Senior Contracts & Compliance Manager at Crown Agents Ltd

Background

Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (ASCEND) is a new programme, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to achieve progress towards global targets for the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). NTDs are a group of infectious diseases that thrive in poor and often rural settings, affecting 1.6 billion of the world’s poorest people and causing disability, disfigurement, stigma and death. ASCEND will focus on five NTDs: lymphatic filariasis; onchocerciasis; schistosomiasis; visceral leishmaniasis; and trachoma.

ASCEND will deliver a range of key interventions for the control and elimination of NTDs in line with national strategies, while ensuring a strong health systems approach is applied. ASCEND will also work to strengthen relevant building blocks of national health systems, supporting countries to provide the prevention, detection, treatment and surveillance activities necessary to maintain the reduced disease burden in the longer term, and to prevent disease resurgence.

Crown Agents Limited has been appointed as the lead contractor for implementation of Lot 1 of ASCEND which focuses on twelve countries in Southern and East Africa and South Asia. These are: Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India.

Scope of work

The Contracts and Compliance Manager will manage the contracting of implementing partners and ensure contracts delivered are fully compliant. Specific responsibilities will include managing the contracting pipeline from Request for Proposals (RfP) to Service Agreements or Letters of Agreement, onboarding of new contracts and managing the contracts to completion, liaising closely with Country Leads and Regional Managers.

Responsibilities:

The main responsibilities of the Contract and Compliance Manager role will include:

Contracting Ministries of Health

• Support to the Country Leads & Ministries of Health (MoH) in budget development
• Drafting Letters of Agreement for MoH and liaising with Country Leads on payment terms, activities and deliverables schedules.
• Supporting the MoH in the understanding of the terms and conditions included in the Letters of Agreement
• Issue Letters of Agreement to MoH

Implementing Partner (IP) procurement and Contracting 

• Coordination of the RFP evaluation process and provide compliance oversight during RFP evaluation process
• Undertaking the Financial Evaluation of submitted bids and providing robust feedback, ensuring that the estimated costs relate directly to the project and demonstrate value for money 
• Ensure ASCEND IPs undergo Crown Agents Ethical Due diligence process and other ASCEND due diligence processes
• Lead on negotiations with IPs and clarify any budget anomalies and payment terms 
• Clarify issues raised by the due diligence process on the IPs
• Issue subcontracts

Contracts management

• Manage the contracts following award, ensuring that the funded projects continue to comply with the terms and conditions set in the agreement
• Organise Kick off Meetings for all new contracts and share relevant documentation with implementers
• Review and process spend forms; liaising with Finance to verify IP Bank details
• Review IP financial expenditure, budgets and variance analysis to ensure cost eligibility, accuracy, realism, value for money and compliance with ASCEND and FCDO reporting guidelines
• Ensure an up to date asset register for IPs is in place and any asset losses are recorded in the incident log and that FCDO is notified
• Work with Country Leads, Regional Managers & Technical advisors to review, approve and prepare contract amendments.
• Keep Fund Management Lead & Senior Contracts & Compliance Manager updated on any issues / concerns related to particular projects.
• Work with Country Leads to ensure that all targets and deadlines are achieved according to budgeted work plans. Monitor deliverable dates and advise Country Leads where deliverables are overdue
• Updating and maintaining the Contract Matrix Tracker and Contract folders on SharePoint
• Carry out financial spot checks to review expenses, financial management and identify areas for improvement.
• Responsible for working closely with the IPs to ensure appropriate close-out of the contracts.

Reporting:

On a day to day basis, the Contract and Compliance Manager will report to the Senior Contracts and Compliance Manager and will be expected provide updates and reports directly to the Fund Management Lead on a weekly basis.

 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES:

Academic Qualifications

Advanced degree in relevant discipline; international development; Health; Grants Management, Procurement or Law is preferred

Technical Skills

• 5 year’s experience in contracts & compliance management, preferably with FCDO
• Excellent financial management skills and experience of budget and forecast management
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Good organisational skills and able to work accurately within timescales
• Ability to develop excellent relationships with multiple stakeholders including governments, donors, private sector and civil society
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients, in writing, face to face or on the telephone
• Ability to define and communicate (written / verbal) Contracts management processes tailored to specific requirements
• Experience of legal compliance - ideally for a compliance, Contracts Law and Procurement in the public sector would be preferred but not essential