Hybrid/Remote * there could be occasions when you will required to attend meetings at Dorset Council offices in Dorchester.
£380 to £450 a day
3 months
Outside IR35
Support and undertake aspects of the following.
The Commission and Procurement Programme. also identified that to scale up a programme of this nature would require specialist expertise which would not ordinarily be found within an organisation such as a council as there would be little need for these skill in the longer-term service delivery. In addition, the successful candidate has over the years removed those roles which would be able to support such as cost analysts and commercial quality assurance leads. Whilst it is evident that some teams and services could undertake/support the 3rd Party Spend activity it was highly likely that resources would not be able to be made available.
It was also noted that this project is time constrained. Investigations, analysis, and the production of a detailed list of opportunities and the activity to secure them within this financial year needs to be completed no later than early/mid December 2025. If this is not achieved it is possible that the in-year savings target would be reduced or worse, not met.
There are several considerations which also need to be factored into the process for determining the opportunities to be progressed:
Contract content regarding roll-off times, exit strategies etc
Internal governance and decision-making
Financial reporting periods
Cabinet reporting if required
1. Scope Of Works
By using external specialist resources there is an opportunity to also more broadly use their skills and expertise to support with the design of the future state commercial architecture and in the upfront design works of identify a programme and its scope which could undertake this, including with income opportunity analysis. This would not be possible with internal resources due to demand and capacity constraints.
The proposal as to the scope of work will be to:
3rd Party Spend
Undertake direct investigations of areas and/or contracts identified for deeper scrutiny.
Assess and make direct recommendations for reducing and/or consolidating 3party spend contract types.
Identifying the in-yearcashable savings clearly articulating the route to contract closure and the delivery forecast profile.
To support early termination activity.
Support with the review, scrutiny and oversight of new emerging contracts.
Provide SME advise relating to contract development for new and emerging large contracts.
Provide cost analysis and return on investment analysis of contracts.
Review and provide quality assurance assessment on contracts and suppliers as directed.
Investigate, identify, and capture future-years 3rd party spend reductions and develop savings profile and delivery pipeline.
Strengthen & Secure
Investigate and review the Councils current approach to frameworks.
Identify where framework opportunities exist and work with procurement team to understand alternative options.
Support with the standing up, consolidating existing where possible, identifying new opportunities regarding frameworks and other commercial best practice approaches.
Make recommendations and support with the identification of tools and guidance which can support our people when undertaking commercial activity.
Identity opportunities for better consolidation of work and use of assets to gain maximum value (considering both financial and social value) across the commissioning eco-system including with VCR's etc.
Design and develop a robust commercial assessment framework which balances both empirical evidence and data alongside more transitional financial evidence and promotes systems-thinking.
Develop the risk appetite and risk assessment approach incl. risks of doing/not doing, national standings and best practice impacts cost translation.
The Opening of Opportunities
Review the PwC report which identifies a potential £40m savings opportunity and provide framework plan for further investigation.
Support in the assessment of Stop/Go/Delay opportunities/decisions aligned to the 3rd Party Spend and broader cross organisational commissioning activity being undertaken within CPP and the wider Council commercial landscape.
Proactively identify underperforming contracts and recommendations for reimbursement.
Proactively research additional/alternative income sources such as through bids and grants, services charges, and others, which to date have been unable to be fully optimised due to capacity constraints.
The outcomes will be required to enable:
Consolidation & Standardisation - the design of an end-to-end organisational commissioning and commercial strategy and model that enables transparency and understanding across the eco-system and architecture. Setting of clear standards and policies and evidence led decision making through more robust commercial scrutiny and better use of data. The reduction of errors and the ability to allocate resources more effectively and remove day to day non-essential duties. Spend reduction and income generation - an update to the existing commercial strategy and focus this on alignment with the commissioning model architecture. Strengthened governance and oversight and the putting in place of effective governance and management control processes to drive risk reduction and to reduce costs.
Ways of Working - which includes but are not limited to:
Governance & Quality Assurance
Demand management - the development of demand management strategies, horizon scanning capabilities and trend analysis approaches that can support with resource planning. Futureproofing by undertaking effective demand vs. capacity analysis and enable internal surge capability through cross skilling of people. Connect2Dorset is a trading style of Dorset & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Dorset Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Dorset is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates