7736 - Contract Manager - London - Legal Aid Agency
- Ministry of Justice
- Jul 26, 2025
Full time
Legal
Job Description
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working
Vacancy Approach
Cross Government
Location
London
Region
London
Closing Date
25-Jul-2025
Post Type
Permanent
SEO
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
7736
Descriptions & requirements Job Title & Grade:
Contract Manager, London
SEO
Contract Type:
Permanent
Salary range (depending on location):
Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.
Location:
London
Directorate:
Contract Management & Assurance
Team:
Contract Management - London Central & West
Working Pattern: The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely (as part of hybrid working), part time or as part of a job share etc.
If you are applying for a part time role, please note that in order to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 22.2 hours and to cover 3 days of the week.
To meet legal requirements, if you are between the ages 16-18 and you are a successful candidate, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship after your initial on the job training.
Reporting to:
Area Contract Manager
The Legal Aid Agency
We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).We areresponsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales.
Our peopleare at the heart of achieving excellence.Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.
Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.
If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.
The LAA's goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.
Reasonable Adjustments
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or after you have appliedso that we can discuss options with you.
Contract Management and Assurance
Contract Management and Assurance (CMA) work closely with our provider base to ensure the smooth running of our contracts and assure the delivery of legal aid.
Contract Management
Contract Management work collaboratively with other LAA departments to interpret and apply the Contract to the providers which we manage. We ensure that Providers deliver quality legal aid services in accordance with contractual requirements and relevant legislation. We interpret and analyse data to effectively manage risk and to influence providers to improve performance and effectively deliver change. We also engage with the wider Justice System to promote partnership working and influence provider behaviour.
The London Central & West Contract Management team consists of 10 x SEO Grade Contract Managers and 1 x Grade 7 Area Contract Manager.
Job Summary
This role requires the successful candidate to manage relationships with Legal Aid Providers, i.e. solicitor firms and advice agencies, and other key external stakeholders. Contract Managers (CMs) will ensure robust management of a portfolio of provider contracts in line with priorities as established by the business. Within defined geographical areas across England and Wales, they act as the main point of contact for the providers and internal Legal Aid Agency (LAA) departments on all funded work. CMs will provide insight and information on the provider base to the MoJ.
Additionally, job holders will develop and manage relationships with external stakeholders, mostly, but not exclusively, within the Justice family, to manage local political and reputational risk to the organisation and the MoJ.
Key Responsibilities:
Application Process
You will be asked to demonstrate the following Behaviours during the application process, using a maximum of 250 words per Behaviour:
Interview / assessment Process
If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview, likely to be conducted by MS Teams, and you will be assessed as follows:
Against Strengths relevant to the role
Against the following Behaviours:
For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important in a work environment. We would also expect examples of action they have taken to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding for self or others) or improve inclusion at a team or wider group level.
Vacancy Approach
Cross Government
Location
London
Region
London
Closing Date
25-Jul-2025
Post Type
Permanent
SEO
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
7736
Descriptions & requirements Job Title & Grade:
Contract Manager, London
SEO
Contract Type:
Permanent
Salary range (depending on location):
Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.
Location:
London
Directorate:
Contract Management & Assurance
Team:
Contract Management - London Central & West
Working Pattern: The post is supported by the MOJ flexible working policy and includes colleagues who work flexibly, remotely (as part of hybrid working), part time or as part of a job share etc.
If you are applying for a part time role, please note that in order to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 22.2 hours and to cover 3 days of the week.
To meet legal requirements, if you are between the ages 16-18 and you are a successful candidate, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship after your initial on the job training.
Reporting to:
Area Contract Manager
The Legal Aid Agency
We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).We areresponsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales.
Our peopleare at the heart of achieving excellence.Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.
Our LAA commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months.
If you are responding to a role within the Legal Aid Agency and would like to be considered under the guaranteed interview, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the sift or later selection processes.
The LAA's goal is to build an organisation that is open and inclusive and truly values and celebrates the diversity of its workforce. One that reflects and understands the needs of the diverse society we serve. This is regardless of social background, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, disabilities or long-term illness or caring responsibilities.
Reasonable Adjustments
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please let us know by adding the information to the applications system or after you have appliedso that we can discuss options with you.
Contract Management and Assurance
Contract Management and Assurance (CMA) work closely with our provider base to ensure the smooth running of our contracts and assure the delivery of legal aid.
Contract Management
Contract Management work collaboratively with other LAA departments to interpret and apply the Contract to the providers which we manage. We ensure that Providers deliver quality legal aid services in accordance with contractual requirements and relevant legislation. We interpret and analyse data to effectively manage risk and to influence providers to improve performance and effectively deliver change. We also engage with the wider Justice System to promote partnership working and influence provider behaviour.
The London Central & West Contract Management team consists of 10 x SEO Grade Contract Managers and 1 x Grade 7 Area Contract Manager.
Job Summary
This role requires the successful candidate to manage relationships with Legal Aid Providers, i.e. solicitor firms and advice agencies, and other key external stakeholders. Contract Managers (CMs) will ensure robust management of a portfolio of provider contracts in line with priorities as established by the business. Within defined geographical areas across England and Wales, they act as the main point of contact for the providers and internal Legal Aid Agency (LAA) departments on all funded work. CMs will provide insight and information on the provider base to the MoJ.
Additionally, job holders will develop and manage relationships with external stakeholders, mostly, but not exclusively, within the Justice family, to manage local political and reputational risk to the organisation and the MoJ.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage a portfolio of providers in line with the terms of their contracts with the LAA.
- Using management information and other intelligence, take a risk-based approach to identify and prioritise action required across your portfolio and utilise the contract to manage performance.
- Undertake specific activities with contracted providers asdefined by the LAA to ensure contract compliance and value for money for the taxpayer.
- Work collaboratively across all LAA departments to ensure effective and efficient provider contract management.
- Aid the successful implementation of all planned and future reforms and initiatives and have a broad knowledge of all business-critical areas.
- Be the face of the LAA with contracted providers and key local external stakeholders within the justice family in order to contribute to the management of financial, political and reputational risk to the LAA and MoJ.
- Gather and share local external intelligence from providers and key external stakeholders to ensure it becomes part of all relevant LAA and MOJ teams' knowledge base.
- Maximise or contain media coverage by updating the Communications team and their Area Contract Manager (ACM) on local issues as they arise and taking appropriate action as directed.
- Identify risk to the disruption of service delivery, considering contingency arrangements and escalating to the ACM.
- Develop and manage any other external stakeholder links as required by the LAA and MoJ.
- Coach and support less experienced team members; mentor new starters.
- You are a highly organised self-starter, able to motivate yourself. At times you will work independently taking ownership to achieve specified outcomes.
- You are driven, embrace change and are comfortable working within a fast-paced environment where no day is the same. You are not fazed by uncertainty and continue to deliver core objectives showing resilience and the ability to maintain composure when faced with challenges.
- You will have a busy diary and will be responsible for managing your own time.
- You can analyse information to inform your decisions to identify and prioritise key tasks.
- You will enjoy working with a range of key stakeholders and build effective working relationships both inside and outside of the organisation. You can influence others and flex your style accordingly whilst maintaining integrity.
- You are confident when delivering difficult messages and able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
- Knowledge of Office 365 applications
Application Process
You will be asked to demonstrate the following Behaviours during the application process, using a maximum of 250 words per Behaviour:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Interview / assessment Process
If you are successful through the application stage, you will be invited to an interview, likely to be conducted by MS Teams, and you will be assessed as follows:
Against Strengths relevant to the role
Against the following Behaviours:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
For this grade/ role we would expect the candidate to demonstrate understanding of the terms Diversity and Inclusion and be able to explain why they are important in a work environment. We would also expect examples of action they have taken to embrace diversity (e.g., increasing understanding for self or others) or improve inclusion at a team or wider group level.
- You will also take part in a role play assessment. This will involve analysing information and using this to take part in a role play scenario. Full details will be shared on the day of your interview.
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