Location

Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Felixstowe, Gartcosh, Leicester, London*, Normanton (Calder), Sunderland, and Warrington. *For London based roles your contractual place of work will be Stratford. However, as that site will not be operational until early 2025 in the interim period you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall, or such other reasonable location, on a temporary basis. For the avoidance of doubt as your contractual place of work is Stratford, the move from any temporary place of work will not give rise to any entitlement to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy. Successful applicants currently employed by NCA for this post may request to remain in their current contractual location. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment checks. Please note this is dependent on business needs, please commence discussions with the hiring manager at the earliest opportunity.

About The Job

Job summary

Do you want to protect the public from serious and organised crime? Do you want to be at the start of leading a Commercial Transformation, adding scope in your role and having full visibility? Do you want to take your knowledge and expertise in Procurement to the next level? If the answer is yes, we want to hear from you. This is an exciting opportunity to support the delivery of the NCA Commercial Strategy, which is fundamental to the achievement of departmental and wider government priorities. Commercial is a major corporate function in Government and getting the right commercial capability is at the heart of Civil Service Reform.

Would you like to learn more about the role?

If you would like to find out more about the role and the application process, we will be holding virtual open evenings via MS Teams on Tuesday 10th September 2024, 18:00 - 19:00. This event is by invitation only. If you would like to receive an invite please click through to the link below - you will be asked for your name and email address.

Click here to attend information session.

Please ensure you register your interest no later than 3 pm on Monday 9th September 2024. You will not be able to complete this form after this date and time. Please see our Privacy Notice within the Important information document attached to this advert for details on how your data is handled.

Job Description

As Head of Contract Management you will be instrumental in shaping, enhancing and delivering the NCA contract management strategy with the objective of delivering positive commercial outcomes for the agency. You will provide strategic leadership to enable full transition of your team and the business to become a well-established part of the NCA’s Commercial function.

The Commercial Strategy aims to deliver against four key criteria:

Improve commercial compliance and capability
Deliver added value through commercial
Understand our markets and suppliers
Deliver an enhanced customer journey

You will own a portfolio of the NCA's top tier contracts, defined as high silver, gold and major Government contracts. Each portfolio may span several contracts from multiple business areas.

You will be a dynamic, forward thinking leader who can create and embed a Centre of Excellence approach to commercial contract and supplier management. You will undertake significant proactive business partnering with commercial delivery colleagues and policy stakeholders who undertake operational contract management.

Elevating our commercial presence with suppliers is a key facet of the role. Driving supplier performance and strategic relationship management to deliver additional value and mitigate key risks for the NCA.

As the NCA Commercial function continues a transformational journey, you will be an advocate of change, visibly leading and supporting your team, engaging with stakeholders to communicate and embed improved ways of working, and delivering the benefits of transformation.

Please note; Ad-hoc travel outside of your usual place of work will be expected as part of this role.

We are currently advertising for the below campaigns:

G1 Head of Commercial Strategy & Assurance

G1 Head of Commercial Operational Categories

G1 Head of Commercial Business Partnering and Major Projects

G1 Head of Commercial DDaT Catagories

G1 Head of Contract Management.

If you apply across multiple campaigns, you will need to submit an application for each role you are interested in.

Should you be successful across multiple campaigns, you will only be required to attend 1 interview where you will be assessed on the relevant criteria for the role(s) you have applied for.

To be considered, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance before commencing the role. ***

Person specification

Main Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Lead creation, implementation and operation of a new Centre of Excellence for Commercial Contract & Supplier Management. Actively driving collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to successfully embed the new operating model is a key responsibility.
Drive performance of your team, motivating and supporting them to deliver an excellent and high-quality commercial service to our customers.
For gold and high-risk silver contracts/grants: In collaboration with Commercial Delivery (procurement) and the business, lead team to deliver key elements of the “manage” part of the contracting lifecycle, including; establish & maintain supplier relationships; manage risk and opportunity; maintain key contract documentation; lead on supplier disputes; negotiate and execute variations; deliver exit and transition activities.
Lead delivery of best practice commercial contract and supplier management across own portfolio, actively contributing to cross-cutting opportunities to increase value return from vfm, social value and innovation.
Support building of a professional home and vibrant community for best practice value adding contract and supplier management, that encourages actionable insight sharing.
Drive increased business engagement and buy in to best practice contract management., influencing its importance and driving improvements in ways of working between operational and commercial contract management.
Identify and deliver strategies for supplier management including focused elevation of the commercial relationship, to maximise value and mitigate key risk.
Deliver cash and efficiency savings as a result of commercial contract management intervention strategies, including identification of cross-cutting opportunities to drive innovation across in scope contracts/grants.
Lead management of risk for own portfolio, ensuring CCM support and supplier financial monitoring is in place for gold and high-risk silver contracts/grants.
Actively drive risk mitigation by supporting an increase in the quality of contract management within the business via adoption of the Contract Mgmt. Capability Programme.

Qualifications

The following qualifications/skills are essential to the role and proof will be required at interview:

CIPS/MCIPS or relevant commercial experience/accreditation.

Please ensure the dates of any accreditations you are relying on, are entered on to the CV.

Should you progress to the assessment stage of the process, you will be required to provide a copy of the original certificate.

Failure to provide evidence at interview may result in your application not progressing to the next stage.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Leadership
Making Effective Decisions
Seeing the Big Picture
Changing and Improving

Technical Skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence, engage, lead and resolve conflict.
The ability to lead and develop a team of commercial professionals within own and wider project team.
Expertise and leadership in the delivery or enabling of commercial benefits and value add through procurement and supplier management activities.
Evidence of managing challenging, complex contracts with a focus on risk. Ability to lead supplier performance issues and disputes.
In-depth experience leading contract management activities which secure value for money outcomes. Applies strategic approach to planning and executing commercial strategies which adopts a continuous improvement focus.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £78,847, National Crime Agency contributes £21,288 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

All officers in the NCA are members of the UK Civil Service. You will be eligible for:

Civil Service pension scheme
26 days annual leave rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service
If qualifying criteria is met new joiners to the NCA from UK Police Forces or UKIC will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for Annual Leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).
Training and development opportunities
Special leave
Flexible working and family friendly policies
Cycle to work scheme
Blue Light scheme

For further details on benefits please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/benefits-and-support

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

If you wish to apply for this vacancy, you must submit your application by 23:55 on Sunday 15th September 2024.

You will be asked to complete a CV as part of the application process. Your CV should set out your career history including training and qualifications, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure that each entry of your career history also has a few sentences outlining a description and the key elements of that role, and that you provide reasons for any gaps within the last two years. Please ensure the dates of any accreditations you are relying on are entered onto the CV.

CV- CV has to be assessed on relevant experience in line with the role and responsibilities.
Technical.Experience skills - Via a 250 word statement per criteria as outlined in the person specification above.

For further application guidance please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/applying-and-onboarding

Once submitted your application will be acknowledged by the Government Recruitment Service.

A panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Entry Criteria section.

Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift results are expected to be released w/c Monday 23rd September 2024.

Interview Details

Please note: This vacancy process will consist of 2 interview stages.

The first interview stage will assess the behaviour ‘Leadership’. Candidates are required to present a 10 minute presentation. Details will be provided to candidates successful from sift. Following the presentation, candidates will have 20 minutes to answer questions provided by an interview panel, consisting of business partners and members of the commercial team.

Candidates who pass the first interview stage will be invited to the second stage of the interview.

The second interview stage will consist of an in tray exercise followed by hypothetical/competency based questions relating to the remaining behaviours outlined in the person specification

Presentation /Interview dates September 2024 and October 2024 - locations to be confirmed. Please be advised that the type of interview (eg. virtual/face-to-face) may be subject to change and successful candidates will be notified of this prior to attending. However the interview is conducted, the interview criteria will remain as detailed within this advert.

The above sift and interview dates are an indicative timeline.

Should you be successful at sift but cannot attend on the interview date(s) listed the recruitment team cannot guarantee an alternative date. Please contact the recruitment team.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Any instances of plagiarism including copying of examples/answers from internet sources will result in a withdrawal of your application. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Interview Outcome

Candidates will be alerted of the outcome of their interview via their CS Jobs Portal. We will be retaining a candidate pool of successful applicants to draw from as vacancies arise for up to 12 months.

If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible.

Once we make you an offer you will then go through our vetting and pre-employment checks processes.

All Appointments will be made in location merit order.

Internal Applicants

Successful applicants currently employed by NCA for this post may request to remain in their current contractual location. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment checks. Please note this is dependant on business needs, please commence discussions with the hiring manager at the earliest opportunity.

Multi-Location

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role.

Please note, only advertised location can be offered. Notes populated in a free text box will not be taken into consideration.

Near Miss

If you are not found appointable at the advertised grade you may be offered the lower grade role if you are considered to meet the skills, experience and behaviours for the lower level. The benchmark for appointing to the lower grade is set at the start of each campaign. All offers will be made in merit.

If you are found appointable at the higher grade but there are no positions available you may be offered an appointment at the lower grade.

Hybrid Working

Here at the NCA we have a hybrid working arrangement in place enabling officers to work a proportion of their role remotely. Eligibility and the degree of home working will vary depending on the requirements of the role. Further details can be discussed at offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. As part of our application process you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process that you may need. If you have a disability or long-term condition (a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities , we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Inclusion and Accessibility

We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process. For details of the available group please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/benefits-and-support

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, the NCA require certain personal details about you on submission of your application. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application. You will be asked to complete an E-consent survey asking for permission to share this data with the NCA to be used for statistical/monitoring purposes only, refusal of consent to share the information will not impact your application.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Additional Information

The NCA is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.
Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.
Successful candidates may be required to undertake a medical. If required, the medical will take place in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.
If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted. You will remain on the reserve list for a max of 12 months

Vetting Requirements Sc

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
Security Services records

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA careers page for further information please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers

If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered above please contact: ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) . See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality Requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : NCA Recruitment Team - GRS
Email : ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint in relation to any stage of the recruitment and selection process please email Central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk . please ensure that you refer to the campaign reference number. If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint you have the right to contact the Civil Service Commission to pursue it further.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/

National Crime Agency (NCA)

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