Vacancy -- Commercial Lead ICT Contract Management

'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.

The Welsh Government (WG) is the devolved government for Wales with an annual budget of around £15 billion. It is responsible for key aspects of public life in Wales including health, education, the economy, transport, agriculture and the environment.

Welsh Ministers are supported by a workforce of more than 5,000 civil servants with offices in Wales, London, Brussels and overseas.

Welsh Government priorities are outlined in Taking Wales Forward with an overall ambition to build a Wales which is a self-confident, prosperous, healthy nation and a society which is fair to all. The Welsh Government has also set out clear priorities for Wales following the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The Welsh Government is looking to attract people who can provide excellent support and advice, can focus resources and have energy and expertise.  The Well Being and Future Generations Act provides context for our work. 

Digital transformation of public services is vital to delivering the services the people of Wales expect and need. Welsh Government currently delivers a number of digital services to people and business across Wales. We also provide information on our websites. 

Led by our Chief Digital Officer, the Welsh Government is increasingly delivering more services online. The Chief Digital Officer provides a consultancy service of digital and data expertise across Welsh Government.

The Commercial and Procurement – Digital, Data and ICT branch manages the Welsh Government commercial and procurement activities for Digital and ICT work and supports the activities of the Digital and Data Ministerial Group which reports to the Leader of the House and Chief Whip who has cabinet responsibility for Digital.  The branch reports to the Welsh Governments Commercial Director. 

The branch also manages the National Procurement Service (NPS) Digital and ICT Category which provides domain expertise across the Wider Welsh Public sector in support of public sector digital transformation.  This includes the supplier and contract management of the eProcurement tools that are used by the Wider Welsh Public Sector.

The post holder will report to the Head of Commercial and Procurement – Digital, Data and ICT branch and be the lead for the contract management activities undertaken by the branch.  They will also be responsible for contract management of the eProcurement tools.

1. To line manage a team of five staff within the Commercial and Procurement – Digital Data and ICT branch.
2. To ensure that effective supplier performance management activities are carried out for all Digital/ICT contracts managed by the branch (NPS and WG)
3. Identification and management of initiatives to continually improve the Digital/ICT frameworks, contracts, licenses and services managed by the branch (NPS and WG).  This includes but is not limited to cost reduction activities.
4. Implement and manage performance management which is comprehensive, objective and provides incentives for the supplier to meet or exceed agreed performance standards. If suppliers are not performing, this may include the production and management of supplier improvement plans.
5. Management of processes, including supplier negotiation, to handle contractual changes, including clear approval mechanisms and accountabilities, and controls to demonstrate that changes offer value for money.
6. Creation, management and improvement of Value for Money measures to demonstrate Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness for Digital/ICT Contracts during the lifecycle against equivalent offerings.  (e.g. benchmarking, open book etc.). Value is defined as price (benchmarked) and/or additional benefits delivered including Community Benefits and outcomes from the Well Being and Future Generations (Wales) Act.
7. Risks are formally identified and monitored regularly, with mitigating actions developed and implemented where possible, and ‘obsolete’ risks removed from consideration where appropriate.  This includes the creation and maintenance of exit management strategies and plans for all major contracts.
8. To maintain and develop strong internal and external working relationships that facilitate delivery with suppliers and key contract stakeholders (e.g. Welsh Government Teams, NPS, Crown Commercial Service (CCS)).
9. Plan and manage supplier development activities in line with the Wales Procurement Policy Statement (WPPS).
10. Maintain an overview and keep abreast of appropriate developments in Wales, the rest of the UK and Europe (e.g. EU procurement legislation), to provide expert advice and act as a source of best practice to the wider Welsh public sector.
11. Provide support and guidance to the Head of Branch as required.  The post holder should be recognised as an “expert” in Supplier and Contract Management

Your role will form part of both the Welsh Government’s Commercial profession and the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) profession. 

We are committed to developing the skills and capability of our staff and encouraging them to use five days of learning a year.  To support this we offer a range of opportunities which could include:

• Shadowing
• Mentoring
• Work based learning
• Qualifications
• Coaching
• Short Term Experience Programme (STEP)

Proactively making links and working with a wide range of Welsh Government teams and external partners including other Governments in the UK. 

After appointment the successful candidate will be expected to attend the UK Government Commercial assessment and development centre to identify any further development needs.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commercial-assessment-and-development-centre

16/11/2018, 16:00

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

• UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK

• Nationality rules – GOV.UK

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

• Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
• Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
• For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
• Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have a disability which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to a disability in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.