Head of Contracts Centre of Expertise

The Head of Contracts Centre of Expertise role will be responsible for the governance, performance, and delivery of all Group Property contracts exceeding £800m including the flagship “gold” integrated FM contract with ISS and business critical travel contract CTM. The role will ensure operational continuity, financial control, and service excellence by holding suppliers accountable to agreed KPIs, driving value for money, and proactively managing risk and compliance obligations. Through effective oversight and strategic supplier management, the postholder will mitigate operational disruption, prevents cost leakage, and will enable the property function to support organisational priorities, including efficiency, sustainability, and workplace experience.The role demands a unique combination of commercial acumen, technical knowledge, and you will ideally have experience in property and facilities management services, alongside a proven track record in managing complex, high-value outsourced contracts.

As the key interface between Defra Group Property and external service providers, you will be expected to operate credibly at all levels - translating business needs into contractual outcomes and ensuring delivery through robust governance.

The Head of Contracts – Centre of Expertise (CoE) provides strategic leadership and professional authority for contract management across the Defra Group Property function. The role establishes and embeds industry leading contract management standards, governance, and assurance to ensure that all property related contracts are effectively managed, compliant, and delivering value for money.

This is an existing role with the opportunity to be reshaped and developed as we refine our business needs and requirements, helping to further define its scope in alignment with industry standards and Government Functional Standards. As the role matures, there is scope for it to expand in breadth and leadership responsibility, including the development of a supporting specialist team.

The long‑term vision is for the role holder, and any future team, to operate as a central centre of expertise and capability hub for contract management for Defra Group Property. The role will lead specialist contract management capability and support wider Property and Workplace teams to operate confidently and consistently within agreed contractual, commercial, and assurance frameworks. The role holds financial responsibility for contract performance, procurement activity on behalf of Defra Group Property, and advises senior leaders on contractual risk, performance improvement, efficiency, and service change. The role will shape and influence the adoption of digital solutions to improve contract lifecycle management, insight, and reporting, but will not be accountable for technical system delivery.

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