DfT: A Day in the life of a Contract and Commercial Apprentice

A Day in the life of a Contract and Commercial Apprentice – Passenger Services, Rail Executive at Department for Transport.

Contract management is a varied and dynamic profession, and it is not possible to characterise a standard day. Generally, you will need to be responsive, adaptable and flexible to meet the demands of a job which is part of a dynamic industry subject to change. You will need to be proactive, a capable communicator and an enthusiastic team-member and be able to prioritise tasks and manage your own workload to meet the demands of those relying upon you.

As part of a small commercial team that manages a franchise (the contract through which the government buys passenger train services from the private sector), the Contract Manager ensures that key documentation remains current and accurate, and that various elements of the obligations in the contract are delivered by our suppliers.  This role will also include many varied tasks such as taking meeting minutes and checking written or physical evidence of delivery by our suppliers, to ensuring that last minute service changes due to severe weather are undertaken in accordance with the contract.

You can expect to receive training and development to equip you with the skills to:

• confidently manage complex documentation and its associated change processes
• make effective contributions to meetings and take concise and good quality minutes
• write short business cases and papers to justify your decisions and recommendations
• make evidence based decisions appropriate to your role
• compile and populate dashboards and other upward reporting material
• work effectively within a team
• develop supplier relationships
• develop an understanding of the management tools and processes required to effectively manage a high value contract.

Your day is likely to include periods of unsupervised working on contract administration, but also periods in which you will support more senior commercial members of the team in meetings and forums that may include every aspect of the provision of passenger rail services.  There is much to learn and ample opportunity to take responsibility, so that the more competent you become in your role, the more responsibility and challenges will be offered to you.

This role is an exciting and demanding position, and is aimed at those seeking to develop in the realm of contract and commercial management. There are great prospects and opportunities for the individual who can effectively take on this role.

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