Commercial Lead

This is an exciting time to join CD, as we are seeking experienced commercial professionals to lead in the delivery of the business strategy and be responsible for delivery of key procurement and contract management outcomes within the team. The role offers attractive long-term career opportunities within a supportive and engaging work environment, alongside a range of excellent employee benefits. We require driven and dynamic individuals able to achieve results in a challenging but rewarding commercial environment.
You will contribute to the development of Category expertise within the team, and increase the level of commerciality, operational execution, and stakeholder/supplier engagement. Your role will be to support one of the above categories, and will require you to be passionate about creating change, taking a leadership role in the development of an enhanced Category management capability. You will have the skills to challenge, inspire and lead others in a complex landscape of departmental transformation.
Locations:
For Health: Leeds/Sheffield/Blackpool locations only
For SDC: Leeds/Manchester/Blackpool locations only
The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace.
Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance.
This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

Person specification
+ Take operational responsibility for the development, review, negotiation and execution of many concurrent large scale and complex contracts (existing and new), and the commercial management of related suppliers, within your area of accountability.
+ Ensure agreed supplier cost savings targets are delivered, and initiatives are delivered that increase efficiency whilst maintaining adequate performance and risk management.
+ Contribute to the creation and delivery of market-leading category and commercial strategies, influencing supply markets to meet current and future Departmental needs.
+ Provide commercial support and guidance to management and other stakeholders (internal and external), ensuring “best outcome” commercial solutions are delivered in line with DWP, Commercial and Category strategies, and develop their commercial capability.
+ Ensure accurate, comprehensive and transparent commercial analysis, with recommendations to senior decision makers based on value and whole life costs that maintain full business ownership of the commercial outcomes.
+ Activity management of supporting team members aligned to your sub-category. Through effective and proactive contract management of high value strategic contracts, create positive supplier relationships, a strong customer service ethos, and clear commercial strategies to secure optimum outcomes for the DWP.
+ Make a significant contribution to the building of a culture of continuous improvement within the Category and DWP Commercial Directorate
+ Line management, mentoring and coaching team members on policies, procedures, practices and techniques equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deliver., If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team at commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates.
Details of schemes available are attached in the advert.
For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the explanation provided in the attached candidate pack.
Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the essential criteria for the role which are detailed in the attached Candidate Pack.
Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview.
IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
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)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
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+ Manages Complexity - Experience of analysing complex information to make informed commercial decisions
+ Commercial Focus - Influencing stakeholders towards commercial solutions to deliver business strategy & commercial performance. Demonstrate commercial and risk management of strategic contracts, securing vfm whilst managing stakeholder needs
+ Resilient - Proven resilience with the ability to manage stakeholders to achieve positive commercial outcomes, supporting projects delivering business outcomes. Resolve issues internally and help the team to deal with setbacks
+ Builds Relationships - Quickly gains the respect of, and buy in from stakeholders at all levels, collaborating, influencing and engaging with others in delivering change with the ability to build consensus around a course of action
+ Procurement Process - Evidence of significant public procurement experience, including design and delivery of commercial strategies, plans and processes, and/or commercial management of highly complex and strategically important contracts

Building a strong Commercial Function in Government, and with it the right commercial capability, is at the heart of a far-reaching programme of Civil Service reform. The GCF is more than just the response to the challenges that Government has faced in recent times; it is an essential element of the Government’s efforts to address the value for money agenda, while delivering higher quality public services.
We play a pivotal role across Government; from the response to COVID-19, in military supplies, innovative new IT systems, to new infrastructure contracts and support for humanitarian aid.
Our vision is to make the GCF the best commercial function in the UK: staffed with top commercial specialists, creating and managing innovative, efficient and effective commercial arrangements.
This is an exciting and diverse environment – Central Government spends around £70bn per year on procurements that range from £100k to multi-billion pound contracts, with annual spend on individual contracts often exceeding £500m, with a further £230bn spent in the wider public service. Our supply base includes SMEs and the largest multinationals, and our business models have the Government acting as shareholder or sponsor, as well as being an ‘intelligent client’.
We need to continue to improve our knowledge of the marketplace. We need to maximise value from our commercial dealings, and we have increasingly put in place the tools to achieve that - better IT and databases, consistent methodology and benchmarking.
But tools alone are not enough. We need senior commercial specialists across all Government departments working collectively to address common ‘Crown’ objectives, acting as a single, joined-up customer.
Recognising the importance of these senior roles, the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO) was established to manage the employment, development and on-going talent management for the most senior grades of commercial professionals within the wider Commercial Function.
We are building a centrally deployed cadre of respected commercial talent in all Government departments - people who can manage our commercial portfolios, who can lead our most complex and novel programmes and projects, people who have the gravitas and depth of experience to work alongside our Ministers and policy and operational leaders to develop innovative commercial arrangements, whether through joint ventures, outsourcing or best-in-class contracts.
We hope you will be inspired to join us and help lead the on-going commercial reform agenda of the Civil Service., The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is an amazing place to work. DWP works on some of the most important and exciting policies in government. We are proud of our work and want to offer applicants the opportunity to get involved in our ambitious agenda to improve outcomes for millions of citizens in the UK; throughout their lives, in the workplace, and in retirement.
DWP is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. Consequently, DWP impacts everyone in the UK, delivering services to help jobseekers find work, assist with a disability or provide support for retirement.
If you like to be challenged, you’ll feel at home with us in DWP Commercial Directorate as we’re one of the largest Government Commercial functions, with stretching challenges and a real opportunity to make a difference to the lives of our customers.
Within DWP, the Commercial Directorate (CD) is an award-winning commercial function, with a unified team culture focused on commercial excellence and continuous improvement. CD shapes how services are delivered across hundreds of third-party contractual arrangements, with some of the largest industry suppliers.
DWP’s CD is divided into several categories, which include Service Delivery Commercial (SDC), and Health & Assessment Services. These Commercial categories are based across our Leeds, Blackpool, Manchester, and Sheffield Hubs.
These categories provide critical services to DWP and its customers, enabling it too effectively deliver its objectives on behalf of the Secretary of State, through effective management of the end-to-end procurement lifecycle, and directing the Department’s strategies for commercial delivery., Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on 3rd December 2024 and will require a full day's attendance.

As a valued employee of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), you will have access to all the benefits the centre has to offer; including flexible working, generous benefits, Career Coaches, Mentors, L&D, a Commercial College, active talent management and, most importantly, access to commercial projects that will far exceed the scale and complexity on offer elsewhere in the UK.