About the job

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. Responsible for courts, prisons and probation services, we work to ensure sentences are served and offenders are given rehabilitation opportunities to become law-abiding citizens.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has one of the largest and most complex spend profiles in central government. The Commercial and Contract Management Directorate (CCMD) is responsible for coordinating procurement and contract management across the MoJ, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. 

The MoJ spends £7.5bn a year and manages over 1000 active contracts, all of which are sourced and managed by CCMD. We are running some of the most groundbreaking programmes such as Prison Reform and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service Reform. The scope of our contracts ranges from building, maintenance and the operation of Prisons, Courts and Young Offender establishments through to food for prison dogs. The directorate also buys and manages contracts for feeding up to 80,000 prisoners, the secure escorting of prisoners from numerous establishments based around the country and translation services. 

CCMD is organised into category teams, each with an interesting portfolio of contracts and diverse customers and suppliers to manage. We also have systems, programme management office, supplier relationship and risk management teams who work across all areas.
 
SCOPE

Portfolio – Rehabilitation Services - Prison Education 

Prison Education can transform lives and is shown to dramatical reduce reoffending, working in the commercial prison education team will give you an opportunity to contribute to this rewarding work and develop your commercial skills as part of a supportive high performing team.

The Prison Education category team is responsible for approximately £152m of spend per year and works with HMPPS to manage the outsourced education contracts ensuring delivery of the contracts and high-quality education.  The team is also procuring the next generation of education contracts and will lead commercially in exiting current contracts, whilst mobilising new services from 2025. 

This role will have a breadth of interest and give a real opportunity to join a well-established team working closely with local prison educational teams, Operational and Policy colleagues to support the rehabilitation of prisoners, reducing rates of re-offending and contributing measurable social value to society.

We are seeking a Commercial Professional with the right personal qualities – enthusiasm, energy, proactivity, collaborative, prepared to work as part of a team and under their own initiative and to be flexible and adaptable in a demanding environment. 
This post provides a great opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge whilst contributing to the delivery of a high profile programme.

Key Responsibilities 

Reporting to a Senior Commercial Manager, the post holder will be responsible for leading on commercial activity for HMPPS Prison Education for procurement and contract management including but not limited to:

•    Leading end to end sourcing activity including pre-procurement activity, requirements definition, strategy development, market engagement and producing the invitation to tender pack (including specification, technical and financial evaluation and contract drafting)
•    Leading contract implementation and management activity, working closely with stakeholders to deliver mobilisation, performance management, contract variation, negotiation and exit activity. 
•    Further defining scope of mobilisation activity, key milestones and commercial advice regards risks, dependencies and opportunities in order to achieve successful exit and mobilisation.
•    Strategy development at contract level, using business acumen and market insight to drive commercial opportunities to deliver continuous improvement, value for money and/or savings.
•    Preparation and development of the Commercial contract strategy, engaging with stakeholders to develop and capture requirements.
•    To enable the Commercial elements of the Cabinet Office approval. 
•    To develop and lead Commercial tender activity on the Jaggaer/Bravo eProcurement platform.
•    Providing professional commercial advice and contribute to develop supplier relationships in partnership with HMPPS
•    Liaison and developing the relationships with key stakeholders such as Prison Education Contract Management (CMT), Finance, Legal and Policy Teams
•    Analysing market, spend and performance data and presenting this to support commercial activity.
•    Provide professional commercial advice and contribute to develop supplier relationships in partnership with HMPPS.
•    Provide commercial oversight of supplier performance. 
•    Ensure contract compliance by maintaining the obligation tracker and ensure compliance with Cabinet Office guidance and new legislative requirements.
•    Commercial management of Education Contracts, including developing and managing contract variations and change governance process. 
•    Contribute to managing supplier performance ensuring a consistent approach across all Prison Education arrangements, including application of improvement notices/financial penalties (i.e. service credits) for under-performance. 
•    Contribute to identify and manage risk for the Authority, including developing and implementing mitigation strategies.
•    Support the operational contract managers to deliver and maintain their contract plans.
•    Provide professional commercial service to all relevant stakeholders, operating at all times as an ambassador within CCMD and the wider commercial profession
•    Supporting the Senior Commercial Manager and leading on activities which support the development of category management procedures, tools and ways of working 
•    Comply with all Departmental controls relating to commercial practice and otherwise, including strict adherence to delegated authorities, and ensure that staff do the same.
•    May include line management responsibilities of Commercial Band C and / Band B roles. 

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

o    Experience creating and delivering sourcing exercises end to end (from identification of business need through to award and mobilisation).
o    Delivery and management of procurement materials (e.g. procurement strategies, specifications, evaluation criteria). 
o    Experience of contract management in a commercial environment.
o    The ability to successfully influence senior internal and external stakeholders.
o    The ability to use your judgement to take a considered approach to situations and tasks.
o    Experience of seeking out and analysing information, and making evidence-based decisions.
o    Excellent written and oral communication skills you will be a team player who leads by example.
o    Experience of working with multiple stakeholders to problem solve and achieve positive outcomes. 
Desirable Criteria:
o    Awareness of public sector procurement legislation including EU Rules and UK interpretations; 
o    Working knowledge of Procurement Systems, e.g. Oracle (ERP) and/or Jaggaer (Bravo) 
o    Experience of procuring goods and services, and/or role specific with regards to technology services or raw materials 
o    Contract Management experience 
o    The ability to drive improved outcomes by influencing and developing the market. 
o    Relevant category knowledge and/or industry experience

Application stage (Sifting):

An initial sift will be performed against the following elements:

Experience:

•    CV
•    Statement of Suitability - 750 words

If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to an interview and will be assessed on the selected success profile elements at the interview stage. Please carry a valid proof of Id that has your photo on it (passport, BRP, driving licence etc) at the interview.

Interview stage:

There is one interview stage for this vacancy and as part of the interview process you will be required to provide evidence on the following: 

Behaviours

•    Managing a Quality Service        
•    Seeing the Big Picture        
•    Delivering at Pace        
•    Changing & Improving 
•    Making Effective Decisions
    
Presentation

Candidates who are invited to interview will be required to give a 10-minute presentation as part of the interview process, the presentation topic shall be given at the interview stage. 

Strengths may also be assessed at interview.

Please also refer to the People Standards for the profession (Associate Commercial Lead) – Attributes for Government Commercial Professionals – Section A: Judgement and Leadership. [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/984460/__Government_Commercial_Function__GCF__People_Standards_for_the_Profession_Version_3.0_.pdf  

Please use STAR approach to structure your examples.
· Situation – Describe the situation you found yourself in and what happened.
· Task – The Hiring Manager will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation that you found yourself in.
· Action – What actions did you take and how did you do it. Make sure to use “I”, not “we” to explain how your actions lead to a result.
· Result – Use facts and statistics to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience. 

Further information on the Success profile elements can be found on Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
 
New entrants are expected to join on the pay minimum. Higher starting salary and / or Recruitment & Retention Allowance (RRA) may be available for successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience.

‘’The specialist allowance applies to suitably qualified candidates (CIPS, World CC or any other Commercial Professional Qualification). We will consider applications from non-qualified candidates, who are willing to develop and work towards a recognised qualification in order to meet the full requirements of the role. Further details can be provided during the recruitment process’’

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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.