About the job

Job summary

The Government Legal Department is the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters that are frequently scrutinised in Parliament and the media. Our work includes:

• Developing and drafting legislation
• Providing legal advice on policies
• Securing our economic and trade relationships
• Ensuring value from commercial contracts worth billions of pounds
• Providing the Civil Service’s employment law advice

We are at the heart of delivering the Government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department, sponsored by the Attorney General. We are headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary and employ nearly 3000 people, including over 2000 legal professionals. Our offices include London, Leeds, Bristol, Croydon and Manchester as well as overseas. We provide specialist legal services including Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law as well as advising most Government Departments on the policies and services they deliver.

GLD also depends on a range of vital corporate services. These are essential to the smooth and efficient running of the Department and provide the foundation to enable GLD to deliver outstanding legal services. Our corporate functions include Strategy, HR, Finance, Digital, Data and Technology, Communications, Security, Commercial and Project delivery. 

Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation and a brilliant place to work where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential. This is an exciting time for GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.  

To find out more about what we do visit the Government Legal Department’s webpage or have a look at this short film which showcases the breadth of work government lawyers and legal trainees are involved in.

Job description

About the Panel Services Management Team

The Panel Services Management (PSM) Team is a small team of around 15 people which supports GLD and its central Government clients in their use of private sector law firms to supplement the work of GLD across its commercial, employment, advisory and litigation divisions.

GLD and its client Departments use the legal panels set up by Crown Commercial Service when they require legal services that cannot be delivered by GLD alone. The largest and most frequently used of these panels is the RM6179 Legal Services Panel (LSP), which provides access to 17 law firms providing (i) general legal services and (ii) finance and complex legal services. Where GLD or its clients require additional work from a law firm, they select the firm and enter into individual call off contracts with the selected firm. All 17 firms are considered “strategic suppliers” due to their importance to supporting GLD with their legal advice to Government.

The PSM Team perform two key functions to support GLD in its use of these strategic suppliers:

• Relationship management at panel level – acting as the key liaison point between GLD, client Departments and the firms to facilitate them in engaging more collaboratively to improve delivery of government objectives and increase mutual value beyond that originally contracted
• Call off contract management – set up and ongoing management of call off contracts under these panels

Members of the team support Departments in sourcing the correct law firm for each project and manage legal contracts for key departmental priorities and high profile litigation, working alongside our lawyers to ensure that excellent legal services are provided by our firms as and when they are needed.

Both elements of the PSM team work closely together to deliver a professional service to our GLD lawyers and their client Departments to allow them to focus on their legal work and ensure that the panel and the call offs are managed in line with best practice in procurement and contract management. The call off contract management team provide a full service to GLD’s Commercial Law Group, and a lighter touch service support to other areas of GLD.

The team supports teams from all GLD offices and individuals may be based in any of these offices, and all work flexibly. The team is critical in ensuring that GLD and Government uses the law firm panels effectively and appropriately.

About the Role

The Role

We are recruiting a contract manager to lead on working with CLG lawyers and lawyers across GLD to help them procure and manage contracts with panel law firms for a wide range of legal work including high profile and sensitive legal matters.  You’ll support delivering procurement advice, ensuring compliance with governance procedures and lead on effective contract management.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work collaboratively with other team members, senior stakeholders in multiple Government departments, GLD lawyers and external panel law firms. Collaboration is at the centre of everything we do and to foster this we aim to bring together our co-located contract managers within the PSM Team at regular intervals throughout the year. Therefore, you may be required to travel to Bristol, Leeds, London and Manchester from time to time.

We are seeking applications from individuals with an interest in progressing a career in contract management and procurement. We are looking for confident proactive team players, with the ability to prioritise their workload and be able to deliver a good quality service at pace.  The successful candidate should be able to communicate confidently and effectively with a wide range of senior stakeholders and build strong professional relationships. 

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables:

• Assisting GLD teams to develop pipelines of work suitable for outsourcing to panel law firms to support the teams’ delivery of their legal workload in a cost effective and strategic way
• Acting as a single point of contact for key clients, ensuring that you understand their portfolio of work, and lead on delivery of the work for them.
• Working alongside clients to establish business cases to use a panel law firm, ensuring that budgets and contracts has been established before the firm starts working on the project
• Advising on new procurement processes through the LSP or other CCS panels based on available guidance and knowledge of the panel within the PSM team
• Drafting contractual documents that fit with the customer’s needs, based on agreed templates and guidance
• Establishing and maintaining contract management processes to ensure that external legal contracts are managed effectively, in line with GCF best practice
• Identify and manage risks and issues in the portfolio, and establish appropriate and timely mitigations
• Keeping management information trackers up to date and analysing available information and provide reports as required to assist GLD departments government departments to inform their decisions about using the panel
• Actively providing training and advice to GLD wider colleagues to support them in using the LSP.  This may include presenting to groups, supporting individuals, as well as supporting the production of internal guidance and training collateral as required
• Supporting or possibly line managing Contract Officer(s) (EO Grade) in their work in ensuring purchase orders and invoices are approved
• Developing, sharing and implementing best practice, and taking responsibility for continuous improvement of the PSM team

Person specification

Behaviours- Essential

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role.

You will be expected to provide evidence to show how you meet the criteria at interview and/or selection stage.

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

• Managing a quality service (Lead Behaviour)

Develop, implement, maintain and review systems and services to ensure delivery of professional excellence. Work with stakeholders to set priorities, objectives and timescales. Successfully deliver high quality outcomes that meet the customers’ needs and gives value for money. Identify risks and resolve issues efficiently. Involve a diverse range of colleagues, stakeholders and delivery partners in developing suggestions for improvements. Establish ways to find and respond to feedback from customers about the services provided.

• Working together

Encourage joined up teamwork within own team and across other groups. Establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders. Collaborate with these to share information, resources and support. Invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another. Put in place support for the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs.

Make it clear to all team members that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable. Actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

• Making effective decisions

Understand own level of responsibility and empower others to make decisions where appropriate. Analyse and use a range of relevant, credible information from internal and external sources to support decisions. Invite challenge and where appropriate involve others in decision making. Display confidence when making difficult decisions, even if they prove to be unpopular. Consult with others to ensure the potential impacts on end users have been considered. Present strong recommendations in a timely manner outlining the consideration of other options, costs, benefits and risks.

• Communicating and influencing

Communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner, choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact. Encourage the use of different communication methods, including digital resources and highlight the benefits, including ensuring cost effectiveness. Ensure communication has a clear purpose and takes into account people’s individual needs. Share information as appropriate and check understanding. Show positivity and enthusiasm towards work, encouraging others to do the same. Ensure that important messages are communicated with colleagues and stakeholders respectfully, taking into consideration the diversity of interests

Experience

Essential Criteria

• Ability to manage own workload and work on own initiative with tight and challenging deadlines
• Excellent professional communication skills (written and verbal), with ability to lead on active and reactive communication
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and advise them on the best course of action when presented with various options
• Ability to prioritise competing tasks to balance completing urgent tasks and routine tasks within deadlines
• Experience of working within a team and providing support to a team
• Good working knowledge of using Microsoft packages Word, Teams, Excel and Outlook

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working in a contract management or procurement role
• Experience of working with lawyers and/or knowledge of legal terminology
• Ability to work across teams and build strong professional relationships.
• Experience in leadership or mentoring
• GCF Contract Management Foundation level qualification

Civil Service Code

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of you and other civil servants. These are based on the core values which are set out in legislation. As a civil servant, you are expected to carry out your role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values of:

• ‘integrity’ is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests
• ‘honesty’ is being truthful and open
• objectivity’ is basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence
• ‘impartiality’ is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions

These core values support good government and ensures the achievement of the highest possible standards in all that the Civil Service does.

For further information about Civil Service recruitment processes and Success profiles, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,393, Government Legal Department contributes £8,476 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.

The Recruitment Process

Application

To apply for this role please submit the following online on Civil Service Jobs before Monday 1st July 2024 at 12:00 noon

• An online CV setting out your career history, skills and qualifications to assess your experience. The CV will be scored.
• A personal statement of no more than 1000 words, detailing (i) your motivation to work in this role (ii) your suitability for the role, demonstrating how you meet the person specification Essential Criteria through reference to your previous Experience and how this can be transferred to the role. Please make particular reference to the lead behavior, Managing a Quality Service as outlined in the person specification essential criteria.

Please note, if large number of applications are received, we will sift on the Personal Statement alone.

Selection Process

After the closing date, the appointing panel shall assess candidates’ suitability for the role based on evidence provided in their application against the behaviours and experience outlined in the person specification.

Interview

Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you will be assessed on your performance from the person specification essential criteria listed below, alongside strength-based questions.

• Working together
• Making effective decisions
• Communicating and influencing

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Interviews will probably take place remotely via video conference, full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.] The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

Offer

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final interview.

We appoint in strict order of merit. If you meet the minimum criteria for this position but are not successful for a post, you will be placed on the reserve list for up to 12 months.  We then may contact you to see if you are interested in a post at the same, or a lower grade, in GLD should one arise.

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.