Contracts Support Officer

Our Mission

We are known as IfATE, we are a group of passionate people who work with employers to develop, approve, review and revise apprenticeships and technical qualifications.

We are transforming and improving the skills system by putting employers at the heart and making it easier to navigate for all.

You will be part of an organisation that works to help people of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to maximise their potential, contribute to improving social mobility and the UK’s productivity.

Find out more about the work of IfATE in the ‘What we do’ page on our website.

We are building an inclusive culture to make IfATE a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, and actively welcome applications from everyone including those from underrepresented groups.

As a Contracts Support Officer, you will be part of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education: Commercial Delivery Division.

You will be at the forefront of transforming the technical education landscape providing administrative support to the team who manage the T Level Contracts.  

Your role will be to support the smooth and efficient running of the Commercial Delivery Division by providing administrative support and coordination of work activities in the area of contract management. You will establish positive relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

You will be gaining skills, knowledge and developing expertise to build a career in Commercial and Procurement.

As a Contracts Support Officer, you will actively support the management of the T Level contracts by undertaking tasks set by the Contract Managers in the Division. Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

• Assisting with T Level contract management tasks and projects as required, these include but are not limited to the following;
• Supporting the Senior Contract Managers to deliver a high quality and tailored secretariat service to the Awarding Organisation Monthly Performance Review and weekly meetings.
• Secretariat for the Awarding Organisation meetings including finalising agendas, provision of accurate and timely minutes, and maintaining key documentation including action and decision logs.
• Establish ‘meeting schedules’ regularly reviewing the meeting structures and looking at how to strengthen to maximise the use of time.
• Supporting and organising face to face meetings and events with external stakeholders by finding a suitable venue and arranging hospitality.
• Maintaining the internal document management and storage system. Ensuring latest documents are stored correctly and version control is appropriately applied.
• Supporting review of Contractual documents submitted by suppliers.
• Ensuring that all contractual documents are administered and managed using an e-signature solution.
• To support management of the Contract Management System by extracting key data reports and other tasks where necessary.
• Building an effective relationship with internal and external stakeholders by responding to enquires and escalating where necessary.
• Work broadly across the Commercial Delivery Division according to business need.

Working flexibly is important to the success of the Commercial Delivery team, and while you will have specific responsibilities related to T Levels, you will also contribute to a ‘one team’ approach and may be asked to cover a range of commercial activities as appropriate.

The successful candidate will have a strong commitment to learning and developing key skills in Commercial and Procurement. You are pro-active in delivering initiatives, processes, new ways of working, improvements, efficiencies, and excellent commercial outcomes. You will need to be customer focused to investigate and manage internal and external queries and maintain the flow of contract management processes. You will need to be inquisitive and able to find creative solutions to problems whilst following commercial guidelines, and obligations. You will need to be enthusiastic and keen to support contract management projects.

Essential Criteria

• Organised and proactive, with high attention to detail and an ability to grasp information quickly from a range of sources
• A strong focus on delivering successful outcomes and on identifying solutions, not just the problems
• Recognising emerging risks and issues and knowing when to seek advice
• Experience of engaging with a range of suppliers and internal or external stakeholders
• Ability to communicate matters clearly and concisely, including presenting to internal and external stakeholders
• An interest in commercial and legal issues in contracts and procurement

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working within a contract management or commercial environment
• Experience of using e-Contract Management Systems
• Achieved or willing to work towards a professional commercial accreditation such as CIPS

Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates.

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Functional Framework and Competencies to be used Commercial Technical Skills as referenced within the Government Commercial Function People Standards for the Profession The competency level for this role is: Commercial Support – Collates data and informat

IfATE offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• An environment with flexible working options
• Automatic enrolment into Civil Service Pension Scheme which provides an attractive person, benefits for dependents and average employer contributions of 27%.
• A generous Annual leave entitlement of 25 days (not including bank holidays) increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30 days. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
• An extensive range of learning and professional development opportunities tailored to your role.
• Access to a range of retail, travel & lifestyle employee discounts.

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by IfATE’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of IfATE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an average employer contribution of 27%, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

Job contact :

• Name : Elizabeth Love
• Email : elizabeth.love@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : IFArecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk