Quality and Contracts Manager

Buckinghamshire Council

Overview

Are you passionate about improving care services, supporting positive outcomes for residents and making a real difference to the lives of vulnerable people?

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a dedicated team responsible for overseeing the quality, performance and contractual compliance of commissioned care and support services. Based within the Adults and Health Commissioning and Procurement Service, the Quality and Contracts Manager will play a key role in managing a team of Quality Officers, developing provider relationships, driving service improvement, managing risk and ensuring value for money from commissioned services.

Combining contract management, quality assurance and market oversight, you and your team will work closely with providers and partners to address complex issues, deliver sustainable improvements and help shape a resilient and high-performing local care market.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

About the role

As Quality and Contracts Manager, you will lead a team of Quality Officers responsible for overseeing the quality, performance and contractual compliance of commissioned care and support providers on behalf of both health and Social Care.

This is a leadership role that combines contract management, quality assurance, provider relationship management and service improvement. You will lead on complex provider issues, contractual and performance concerns, and provide robust recommendations based on available evidence, data and intelligence. You will be comfortable balancing collaborative partnership working with appropriate challenge, ensuring providers are held accountable where standards, performance or contractual obligations are not being met.

Working closely with providers, commissioning colleagues, operational teams, health partners and regulators, you will use data and market intelligence to identify risks, support improvement activity and contribute to the development of a sustainable and high-performing care market.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Council's approach to provider contract management, ensuring contractual obligations, quality standards and performance expectations are achieved.

• Manage complex provider performance, quality and contractual issues, ensuring risks are identified, appropriately escalated and effectively managed.

• Lead challenging conversations with providers and stakeholders where concerns regarding quality, performance, compliance or value for money require intervention.

• Lead and support a team of Quality Officers, ensuring effective prioritisation of work and risk management.

• Oversee contract management, quality monitoring and performance improvement activities across commissioned providers.

• Lead or support complex provider reviews, quality investigations and improvement programmes.

• Analyse performance, quality and market intelligence data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.

• Build effective partnerships with providers, health colleagues, regulators and other stakeholders.

• Contribute to market development, commissioning initiatives and commercial improvement activities.

• Deputise for senior leadership when required.

• For a full list of duties and responsibilities, please refer to the Job Description.

Any-Desk:

• As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

• About you

• We are looking for an experienced and motivated leader with a strong background in contract management, commissioning or quality assurance, gained within the health and social care sector.

• You will be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly and where decisions, recommendations and approaches may be subject to challenge and scrutiny. You will have the confidence to manage complex provider relationships, lead difficult conversations and make balanced, evidence-based decisions in situations involving competing priorities and risk.

• You will possess strong analytical skills and be comfortable interpreting performance, quality and financial information to support robust and defensible recommendations. You will be equally comfortable working collaboratively with providers and partners to drive improvement whilst maintaining appropriate challenge and accountability.

• As an experienced people manager, you will have a proven ability to develop high-performing teams and create a culture of accountability, ownership and continuous improvement. You will be skilled at coaching and developing staff, enabling them to build confidence, exercise professional judgement and work independently, whilst providing appropriate oversight, support and performance management where required.

To be successful in this role, you will typically have:

• Significant experience within commissioning, contract management, quality assurance or a related health and social care setting.

• Experience managing teams and supporting staff performance and development.

• Strong knowledge of health and social care services, quality standards and relevant legislation, including care and commissioning frameworks.

• Experience monitoring provider performance, managing risk and driving service improvement.

• Experience of managing complex provider relationships and leading challenging conversations with providers, stakeholders and partner organisations.

• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret performance, quality and financial information and translate findings into clear, evidence-based recommendations.

• Experience making balanced decisions and recommendations that can withstand challenge and scrutiny.

• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.

• Degree-level education or equivalent experience, with a relevant professional qualification desirable.

• Good ICT skills, including Microsoft Office applications and performance monitoring systems.

• A commitment to delivering high-quality, value-for-money services that improve outcomes for vulnerable residents.

• For full details of the essential and desirable criteria, please refer to the Job Description.

• Why Join Us?

• This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the quality and sustainability of local care services while working with a wide range of partners across the health and social care system. You'll have the chance to lead improvement initiatives, influence strategic decisions and support the delivery of high-quality care that positively impacts residents and communities every day.

• Other information

• For more information about this role, please contact Lucia Leong for an informal discussion.

• Closing Date: 25th October 2026

• Interview Date: tbc

• We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

• Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions

• For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

• We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

• Our values

• We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture

• the chance to really make a difference to those around you

• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops

• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group

• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us

• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

• At Buckinghamshire Co