About Us:

East West Railway Company (EWR Co) was set up by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2017 to accelerate the delivery of the East West Rail infrastructure and passenger services, bringing faster journey times and easing pressure on local roads. EWR was set up to do things differently and aims to innovate, positively disrupt, and challenge the status-quo, leading to quicker and more cost-effective project delivery and an improved experience for our passengers and the community.

EWR Co is a private limited company in which all shares are owned by the Secretary of State for Transport. It acts as an arms-length body to Government and has explicit responsibility for delivering, in stages, a new railway service between Oxford and Cambridge. Phase one of the project, to construct the railway to Bletchley, is about to enter its construction phase whilst phases two and three, which will extend the service to Bedford and Cambridge respectively, remain in their planning stages.


Job Summary:

The successful candidate will join a contract management team split into defined categories and will be the lead on the Construction & Delivery category, providing post-award support across all category stakeholders within East West Rail.
They will support the Head of Contract Management and Head of Procurement in ensuring that robust processes are in place over the Commercial affairs of East West Rail, and that Contracts are successfully managed to ensure that optimum benefits are delivered.

As a Contract Manager, you will be involved throughout the procurement lifecycle, including input into the strategy and scoping of projects, and management of contracts to ensure contract adherence, as well as seeking additional benefits throughout the life of the contracts.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Engage with internal stakeholders to build close trusted relationships and to ensure a full understanding of expected outcomes

• Communicate contract related issues and to understand and act upon any concerns raised

• Ensure a complete understanding of all contracts assigned, including the products/services being bought, pricing, processes, opportunities and risks

• Develop a contract management strategy for both the category and individual contracts, including the development and deployment of a contract management toolkit

• Working collaboratively with procurement team on aspects of commercial lifecycle, e.g. tender or strategy

• Monitor spend, risk, performance and contract obligations through KPI's and SLA's, across a portfolio of contracts within the category

• Manage and collaborate with stakeholders to complete contract close outs, extensions and renewals.

• Categorise contracts in the category's portfolio via use of the value risk matrix, to determine at pipeline stage the level involvement that the contract manager will have post-award.

• Ensure the contract management system is kept up to date and plans are in place for continuity of supply for all contracts approaching expiry/renewal

• Establish, maintain and grow supplier relationships by serving as a single point of contact for contractual matters

• Ensure that risks are identified and that mitigation actions are defined and managed

• Effective use of contract analysis to establish and implement initiatives that can unlock in-contract value

• Effective use of contract portfolio analysis to identify opportunities to work closer with strategic suppliers, improve processes or work differently to create additional value for EWR and its stakeholders

• Act as a role model for EWR Co's vision and values, behaving in ways that are in alignment with EWR Co's ways of working, such as encouraging and supporting others

• Promote equality in the workplace and adopt appropriate behaviour when interacting with colleagues






Experience and Skills:

• At least 5 years' experience in contract management, ideally within a regulated business and / or within the UK rail industry

• Strong knowledge of contract development and management, especially relating to NEC contracts.

• Knowledge of procurement processes, including relevant regulatory requirements (e.g. OJEU and Public Contracts Regulations)

• Strong financial and commercial acumen

• Excellent communication, relationship management and presentation skills

• Demonstrable negotiation and conflict resolution skills

• Strong ability to engage