and main responsibilities.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent professional knowledge
• A levels

Experience/Skills

• Excellent track record of meeting deadlines and delivering objectives in a timely manner
• Experience of developing and producing reports
• Ability to deal with challenging requirements from managers / work stream leaders in a calm, diplomatic and professional manner.
• Proficient in the use of MS Office applications, in particular, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook

Desirable

• Experience of working in a Contract Support role
• Working in the NHS, healthcare or public sector environment
• Evidence of developing Service Level Agreements

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement.

Additional Information

Employer Details

Employer Name: The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

Address: RWT, DGFT, WHT or SWBH, Wolverhampton, WV10 0QP

Employer's Website: https://www.royalwolverhampton.nhs.uk/