Commissioning Manager Legal Aid Agency

This vacancy is only available to existing Civil Servant employees and employees of accredited non\-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Please review the "Eligibility" section before you apply.

General Information

Salary
The national salary range is £42,914 \- £46,182, London salary range is £49,325 \- £53,081\. Your salary will be dependent on your base location
Working Pattern
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working
Vacancy Approach
Cross Government
Location
Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Jarrow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham
Region
East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber
Closing Date
01\-Oct\-2026
Post Type
Permanent
Civil Service Grade
SEO
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
22381

Descriptions \& requirements

Job description
Job Title \& Grade: SEO Commissioning Manager

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary range (depending on location):

National \- £42,914\-£46,182

London \- £49,325\-£53,081

Please note that unless you are currently employed by the Civil Service and are earning more than the minimum above, if successful you will be offered the minimum for the grade depending on your location.

Location: Any LAA office

Please note that whilst this role is open to all Civil Servants staff, you can only apply for London, Cambridge and Brighton offices if you are a current LAA staff member based in those offices. This is due to and in line with the LAA's Location Strategy and the Cabinet Office's Places for Growth Strategy.

Important information for candidates choosing the Liverpool office

If you are successful and choose to be based in our Liverpool office, you will be required to complete Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) clearance in addition to our standard pre\-employment checks.

To obtain CTC clearance, you must meet the current National Security Vetting residency requirements. Under Central Government policy, applicants must normally have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years to be eligible for this level of clearance.

Please consider this requirement carefully when applying if Liverpool is your preferred location.

Minimum Working Pattern:

If you are applying for a part time role, please note that to meet business demands we need cover for a minimum of 32 hours and to cover 4 days of the week.

To meet legal requirements, if you are between the ages 16\-18 and you are a successful candidate, you will be required to complete an apprenticeship after your initial on the job training.

The Legal Aid Agency

We are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). We areresponsible for operationally administering the legal aid fund to provide criminal and civil legal aid advice to people in England and Wales.

Our people are at the heart of achieving excellence. Employing around 1,200 colleagues across England and Wales, we feel proud to have some of the best People Survey results in the Civil Service.

Commissioning and Contract Management

The Directorate is responsible for the design, procurement, delivery and management of legal aid contracts on behalf of the Lord Chancellor. Within this, the Commissioning Team leads procurement activity, develops tender processes, implements new contracts, and monitors service availability and capacity across the provider market.

Commissioning

The Commissioning team works ly with operational and policy teams across the LAA and MoJ to inform future contracts and services. We develop and deliver procurement activity, including large and complex procurement processes, while ensuring compliance with public sector procurement legislation. The team is responsible for the effective procurement of legal aid services, with contracts having an annual value of £1\.4bn.

The team leads procurement activity that results in the award of over 1,000 legal aid contracts, alongside smaller commercial contracts for contact centres, and other support services. Following contract implementation, the team monitors the availability and capacity of legal aid services and undertakes further procurement exercises w necessary to increase and supplement supply.

Team members are based in several locations, including our head office in London. We offer flexible working options including from home or other suitable environments additional to the office. The postholder may be based in any Legal Aid Agency office though travel to other sites is required.

Job Summary

As an SEO Commissioning Manager, you will play a key role in delivering commissioning and procurement activity that supports a sustainable and resilient legal aid market. You will help plan and run tenders across the commissioning cycle, applying project management tools and techniques to support successful outcomes for customers, providers and the wider justice system.

You will work within a supportive and experienced commissioning team, contributing to activity that builds on strong foundations of collaboration with internal colleagues and external stakeholders. The role offers the opportunity to be directly involved in market engagement, helping the Agency understand provider capacity, risks and opportunities, and supporting approaches that sustain access to legal aid services over the longer term.

You will be encouraged to build your commercial capability and understanding of public procurement in practice, supported by on‑the‑job learning and professional development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support commissioning activity that strengthens the sustainability and resilience of the legal aid market, contributing to approaches that maintain access to services over the short and longer term.


• Play an active role in market engagement, working with providers and representative bodies to build understanding of capacity, risks and opportunities, and feeding insight into commissioning and procurement activity.


• Build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, collaborating to align policy, operational and commercial objectives.


• Contribute to the planning and delivery of commissioning and procurement activity, supporting elements of tender exercises and ensuring activity aligns with agreed priorities, timetables and governance.


• Develop and apply knowledge of procurement and commissioning policy, practice and legislation, using this to support robust, proportionate and well‑managed activity.


• Support effective planning, scheduling and tracking of commissioning work, ensuring systems and information enable good decision‑making.


• Contribute insight and information to support workforce and resource planning within the team.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and skills

• Proven ability to analyse complex market and operational issues, drawing on evidence and stakeholder insight to develop practical, workable solutions that support access and sustainability.


• Strong analytical and numerical skills, with excellent attention to detail, enabling you to interpret market, performance or delivery information accurately and use it to inform commissioning activity.


• Clear and confident written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain issues, share insight and present options effectively to internal colleagues and external stakeholders.


• Effective influencing and engagement skills, with experience of working collaboratively across teams and with external partners to build shared understanding and support collective outcomes.


• Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high‑quality outputs at pace in a stakeholder‑rich and changing environment.

• An up‑to‑date understanding of the Legal Aid Agency’s duties under procurement regulations, and how these are applied proportionately in commissioning and tender activity to support effective market outcomes.


• Experience of supporting or running tender processes and using eTendering systems, with an appreciation of how procurement tools and processes impact providers and wider stakeholder engagement.


• Project management experience, with the ability to coordinate activity across stakeholders, manage interdependencies and support delivery through the commissioning cycle.


• Wider business or commercial contract management experience, bringing insight into supplier relationships, value for money and market sustainability.


• Experience of implementing or supporting change, including working with stakeholders to communicate change, understand impacts and embed new ways of working.


• Holds, is working towards, or is willing to work towards a relevant professional accreditation with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

• Demonstrates strong attention to detail, ensuring accuracy, quality and confidence when working with complex information, stakeholders and commissioning activity.


• Is resilient and adaptable, able to respond constructively to multiple and sometimes competing challenges while maintaining momentum and focus.


• Keeps sight of the end goal, understanding how individual tasks and decisions contribute to wider commissioning outcomes, market sustainability and access to justice.


• Thrives in a changing environment, responding positively to evolving priorities, stakeholder needs and policy or market developments.


• Is proactive in seeking better ways of working, showing curiosity, initiative and a willingness to contribute ideas that improve collaboration, market engagement and commissioning practice.

**Applica

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