About the job

Job summary

Would you like to be part of our ambition to deliver customer excellence and value across the public sector, supporting delivery of world class public services?

Are you passionate about helping public sector organisations?

Do you possess exemplary leadership, account management and business development skills?

If you have answered yes to all of the above, then this role in Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Customer Experience team (CXD) could be the perfect position for you.

The Role

In this critical customer-focused leadership position, you will play a pivotal role in the development, implementation and delivery of exceptional commercial outcomes to NHS organisations, central government Health bodies and wider health customers across England, one of the priority sectors for CCS. Through effective strategic planning and close collaboration with stakeholders, you will drive customer satisfaction, value and benefit delivery and enable customers to purchase the goods and services, that will help their organisations in the delivery of patient care.

Customer Experience overview

The aim of the Customer Experience Directorate (CXD) is to embed a customer first mentality across CCS, in all ways of working, and at every point of customer interaction. Ultimately, we bring the voice of the customer to CCS to help them find the right commercial solution for their needs. Our job is to inform our colleagues throughout the organisation of what’s important to the customer, for example, social value and the ‘local’ agenda, however all with the overarching aim of delivering value to UK taxpayers

An example of the breadth of scope for CXD is our work with the NHS last year to provide solutions for virtual wards. This allowed over 100,000 patients to recover at home with hospital-level care, helping speed up their recovery while freeing up hospital beds for patients that need them most.

Team Summary

The Health, North and Central team is a newly formed team made up of  professional and experienced Account Managers and Business Development leads working across sectors and regions. The teams work closely with customers across the NHS, Local Government, Housing and Education sectors, supporting them in their objectives to buy common goods and services for their organisations.

Job description

Key Accountabilities

• Build strategic relationships with key health customers in order to deliver business growth in accordance with the CCS business plan and deliver commercial value to customers across the health sector in England.

• Responsible for developing and executing the health customer growth strategy 

• To provide customer input to influence the development of new opportunities, products and services that will add value and benefit to customers and thereby  increase spend through CCS solutions that deliver tangible benefits and improvement to our customers experience of using CCS

• As part of the CXD senior management team,you will be responsible for reviewing capability, efficiency and embedding core governance, including risks and issues, ensuring compliance with CCS and Civil Service procedures and completing audits as required

• Lead the delivery of the health customer account plan (in England) by working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders on new business opportunities and nurture existing business across the Health sector (England).

• Lead the overall delivery of health customer opportunities working with the Head of Health Strategy and the other Heads of Region to ensure that all business leads are rigorously converted through implementing robust processes for lead identification, qualification, tracking and conversion.

• Manage Health Sector customer satisfaction and expectations as measured by the CCS feedback tool, ensuring that ‘Customer First’ is embedded in process and procedures and provide customer feedback for service improvements

• Manage a team of Account Managers responsible for business development, retention and customer facing activities, such as meetings & presentations ensuring consistency in communication, CCS reputation and brand messaging

• Be the expert on wider health sector trends and ensure that by working with the Head of Health Strategy and the wider business that this is embedded in approaches and helps CCS to stay ahead of changes and impacts that could affect performance and present opportunities to deliver value

• Accountable  for the application of Strategic Account Management (SAM) across all health sector accounts 

• Be an exemplar and key driving force in the organisation’s customer relationship management (CRM) strategy, working day to day with your team and strategically with peers and internal delivery teams to deliver excellent customer experience

Person specification

Essential Criteria (to be assessed on application):

• Experience of working with health sector customers in NHS and central government, knowledge of the commercial operating environment and key drivers

• Expertise in senior stakeholder/account management, ideally in a government department or blue chip commercial organisation within the health sector

• A strong track record of delivering successful business development and account management strategies and plans that meet or exceed targets

• Strong analytical skills to identify customer opportunities and requirements, with an ability to demonstrate excellent business judgement when providing recommendations

• Exceptional team leadership and  be an outstanding communicator; who can build and maintain strong relationships ensuring excellent team morale.  The ability to work collaboratively and proactively in a dynamic and changing environment

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £68,771, Crown Commercial Service contributes £19,187 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.

Assessment 

If you are shortlisted, you will also be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel's decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Selection Process

Candidates who are successful at sift will be contacted as soon as possible following the closing date and advised of the interview process in more detail. The sift and interview times and dates to be confirmed. (Subject to change)

To find out more about our recruitment process please click here

Please note: Applicants can make use of artificial intelligence but the information presented at application must be factual.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitably similar vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview. Should you be placed on a reserve list and want to be removed please contact recruitment@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

Complaints procedure

Our recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles details of which can be found at http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

 If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact recruitment@crowncommercial.gov.uk in the first instance.

If you remain unsatisfied with the response you receive you can then contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.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 counter-terrorist 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.

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.