About the job

Job summary

Our Mission

We are known as IfATE, we are a group of passionate people who work with employers to develop, approve, review and revise apprenticeships and technical qualifications.

We are transforming and improving the skills system by putting employers at the heart and making it easier to navigate for all.

You will be part of an organisation that works to help people of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to maximise their potential, contribute to improving social mobility and the UK’s productivity.

Find out more about the work of IfATE in the ‘What we do’ page on our website.

We are building an inclusive culture to make IfATE a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, and actively welcome applications from everyone including those from underrepresented groups.

Job description

As a Contracts Support Officer, you will be part of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education: Commercial Delivery Division.

You will be at the forefront of transforming the technical education landscape providing administrative support to the team who manage the T Level Contracts.  

Your role will be to support the smooth and efficient running of the Commercial Delivery Division by providing administrative support and coordination of work activities in the area of contract management. You will establish positive relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

You will be gaining skills, knowledge and developing expertise to build a career in Commercial and Procurement.

As a Contracts Support Officer, you will actively support the management of the T Level contracts by undertaking tasks set by the Contract Managers in the Division. Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

• Assisting with T Level contract management tasks and projects as required, these include but are not limited to the following;
• Supporting the Senior Contract Managers to deliver a high quality and tailored secretariat service to the Awarding Organisation Monthly Performance Review and weekly meetings.
• Secretariat for the Awarding Organisation meetings including finalising agendas, provision of accurate and timely minutes, and maintaining key documentation including action and decision logs.
• Establish 'meeting schedules' regularly reviewing the meeting structures and looking at how to strengthen to maximise the use of time.
• Supporting and organising face to face meetings and events with external stakeholders by finding a suitable venue and arranging hospitality.
• Maintaining the internal document management and storage system. Ensuring latest documents are stored correctly and version control is appropriately applied.
• Supporting review of Contractual documents submitted by suppliers.
• Ensuring that all contractual documents are administered and managed using an e-signature solution.
• To support management of the Contract Management System by extracting key data reports and other tasks where necessary.
• Building an effective relationship with internal and external stakeholders by responding to enquires and escalating where necessary.
• Work broadly across the Commercial Delivery Division according to business need.

Working flexibly is important to the success of the Commercial Delivery team, and while you will have specific responsibilities related to T Levels, you will also contribute to a ‘one team’ approach and may be asked to cover a range of commercial activities as appropriate.

Person specification

The successful candidate will have a strong commitment to learning and developing key skills in Commercial and Procurement. You are pro-active in delivering initiatives, processes, new ways of working, improvements, efficiencies, and excellent commercial outcomes. You will need to be customer focused to investigate and manage internal and external queries and maintain the flow of contract management processes. You will need to be inquisitive and able to find creative solutions to problems whilst following commercial guidelines, and obligations. You will need to be enthusiastic and keen to support contract management projects.

Essential Criteria

• Organised and proactive, with high attention to detail and an ability to grasp information quickly from a range of sources
  
  
• A strong focus on delivering successful outcomes and on identifying solutions, not just the problems
  
  
• Recognising emerging risks and issues and knowing when to seek advice
  
  
• Experience of engaging with a range of suppliers and internal or external stakeholders
  
  
• Ability to communicate matters clearly and concisely, including presenting to internal and external stakeholders
  
  
• An interest in commercial and legal issues in contracts and procurement

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working within a contract management or commercial environment
• Experience of using e-Contract Management Systems
• Achieved or willing to work towards a professional commercial accreditation such as CIPS

Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,085, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education contributes £8,662 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 Experience and Technical skills.

Application

You will be asked to submit a Personal statement (word count: 750) in which you will need to evidence how you meet the essential criteria listed above.

Please can you also submit a CV which details your employment history and qualifications. This will not be scored and will be used as a supporting document.

The personal statement will be assessed at sift.  If we receive high volumes of applications, we will sift only on the first essential criteria, so please ensure that the first 150-200 words of your statement are aligned to this criterion.

Candidates eligible for the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) will be invited to interview if they meet the minimum criteria at application stage.  Please refer to the Candidate Information Pack for more details.

Interview

The interview will involve a discussion around your Experience and Technical skills based on the adverts’ criteria, your CV, and your statement.

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

•  Government Commercial Function People Standards for the Profession
• The competency level for this role is: Commercial Support
• You will be assessed against Contract & Supplier Management, Section 1

Sift is expected to take place w/c 1 January 2024.
Interviews are expected to take place w/c 15 January 2024.

Please note, the above dates are subject to change.

Interviews will be expected to take place remotely via MS Teams. Please refer to Candidate Information Pack for further information on the process.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education does not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. Any move to IFATE from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk Reasonable Adjustment If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, 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 IFArecruitment.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 an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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. 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.