Contract Manger

We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Contract Manager to join our Mental Health service in Waltham Forest.

£37,800.00 per annum, working 40 hours per week. Benefits include 25 days Annual Leave, pension schemes, staff discounts, healthcare and career progression.

Want to feel in control of your career? You'll feel at home here.

Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That's why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development and a culture that welcomes all. These aren't token gestures - we've thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.

Contract Managers are responsible for the effective management of all contracts within their designated patch, including line managing the relevant front line staff. Leadership and competence development in direct reports is a key responsibility of the role. Post-holders may also carry client group specialism responsibilities, linking in with other Managers and Head of Operations to ensure focussed integration of specialisms across the whole organisation.

This role requires a valid Right to Work for the UK as Look Ahead are not a sponsoring organisation.

What you'll do:

- Drive business planning activities within your contract, ensuring relevant and challenging objective setting and ongoing performance tracking, developing turn around action plans as may be necessary
- Using sound financial and accounting principles, manage contract budgets to deliver on corporate and local contract financial targets
- Successfully lead and motivate your team to ensure the championing of and maintenance of a positive local culture within your service
- Work to continuously improve staff competence, ensure ownership of all staff issues and speedy and effective conflict resolution
- Responsible for reporting all staff changes to HR and Payroll departments, as appropriate e.g. starters, leavers, additional hours etc.
- Responsible for maintaining quarterly staff succession plans
- Deliver effective, professional and commercially focused briefings and supervision meetings with staff and ensure that information, reporting & communications flow up/down is effective
- Responsible for managing and allocating customers to support staff (casework management)
- Develop key business relationships with all relevant customers/external parties to ensure service delivery excellence and maximise new business opportunities in own patch
- Plan, organise and prioritise operations within your contract to ensure maximum efficiencies/utilisation of all resources
- Working with your team lead creative and ambitious customer involvement plans across the patch and ensure successful implementation
- Where appropriate to role, carry client group specialism activities, linking in with other Managers and Heads of Operations to ensure focussed integration of specialisms across the whole organisation

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead

About you:

- Ability to lead and motivate staff to deliver excellent services
- Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement
- Has a practical and logical mind
- Excellent organisation skills
- Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments
- Is confident with high levels of self-esteem
- Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication
- Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude
- Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviour
- Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, joins in local activities to encourage customer involvement
- Exudes a warm friendly presence and open behaviour
- Able to work as part of a group or team as well as being self motivated

What you'll bring:

Essential:

- Educated to degree level or equivalent
- Experience of managing contracts and resources and delivering to budget and performance targets
- Experience of delivering to housing management performance targets

Desirable:

- Other relevant professional memberships and/or specialist qualifications

About us:

Look Ahead is a dynamic, leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. As an organisation we deliver over 110 services, providing support to around 7000 customers each year. We work across mental health, homelessness, young people and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.

Please see our website for full job description.