Relationship Lead

The Contract Relationship Lead is responsible for managing and maintaining effective relationship based contractual arrangements with providers delivering NHS services and other commissioners, where joint commissioning arrangements are in place.

The postholder will act as the key liaison for contracts between the ICB and providers, fostering collaborative partnerships, resolving issues, and driving continuous improvement in service quality and value for money. Responsible for a portfolio of contract providers, the postholder will be responsible for bringing together subject matter expertise, including Contract Managers, Business Intelligence, clinical, commissioning and finance colleagues from across the ICB to ensure a coordinated and consistent approach to stakeholder engagement and contract management.

This role is responsible for ensuring effective performance oversight arrangements are in place to ensure contracts are delivering in line with agreed expectations, outcomes are being achieved and that risks are identified early and mitigated. The postholder will be responsible for ensuring appropriate developments through the lifecycle of a contract, including changes to services commissioned to reflect emerging best practice and reducing unwarranted variation, working closely with commissioning colleagues and providers to identify opportunities for improvement.

• Responsible for leading a portfolio of contracts and contracts team.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with providers and stakeholders, acting as the main named point of contact and relationship lead for the portfolio.
• Working closely with the Associate Director, contribute to the development of contract negotiation strategies and lead on elements of contractual planning.
• Lead the negotiation, and management of provider contracts, including variations in year to drive continuous improvement to outcomes.
• Implement agreed stakeholder and contractual management processes, ensuring effective monitoring and reporting of provider contractual delivery, working closely with the contract's payer function.
• Ensure appropriate oversight of activity, finance and outcome performance and subsequent reporting to ICB Board and relevant sub committees to provide assurance on effective contractual delivery.
• Acting as the relationship lead on contractual matters for the ICB, coordinate subject matter expertise from across the ICB in a matrix way, to ensure a cohesive and holistic assessment of performance, risks and opportunities.
• Work closely with NHS England teams leading on performance management to support coordinated oversight and reporting on delivery at provider level and ICB level, providing assurance on the ICBs contract management approach.

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities to achieve equity of access, experience and outcomes and to recognising and valuing people's differences. We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity; we see this as a strength and part of our founding mission, values and behaviours. We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers patient outcomes.