Contract Monitoring Officer Ref: 59-25

Contract Monitoring Officer - Ref: 59-25

Salary: Grade 8, (£31,645-£37,763) per annum

Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week

Place of Work: Dereham (remote enabled)

Basis: Permanent

Would you like a job where what you do:

• Delivers services to households, businesses and communities
• Contributes to improving the environment in which we live, work and visit

The introduction of 'Simpler Recycling' means it is a really exciting time to be joining the Environmental Services team.  The changes mean we are introducing new services, supporting our residents and businesses to recycle more.

We are looking for a motivated and detail‑driven Contract Monitoring Officer to join our team. In this role, you will help ensure that contracted services consistently deliver high‑quality outcomes in line with:

• Contractual obligations
• Statutory requirements
• Organisational policies, standards, and values

You'll work collaboratively with providers, internal colleagues, and stakeholders to monitor performance, support continuous improvement, and ensure services deliver the best possible experience for the people who rely on them.

About you:

Collaborative

• I look for ways to work in partnership with colleagues across services, Members and external partners
• I listen supportively to their ideas, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge

Ambitious

• I always ask myself, 'How could we do this better?', and take ownership of change and help others to understand, adapt to, implement and embed the change
• I have an open mindset, take risks and explore new ways of doing things

Results-driven

• I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping a focus on results and solutions
• I am driven to achieve results and show courage and resilience even when things don't go to plan

Empowering

• I show energy and drive to explore new opportunities and challenge the status quo, and act on opportunities where we can generate an income and drive down costs
• I ask for help and support when needed, and take responsibility if things don't go well and learn from it for my own, and for the organisations development

Supportive

• I treat others as I would want to be treated myself, ensuring that I am welcoming, friendly and approachable.
• I give time to colleagues who need help and support.

OK, I'm interested...but is it really the job for me?

As our Contract Monitoring Officer, you will:

• Build effective working relationships with stakeholders
• Operationally manage the waste and related services contracts
• Liaise with contractors on service requests and complaints
• Lead on customer service improvements
• Identify non compliance and performance issues and escalate appropriately
• Maintain accurate databases and monitoring systems
• Participate in multi disciplinary meetings and contract reviews
• Support procurement for new contracts
• Enhance and develop the services we offer

Closing date: 20^th April 2026

What's it like to work for us?

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment, and authority to carry out their duties.

We are a dynamic and innovative organisation that is always testing and learning as we seek to continually improve. We have never stood still in response to the emergence of new opportunities, changing customer demands, or ongoing funding challenges. We have exciting plans for how to deliver the best possible services to our residents and businesses.

Breckland as a district is a special place nestled in the heart of rural Norfolk, spanning over 500 square miles of beautiful countryside and forest, with five Market Towns and over 140,000 residents. We care for, listen to, and support people and businesses within our district. We have big ideas and always come up with innovative ways to meet the needs of the local communities we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better.

But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and work together with others to make a greater impact. We are also an organisation where our employees can grow and develop and are empowered to achieve and succeed. We are proud of our area; by driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be the one of choice.

We will support and enable growth and change in our thriving, welcoming places. As such, people and businesses will choose to be here, knowing their ambitions can be not just fulfilled but exceeded. By listening to people, by understanding what they need and by working together, we can shape what we have to offer. By doing so, we can benefit those who are already here, as well as those who choose to come to live, work, visit, or do business.

Our employees enjoy excellent conditions of service, including:

• A local government pension scheme (14 per cent employer contribution).
• Attractive holiday package (25 days increasing with service, plus bank holidays).
• Free car parking.
• Remote working enables
• A newly refurbished office.

Our commitment to talent development, on the job learning and upskilling, training and professional memberships, will keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Job summary

Description of duties

• Acts as a main point of contact for contractor/s
• Build effective working relationships with providers, service users, internal teams and partner agencies
• Operational management of the waste and related services contract:
  • Raising and processing work orders
  • Raise disputes for escalation
  • Contract management digital solutions
• To liaise with contractors on service requests and complaints
• Assess service delivery against contractual terms and KPI's
• Identify non compliance and performance issues, escalating concerns appropriately
• Collect, analyse and interpret performance data, trends and provider reports, including reporting performance data to central government departments
• Maintain accurate databases and monitoring systems
• Participate in multi disciplinary meetings and contract reviews
• To lead on the coordination and development of customer relationship improvements, including liaison with contractors and internal departments
• To manage the community recycling bank scheme, including any appropriate payments to recycling groups and contractual arrangements with contractors
• To support the procurement process for new Council contracts
• Support the development and implementation of improvements plans
• Prepare written reports, dashboards and presentations for internal and external stakeholders
• Ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
• To manage other Council contracts as appropriate
• Conduct scheduled and unscheduled reviews and inspections of the contracted services
• To work closely with the Environmental Services Officer to develop and enhance levels of service delivered by contracts within the District
• Liaise with elected members, members of the  public, regional stakeholders and relevant contractors, on strategic, operational and service requirements
• To work with other officers across the Council, to share best practice and develop a consistent and effective approach to contract management, and provide possible opportunities for trading of services

This job description is not exhaustive.

The job description outlines the current position and will be subject to review in the light of development within the service, in consultation with the post holder as detailed in your Contract of Employment.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent communication - written, verbal and presentations
• Proactive with an ability to work autonomously, using own initiative with a methodical and organised approach
• Ability to prioritise work, meet demand, meet tight deadlines, and work under pressure
• Experience of working in a busy customer service focused environment
• Experience of combining excellent team working with the ability to operate with a minimum amount of supervision and work independently
• Problem solving mindset
• Excellent organisational skills
• Detail orientated and accurate
• Stakeholder management and experience of successful partnership working
• Manage and analyse data
• Committed to continuous improvement
• Ability to manage multiple contracts and priorities
• Experience of performance monitoring
• Good analytical and report writing skills
• Use of information technology

Desirable

• Experience in working in a waste and recycling, grounds, and street cleansing environment
• Experience of working in a political environment, with elected members
• Knowledge of current relevant legislation relating to Environmental Services
• Experience of monitoring and reviewing contracts
• Influencing and negotiation skills working with multiple stakeholders
• Resourceful and able to think outside the box
• Experience of taking initiative, identifying opportunities, and taking outcome orientated approach in addressing challenges
• Experience of taking decisions in a busy environment

Qualifications

Essential

• 5 GCSE passes, including maths and English, or equivalent vocational qualification, or demonstratable evidence of having worked in a similar role for 2 years

Desirable

• An appropriate professional qualification within the remit of environmental services

• IOSH Managing Safely, or willing to obtain it

Essential Behaviours

Collaborative:

• I look for ways to work in partnership and listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge.
• I listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge

Ambitious:

• I always ask myself 'How could we do this better?', taking ownership of change and helping others to understand, adapt, implement, and embed it.
• I have an open mindset, take risks and explore new ways of doing things.

Results Driven:

• I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping a focus on results and solutions.
• I am driven, showing courage and resilience even when things don't go to plan.

Empowering:

• I show energy and drive to explore new opportunities and challenge the status quo, and act on opportunities where we can generate an income and drive down costs.
• I ask for help and support when needed, and take responsibility if things don't go well, learning from it for my own and for the organisation's development.

Supportive:

• I treat others as I would want to be treated myself, ensuring that I am welcoming, friendly and approachable.
• I give time to colleagues who need help or support

Health & Safety (exposure to risk)

• The postholder, will at times, be required to undertake lone working within the district.
• The role provides support to others, both within the team and outside, and therefore the post holder needs to demonstrate ability to deal with frequent interruptions on a daily basis.
• The post holder needs to demonstrate the ability to deal with mental stress at various times, to deal with fluctuations within the teams workload.

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Sarah Simpson, Environmental Services Manager by emailing sarah.simpson@breckland.gov.uk.

Closing date - 20 April 2026

Interview dates - 5, 6 or 7 May 2026

Apply Online

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer, recognising the benefits of sustaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet the requirements of our vacancies. These are listed as essential requirements on the person specification.