Contract Specialist

Western Sydney | Hybrid | 2-Year Full-Time Fixed Term Contract

Are you an experienced contracts professional who knows how to look beyond the paperwork and understand what really sits behind a contract?

We have partnered with WentWest, a purpose-driven, government-funded organisation making a genuine difference to the health and wellbeing of communities across Western Sydney.

We are looking for a Contract Specialist who combines strong contract management experience with sound financial understanding, commercial judgement and the confidence to build strong relationships with providers and internal stakeholders.

This is not a procurement role and it is not simply about managing agreements and ticking compliance boxes. You will be responsible for managing complex commissioned service contracts and ensuring providers are delivering against agreed expectations, funding requirements and contractual obligations.

About the role

Sitting within WentWest’s Contracts team, you will share a portfolio of approximately 20–40 commissioned service contracts across areas such as mental health, drug and alcohol and aged care.

WentWest does not directly deliver many of these services. Instead, it commissions experienced external providers to deliver services across the Western Sydney community. Your role will be to ensure these providers are meeting their contractual and performance expectations, while building constructive relationships that support strong service delivery.

You will manage the more complex and challenging contracts within the portfolio, working closely with providers, internal Program and Finance teams and other stakeholders.

The role has a strong relationship management component. You will regularly engage with providers, hold performance discussions and work through contractual or financial issues. You will also become an important source of knowledge and support within a small Contracts team, providing guidance and mentoring to Contract Coordinators and other team members.

Key responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of government-funded commissioned service contracts, with responsibility for the more complex and challenging contracts.
• Monitor provider performance, contractual obligations, milestones, deliverables, expenditure and compliance.
• Build and maintain strong, constructive relationships with commissioned service providers.
• Work with providers to understand performance, address issues and ensure contractual expectations are being met.
• Review provider budgets, costs and financial information and identify risks, inconsistencies or areas requiring further clarification.
• Work closely with internal Finance, Program and other stakeholder teams to ensure financial and contractual information is understood and appropriately managed.
• Conduct performance and contract discussions with providers, including challenging conversations where required.
• Identify and manage contractual risks and resolve complex issues before they escalate.
• Analyse provider data and reporting to identify trends, risks and performance issues.
• Provide specialist advice and support on complex contract management matters.
• Act as a mentor and subject matter resource for Contract Coordinators and other members of the team.

About you

We are looking for someone who is comfortable managing complexity, building relationships and getting into the detail of a contract.

You don’t need to be a finance expert, but you will need a good understanding of budgets, costing and financial information, and be confident asking questions when something doesn’t look right.

You will ideally bring:

• Demonstrated experience managing contracts, funding agreements or commissioned services.
• Experience working with complex contracts and the ability to interpret contractual requirements.
• Sound financial understanding, including experience reviewing budgets, costing and expenditure.
• Strong stakeholder and relationship management skills.
• Confidence engaging with providers and having constructive, sometimes challenging, performance discussions.
• Strong attention to detail and analytical capability.
• The ability to manage multiple contracts, priorities and deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• A collaborative and solutions-focused approach.
• Experience supporting, mentoring or guiding less experienced team members.

Experience within health, community services, mental health, drug and alcohol, aged care, Primary Health Networks or the not-for-profit sector would be highly regarded.

The most important thing is that you have the maturity and experience to operate at Specialist level, manage complex contracts independently and provide guidance to others within the team.

Why join WentWest?

This is an opportunity to use your contract management expertise in an organisation where the work has a genuine impact on the health and wellbeing of communities across Western Sydney.

You’ll join a small, collaborative Contracts team where your experience will be valued and where you will have the opportunity to influence how significant government-funded services are managed.

The role offers:

• $110,000 base salary + superannuation
• Salary packaging benefits
• 13% superannuation
• 37.5-hour working week
• Hybrid working – 3 days in the office and 2 days from home
• Fitness Passport
• Additional $10 per week for personal use
• Additional paid leave over the Christmas/New Year shutdown period
• Long service leave benefits after 5 years
• A supportive and respectful workplace culture
• Convenient Western Sydney location, a close walk from the station. Paid parking is available nearby

This is a 2-year full-time contract. WentWest engages team members on two-year contracts, due to government funding.

If you’re an experienced contracts professional who enjoys working with complexity, building strong provider relationships, understanding the detail behind budgets and ensuring government-funded services are delivering what they are intended to achieve, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now, or reach out to Mahala on mahalaw@bloomhr.com.au for more information.