Contracts Manager

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Contracts Manager to join our team at our head office in Central Reading, Berkshire.

The successful Contracts Manager will be working for the UK’s largest water company and will hold responsibility for contracts and ongoing relationships with suppliers of services as well as some management and supervision staff.

Financial budget supervision and ensuring the cost-effectiveness and value for money of contracts are other key tasks required within this role.

What makes this role unique?

This unique opportunity will enable the successful applicant to play a major part in the delivery of these changes, by overseeing the commercial contracting and strategic approach to the company’s whole logistics operation. This is a high profile role within the business with personal development opportunities, including direct engagement with director-level stakeholders inside and outside the company and the opportunity to work closely with other teams, including, legal, financial, regulatory, operational and market experts.

The role of the Contracts Manager will involve you:

Identifying contracts required between departments to support requirement for a compliant and competitive Retail Non Household business at market opening.

Managing structures and bids

Negotiating contracts from a company perspective to achieve optimum risk allocation and best value whilst ensuring focus on customer.

Adhering to and support the development of enduring contract management processes.

Ensuring that all processes followed are in line with legislation and company policies and are auditable with key documents, information and communications confidentially stored.

Driving continuous improvement in contract development through close engagement with internal and external customers.

Developing good working relationships and close liaison with clients. Maintaining a high standard of quality work.

Additional integral responsibilities include report writing, record maintenance, and satisfactory communication at all levels, maintenance of Company image, employee welfare and team building.

What skills are we looking for?

We are seeking an individual with a strong technical understanding of commercial and contract management, a keen attention to detail, exceptional analytical / numerical skills and an ability to communicate information and influence key stakeholders to all levels (internal and external to the company). To be successful in this role, you will be a highly-experienced commercial or contract manager, with a robust background in customer-facing engagement. Strong negotiation skills are essential, and experience in sell-side negotiations would be an advantage. The successful candidate would be able to demonstrate a track record of driving performance improvement of existing processes using customer insight, and market analysis and your commercial acumen. You will hold good market knowledge and commercial awareness of the changes occurring in the water sector along with the external logistics market, as well as best practice in a customer service environment. Experience in the development or implementation of commercial or contractual governance frameworks or other utilities sectors would be advantageous.