Contract Manager / Strategic Programme Manager

*** Candidate Spotlight ***

On the market now  –  My London based Contract manager / Strategic Programme Manager is primarily interested in Contract Manager roles, particularly within employability, skills, welfare-to-work or related public sector programmes £55k+  Available asap for interview

What opportunities do you have on your SLT for my experienced Contract Manager ?

• Extensive strategic programme and contract management experience in the public sector.

• Leading a £4.97m Youth Guarantee programme supporting over 1,200 young individuals across 12 London boroughs.
• Led the programme through mobilisation and implementation, establishing governance, delivery assurance and performance frameworks from inception.
• Oversaw programme performance delivering 45% job outcomes, 55% training/education outcomes, and 100% confidence/soft outcome achievement, supporting sustained progression.
• Designed and chaired monthly performance boards and led deep-dive diagnostic reviews, maintaining strong grip on delivery quality and consistency across all boroughs.
• Played a central role in preventing formal escalation, funding clawback and delivery pauses by proactively identifying risks and intervening early with borough leads and delivery partners.
• Identified and mitigated £129k of underspend risk, personally leading challenge sessions with 2 boroughs to re-profile spend, strengthen forecasts and align delivery plans with funding conditions.
• Provided robust financial and performance assurance, reviewing and approving detailed spend plans, challenging ineligible or weak expenditure assumptions, and supporting informed payment decisions.
• Produced high-quality monthly MI dashboards and insight reports for senior officers, enabling timely strategic decision-making.
• Led pan-London employer engagement, securing 39 employers, including 25 NHS ring-fenced roles, and developing sector-based pathways across health, public services and priority growth sectors.
• Led Year 2 strategic planning, including funding scenarios, capacity modelling and proposals to expand delivery to SEND, homelessness and youth justice cohorts.
• Worked closely with partners to shape evaluation design, evidence standards and data-sharing protocols, ensuring evaluation readiness from day one.
• Successful transformation of an IPS service for drug and alcohol clients to a high-performance status, strengthening local service integration.
• Enhanced compliance and audit standards in various managerial roles, improving service stability and delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with employers and key stakeholders, securing high confidence in service outcomes.
• Strong educational background with an IAG Level 2 and NVQ distinctions complementing professional achievements.

Profile

• Strategic programme and contract management professional with extensive experience across multi-borough public sector delivery, employment & skills, and cross-government partnerships.

• Proven ability to lead complex programmes, drive performance improvement, manage governance and compliance, and influence senior stakeholders across local authorities, the GLA, DWP, Public Health and national employers.

• Strong analytical judgement, relationship-building skills and a track record of delivering high-quality outcomes in fast-paced, politically sensitive environments.

Skills

Contract management, Strategic programme management, Governance and compliance management, Performance improvement, Stakeholder influence, Relationship-building, Analytical judgement, Cross-government partnerships, Multi-borough public sector delivery, Employment & skills