Purpose:
The Contract and Cost Management Lead is a critical senior leadership role within the Procurement and Contract Management, reporting directly into the Head of Procurement and Contract Management, the most senior commercial professional across the whole organisation.
The main elements and purpose of this role are:
- To serve as a technical leader in delivering value through the strategic management of contractual and cost matters, delivering consistent cost and contract management outcomes across ABP
- This role will be accountable for leading the Procurement & Contract Management Centre of Excellence, Contract assurance including establishing and leading engagement with the supply chain.
- Accountable for driving compliance with contractual commitments to deliver value.
- Champions continuous improvement, aligning strategies with ABP policies, taking into account internal and external forces and best practices.
- Acting as the Technical lead, developing and supporting the contract and growth of capability. This role requires demonstration of wide-ranging leadership skills in strategic relationship management and strategic direction setting.
- Develop and oversee Contract & Cost strategy: including advising on risk allocation to support the delivery strategy. Lead governance processes and establish reporting mechanisms to ensure compliance, measure performance, and provide commercial assurance.
Scope of Role:
- Responsible for steering the Contract & Cost Management (CCM) operations with budgets ranging from GBP 20 million to over GBP £1.5bn, requiring significant financial oversight and strategic acumen.
- Provides pivotal expertise and strategic leadership, ensuring alignment with ABP.
- Is accountable for ensuring comprehensive compliance of suppliers throughout the contract lifecycle, adhering to all contractual obligations.
- Leads on dispute resolution on contracts of high/value/complexity/reputational risk.
- Anticipates problems and uses insight to act, secure value and minimise risk to ABP
- They play a key role in establishing and leading all market activity, including organising supplier days, communications and managing key supplier relationships. This will require building a strong relationship with supply chain
- Additionally, they support the Business Case process, overseeing the business case, and explore private financing options to optimise financial outcomes.
- Mature a strong contract management regime with Commercial colleagues and Senior Leaders.
- Actively support the internal team and manage resources on technically complex projects/programme of works typically ranging between £5m and £100m+.
Collaborations:
- Engage with the Major Projects Leadership & Regional Teams to align strategic objectives and facilitate seamless project execution.
- Coordinate closely with Finance to monitor project budgets, ensure fiscal discipline, and report on financial performance.
- Collaborate with Procurement colleagues to optimise procurement strategies and manage supplier contracts effectively.
- Consult with Legal to ensure compliance with statutory requirements, manage contractual obligations, and mitigate legal risks.
- Work in tandem with IT to leverage technological solutions that enhance cost management and contract administration efficiency.
- Liaise with Engineering and Asset Management to ensure technical considerations are reflected in cost projections and contractual terms.
- Coordinate with Property to manage real estate aspects and implications on project costs and timelines.
- Ensure adherence to organisational standards and regulations in collaboration with Compliance.
- Develop relationship with external stakeholders – key or strategic suppliers
Accountabilities
Strategic Oversight and Leadership:
- Define an implementation approach consistent with the agreed strategy; lead the adoption and continuous improvement of the agreed approach.
- Create and own the strategic plan for the development of the people in the profession, delivering a prioritised roadmap that builds and strengthens the professional capability.
- Lead and oversee all cost and contractual matters ensuring alignment with organisational objectives, partnering closely with the Major Projects, Regional, commercial & procurement teams
- Develop, execute and monitor a comprehensive contract management, cost management, and change management framework to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in project development and delivery.
- Design and implement robust contract and supplier management practices across contracts in terms of project delivery & framework parameters and scope of service
- Act as a senior expert, providing strategic advice to other senior managers on cost and contract management matters, in order to support successful delivery in line with project objectives and strategies
Contract Strategy and Risk Management:
- Formulate strategic contract management approaches that align with stakeholder goals, optimising the distribution of contractual risk.
Dispute Management:
- Champion initiatives in dispute avoidance, actively engaging in pre-emptive management strategies and, when necessary, leading effective dispute resolution processes.
Governance and Compliance:
- Establish governance protocols to be applied across ABP
- Uphold the integrity of the procurement process from initiation to contract award, guaranteeing transparency and fairness and supporting procurement governance requirements.
Performance Measurement:
- Develop and implement key performance indicators (KPIs) for the CCM function, enabling the measurement of performance and identification of improvement opportunities for both internal teams and our external supply chain.