Assistant Head of Commercial

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.

We are building a cadre of 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 policy and operational leaders to develop innovative commercial arrangements, whether through joint ventures, outsourcing or best-in-class contracts.

The Government Commercial Organisation is an employer which is truly committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and are able to perform to their potential. We understand the importance of diversity and inclusion and strive for a workplace that reflects the communities which we serve. We especially welcome applications from underrepresented groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, candidates with a disability and candidates with gender-diverse identities. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

We have already made significant progress through the establishment of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), our single employer of senior commercial talent across government. This role will sit within the GCO, but based in our MOD commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

DNO Commercial is a dynamic and talented team working at the heart of maintaining the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) which deals with complex market forces and monitors the supply chain fragility of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE). 

We conduct every part of the commercial lifecycle from identifying complex requirements to procuring sensitive material to managing billion-pound contracts and Category A programmes – the work we undertake is at a highly classified level. 

Throughout our work we manage a wide range of stakeholders with partners across the Defence Nuclear Enterprise ranging from the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) to the Royal Navy, Babcock, BAE, Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) and Sheffield Forgemasters. We operate with an annual budget of £6.9BN, working at the heart of government and protecting the UK’s most sensitive national security capabilities. 

As a general commercial senior leader, the candidate is expected to operate across DNO Commercial, providing commercial advice to stakeholders, building relationships with delivery organisations and protecting the nuclear supply chain. 

You will be Assistant Head of Commercial within DNO Commercial, responsible for leading commercial assurance activity across the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, working closely with our Delivery Partners (Atomic Weapons Establishment and Submarine Delivery Agency responsible for a combined supply chain spend of c£4Bn per annum) and driving continuous improvement in commercial capability.

You will lead a team of 6 commercial professionals to provide strategic oversight, commercial assurance and advice across the multi-billion-pound Defence Nuclear Enterprise portfolio, to assure commercial best practices are being applied, mitigating commercial risk and enable delivery of best value outcomes. 

You will be responsible for driving continuous commercial improvement within the DNO Commercial team, collaborating with Atomic Weapons Establishment and Submarine Delivery Agency to up-skill commercial capability across the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) through sharing of best practice.

You will lead relationship and engagement with Atomic Weapons Establishment Supply Chain team, developing DNO and Atomic Weapons Establishment commercial relationships with commercial colleagues across MOD and wider Government with particular focus on leveraging the commercial benefits of Atomic Weapons Establishment’s transition to a Non-Departmental Public Body. 

This role is reserved for British nationals and requires Developed Vetting (DV). 

• Providing commercial advice to DNO stakeholders including Director Generals and Directors across the whole commercial lifecycle, from make vs. buy decisions to dispute resolution
• Work across Government to foster and maintain positive working relationships with Other Government Departments, the rest of Ministry of Defence and its delivery partners
• Lead commercial assurance of Defence Nuclear Enterprise portfolio (primarily Atomic Weapons Establishment and Submarine Delivery Agency), maintaining a ‘live’ pipeline of Defence Nuclear Enterprise procurement / commercial activity to review investment approvals, sourcing strategies and contract award requests, providing strategic commercial advice and recommendations to senior stakeholders and Defence Nuclear Enterprise / MOD governance boards
• Grow and evolve the team’s approach to commercial assurance, working with key internal and external stakeholders to suggest and implement improvements to processes and controls and maintaining strong working relationships
• Developing an expert Contract Management capability within DNO and across Defence Nuclear Enterprise to strengthen and improve delivery performance on key nuclear contracts across the portfolio
• Drive continuous improvement across DNO Commercial, embedding and completing continuous improvement plans in support of Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF), developing effective tools, templates and processes and sharing best practice across the team to improve commercial capability
• Responsibility for ensuring DNO Commercial is aligned with and contributing to the priorities and policies of MoD Commercial and the Government Commercial Function
• Team leadership alongside senior leadership team for circa. 30 commercial professionals, at the heart of embedding change across the team. Responsible for leading a team of 6 people with a focus on coaching and professional development. 

Candidates must have minimum Level 4 CIPS and be willing to achieve MCIPS within 2 years of starting the role. After achieving MCIPS, they will be eligible for a commercial delegation of £50M – £75M.

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Assertive – The ability to review commercial situations before making and successfully executing commercial activity
• Manages Complexity – The ability to oversee complex commercial processes, with multiple stakeholders from different countries
• Market Insight – The ability to learn about the commercial dynamics of particular markets and to provide data driven commercial advice. Staying on top of key market information, such as new solutions and new suppliers
• Commercial Focus – Proven experience overseeing commercial processes that offer great value and great customer outcomes
• Builds Relationship – The ability to build excellent commercial relationships with senior stakeholders based in the UK and abroad the ability to be able to find common ground and develop mutually beneficial outcomes
• Strategy and Policy Development – From a sound commercial base being able to recommend the appropriate commercial strategy, followed up with the execution of strategy through effective policy implementation and rollout

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.

For existing Civil Servants:  For full details of the impact on any move across the civil service on your existing terms and conditions, please read the candidate pack.  Please note that any move across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to continue to claim childcare vouchers. 

Job contact :

• Name : Lynsey Munro
• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk