Commercial Implementation Lead

In the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you’d like to work in, we’d love to hear from you.

The Commercial Directorate is a strategic and enabling function that supports all DHSC’s commercial interactions with third parties and supporting ministers in delivering their agenda. Our mission is to ensure that health and care policy is implemented at best value for the taxpayer.   

We do this by leading and overseeing the department’s direct commercial activity, implementing commercial policies across DHSC and its arm length bodies, and acting as advisors to the Secretary of State. Our vision is to provide a world-class commercial service to enable the health and care system to deliver for the public – we aim to be the best in government commercial for technical expertise and customer focus.  

This is an exciting time to be part of the DHSC Commercial Directorate (CD) with an ever-growing need for policy and commercial professions to work closely to solve some of the most fascinating challenges in health and care.  The Commercial Implementation Lead post sit in the Commercial Implementation Unit (CIU) section of the Commercial Strategy and Business Partnering Team which is part of the CD.  

The CIU was designed to ensure commercial considerations are at the heart of DHSC policy making and embedded into policy thinking from the earliest stages. The team works like an internal consultancy for policy areas, using a collaborative approach to bring a business, financial and commercial perspective to policy design. The Commercial Implementation Lead delivers projects and advises policy teams on some of the most complex and high-profile areas across the department. The CIU are expected to foster relationships across the NHS,  the wider health and care system, other Arms-Length Bodies (ALBs) and government departments.  

Applications are encouraged from a wide range of backgrounds and professions, including but not limited to, commercial/commissioning, policy and project delivery, health and social care, as diversity of perspectives improves our service and decision making.

The Commercial Implementation Lead role provides colleagues with commercial advice and expertise to support policy making and shape and design requirements. The post holder is expected to work on and lead several projects at any given time, have the ability to build good relationships with a range of colleagues and provide credible advice. 

CIU’s ability to provide direct input to DHSC priorities is contingent on a small agile team with relevant skills, knowledge, and experience, along with the ability to re-task at pace. Successful candidate will need to be highly organised and respond to ad-hoc support requests when needed.  They will also need to have a track record of juggling multiple complex projects, managing competing deadlines, working with ambiguity and change, and ideally have experience of account management/business development and/or customer service. As advice goes directly into policy designs, business cases and/or ministerial submissions, good written communication/report writing skills are essential. 

The work is incredibly varied, and the team works across the full breadth of health and care policy. The role will include bespoke project work, deep dive reviews, make vs buy analysis, engagement and consultation, commercial options appraisal, and market assessments.  Key elements of this post include ensuring value for money, briefing ministers and senior leaders, providing recommendations to shape service transformation and design, and encouraging innovation including through digital solutions and new technology.  

The Commercial Implementation Lead role will require a flexible and adaptable approach as priorities and workload will shift throughout the year: 

Your key responsibilities will be:

• To lead the CIU in embedding commercial considerations into departmental policy development by providing valued, reliable, and trusted support to the policy profession and maintain a reputation for customer service excellence with policy colleagues 
• Work collaboratively and cultivate good working relationships internally and externally, becoming a trusted partner  
• Lead and deliver work packages with project management discipline to ensure that DHSC policy teams can translate commercial considerations into successful policy implementation. This will include managing a diverse workload across multiple independent projects whilst meeting deadlines and providing high quality work 
• To use creative thinking, commercial awareness, and experience to make well-informed judgements and influential proposals to policy colleagues. This will include drawing on additional expertise in analysing complex or conflicting evidence, presenting options, and making recommendations to enable the most appropriate solutions to be developed
• Establish, build, and maintain relationships with key stakeholders who are of strategic importance to the organisation. This may include internal Ministers and senior employees from the DHSC or external government departments or organisations, (recognising potential conflicting views and priorities) 
• Engaging with DHSC Policy Units to generate new project opportunities by assessing the strategic commercial implications of new policies and projects, potential to improve services, improve efficiency or generate revenue from public sector assets/activities  
• Be politically aware and consider the commercial, financial, and long-term implications of policy and other changes; interpret trends and developments and produce future policies and organisational strategies considering these
• Support the Deputy Director and Head of CIU in brief ministers and senior leaders both in person and via submissions which summaries the issues and seek their advice, approval, or action 
• Undertake line management duties and support the development of direct reports as well as the wider team 
• Lead by example; role modelling ethics, integrity, impartiality, and the elimination of bias by building diverse teams and promoting a working environment that supports the Civil Service values and code

Key Skills and Responsibilities Required for the Role:

• Have the drive and organisational skills to deliver work packages to time 
• Be able to develop strong relationships with stakeholders including the customer i.e. a policy team and leverage these relationships to deliver excellent customer service both autonomously or within a dynamic project team 
• Be comfortable and adaptable with frequent and fast paced change. This includes both moving between multiple projects and working across a diverse work area 
• Be able to use sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to arrive at accurate professional decisions and advice. (This includes being able to analyse and present data) 
• Be comfortable giving advice at short notice and, at times, with limited/incomplete information
• Have strong communication skills and interpersonal skills. You will also be able to communicate across multiple mediums and convey messages in a clear and succinct way. This includes report writing, submissions, options papers or verbal communication
• Have a good set of skills to operate across a range of projects and teams – including: 
  • Effective planning 
  • Time management 
  • Ability to think through difficult policy problems 
  • Adaptability to shifts in business focus and customer needs, demonstrating a solutions-focused approach.
• Whilst not essential, it would be desirable if you have relevant experience in any of the following: 
  • Knowledge and understanding of commercial markets and models,
  • Experience of project management and commissioning
  • Business development and consultancy 
  • Experience of working with/or in the public sector or developing policy 

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Leadership

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job contact :

• Name : Claire Gibney
• Email : claire.gibney@dhsc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dhscrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk