MULTIPLE

Department
Other (Legal, Sec, Int Audit, Pensions)
Discipline
Legal
Site Location
UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire or Rotherham, Yorkshire
Type of Employment
Full-time
Reference Number

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• MCIPS qualified
• Legal qualification or substantial experience of professional services frameworks (especially legal suppliers)
• Extensive experience of managing demanding suppliers at a strategic level in a complex environment
• Ability to negotiate at the highest level with suppliers
• Customer focused and commercially astute
• Strong verbal and written communication skills

OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The salary for this role is £64,723 (inclusive of a Procurement Market Premium Payment (MPP) – MCIPS Required. Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working.
This role can be based at any of the following sites; Rotherham, South Yorkshire or Culham, Oxfordshire, or Whitehaven, Cumbria.
This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

THE ROLE

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Strategic Legal Supplier Business Partner, you will play a pivotal role in partnering with Legal Business Partners, Legal team, Innovation Team colleagues, and external legal advisors to manage external legal support. This involves building and maintaining a relationship with seven firms on the legal panel, and two firms on the Patent Attorney panel to ensure that the service provided to the UKAEA is appropriate and cost-effective. You will require an extensive understanding of the legal market and the structures for appointing and monitoring legal advisors within Government, including liaison with Commercial colleagues, Government Legal Profession, and suppliers, monitoring KPIs and collecting and communicating feedback.
You will also be required to develop a pipeline of future legal work and ensure that this is distributed amongst panel members fairly, that their costs estimates are adhered to, and that over-charging or inefficiency is challenged robustly. You will also support the Commercial team in the re-procurement of both panels when required, and will develop measures to monitor quality, benchmark costs and maximise value for money – for example, through harnessing external panel training and secondment opportunities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for supporting the Deputy Director of Legal and Strategic Legal Business Partners in appointing and instructing external advisors including panel firms, non-panel firms, Counsel and legal consultants
• Maintain oversight of framework and contractual KPIs and producing reports and management information. Using data to develop policies for choice of legal advisors (internal, external panel, other) to guide future procurement and recruitment
• Monitor standards of service including timeliness, compliance with process, reasonableness of charges and level of seniority of advisors, time spent and client feedback
• Monitor costs and working with directors and legal business partners in identifying and addressing likely legal budget overspend
• Work with suppliers to ensure their capacity and specialist knowledge is maintained and improved, and encouraging collaboration between UKAEA and suppliers on knowledge sharing and training
• Develop ‘know your client’ materials to better inform legal suppliers of UKAEA’s mission, priorities, ways of working and risk appetite, delivering training to panel firms
• Maintain regular communication with panel relationship leads, resolving any conflict and escalating any professional ethics or similar matters to the Director of Legal
• Work with Commercial colleagues to support reporting and supplier management, assisting with reporting to GLD framework manager and wider commercial community as required
• Develop legal sector specific requirements – social value, knowledge transfer, training etc to support future procurement of legal (and potentially other professional) suppliers.
• Work with the Heads of Learning and People to develop and promote legal training plans in conjunction with suppliers for colleagues, including specialist training adapted to expertise in Finance, Commercial and People directorates.
• Champion diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the role.
  Salary
  £64,723 (inclusive of MPP, MCIPS required) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
  View benefits
  Programme