DBS Operational Management Team Contracts - Contract Manager

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference?

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry.

DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement.

The 2025 – 2030 Corporate Plan came up with a new mission and vision which are now:

Vision

To be the best shared service centre in Government

Mission

Proudly delivering excellence in shared services, through customer centric solutions to enable Defence outcomes

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working.

Come and join the DBS community today!

https://youtu.be/gUw0ToaRGgk

DBS is part of The National Armaments Directorate (NAD) Group which is at the heart of delivering and sustaining the UK’s defence capability. Bringing together organisations responsible for developing, procuring, supporting and modernising Defence equipment, infrastructure and services, the Directorate works closely with industry, international partners and academia to ensure the Armed Forces have the capabilities they need to deter threats, protect the nation and succeed on operations. NAD drives innovation, operational readiness and value for money while supporting economic growth and strengthening the UK’s defence industrial base.

Between April & September 2027 the role you are applying for will move from Tomlinson House Norcross to the new MOD building at Station View, Talbot Gateway, Blackpool. For successful external/new candidates to DBS please note this post does not qualify for relocation allowances.

DBS plays a vital role in supporting the MOD, delivering essential business services that enable Defence to operate effectively and efficiently.

Within DBS, the Operational Management Team, Contract Management Team, is responsible for providing effective commercial oversight, governance and performance management across a diverse portfolio of contracts that support the wider Defence organisation.

Our team plays a key role in ensuring that contracts deliver value for money, meet operational requirements and achieve agreed performance standards, while maintaining compliance with contractual obligations and Government commercial policies.

Working collaboratively with suppliers, commercial colleagues and stakeholders across Defence, we proactively manage procurement activity, approvals, contractual risks, monitor supplier performance, oversee financial commitments and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

We are a forward-thinking and collaborative team, committed to strengthening contract management capability through robust governance, effective stakeholder engagement and the development of innovative tools and processes that improve transparency, accountability and decision-making.

Responsibilities:

From Requirement Definition & Business Case Approval through to Contract Completion, manage the end-to-end lifecycle of a team portfolio of circa 22 Shared Service Contracts. Ensure robust plans are in place for replacement contracts, ensuring no gaps in service provision.

• Ensuring compliance with contractual obligations, internal governance requirements and MOD Commercial Policy.
• Providing contractual advice and guidance to project teams, stakeholders and suppliers.
• Supporting procurement, contract award and mobilisation activities.
• Managing contract performance, identifying contractual risks and implementing mitigation measures.
• Reviewing and administering contract changes, ensuring appropriate governance and commercial controls are maintained.
• Supporting the resolution of contractual issues, disputes and claims in accordance with contract provisions.
• Building effective relationships with clients, contractors, suppliers and key project stakeholders.
• Driving continuous improvement and the implementation of commercial and contractual best practices across the programme.
• Line Management of 1 Contract Support Officer.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and previous skills and experience.

Personal Statement:

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (750 Word Max).

At sift, candidates will be assessed against their CV and Statement of suitability and the following:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Changing and Improving

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Changing and Improving

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on the following success profile elements:

Primary: Personal Statement

In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:

1 - Career - Personal Statement

2 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing

3 - Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

4 - Behaviour - Leadership

5 - Behaviour - Changing and Improving

If candidate scores are still exact, the merit order will then be determined on the sift score in the following order:

1 - Career - Job History

2 - Career - Previous Skills

3 - Career - Personal Statement

4 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing

5 - Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

6 - Behaviour - Leadership

7 - Behaviour - Changing and Improving

Sift start date: 16/11/2026

Interviews are currently taking place via the following method: Face to face

Interview start date: 30/11/2026

Further information:

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.