Commercial Lead (2 Positions)

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 Ministry of Justice commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

As Commercial Lead, you must be self-motivated and care deeply about delivering important public services and spending taxpayers’ money wisely.  High levels of aptitude, enthusiasm and strong work ethic are what will make you suited to this role.  You’ll also have strong analytical and communication skills and feel comfortable working at pace to deliver innovation and value for money for the department.

As a leader of a team of up to 5 people you will be accountable for their day-to-day performance, their personal development and for identifying and growing the next generation of commercial talent.  

One role will be responsible for the delivery of category management, procurement and contract management across the language services portfolio, which supports the Ministry of Justice.

The language services category consists of four contracts, three are focused on delivery of translation and interpreting services used by courts, prisons and other MoJ commissioning bodies. There is one contract in place which assures the quality of these three services. The role is twofold; it will be overseeing the contract management of these contracts, which include (but not limited to) performance reviews, attending strategic board reviews and working in collaboration with the suppliers to identify and implement innovation. Three of the four contracts are in the process of being reprocured and are currently within the ‘define’ stage of the lifecycle. The role includes supporting the procurement team to complete this procurement project, on time and within budget.

The other role will support the HMCTS Reform Programme, overseeing the conclusion of the project phase and transition to steady state.   There will also be a requirement to support other Strategy and Change projects within HMCTS. 

The HMCTS Reform Programme is a £1bn Programme, which commenced in 2016. The aim is to make justice quicker, easier and fairer. This means moving activity out of the courtroom, enabling online processing, and using new technology to support court sessions, eg the scheduling and listing of hearings or providing video hearings technology. As we move towards an increasing focus on project closure, there is a requirement to provide commercial support to the handover into Live Service and ensuring the right commercial models are in place. Similarly like any big transformation programme elements can be rescoped, interactions with wider Teams may drive more need for new projects and we need to find a way to support this activity balancing compliance and risk versus business need.

You will be required to work closely with a wide variety of, often very senior, stakeholders to make sure our contracts deliver what they’re supposed to and are properly regulated.  

The main responsibilities are likely to include:-

• Guiding and supporting senior operational stakeholders at project inception, and through the define stage of the commercial lifecycle

• Implementing a consistent and proportionate approach to commercial contract management across the portfolio.

• Providing leadership and strategic direction to develop a mature category management approach.

• Using commercial insight to influence and support senior leaders across the MoJ to create opportunities for innovation which deliver value for money.

• Leading and developing a team of commercial professionals.

• Working across CCMD to share best practice and building a strong network across GCO including CCS, Complex Transactions Team and Market & Suppliers Teams.

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

• Manages Complexity: Evidence of managing and balancing multiple priorities with competing projects and changing department requirements.
• Decisive: Able to reassess options based on new thinking and information to unlock innovative solutions.
• Commercial Focus: A strategic and experienced commercial professional, with a good understanding of the entire commercial lifecycle able to identify commercial opportunities.
• Builds Relationships: A track record of engaging across a variety of stakeholders, tailoring your messaging accordingly and delivering multiple projects simultaneously.
• Coaching Manager: Proven ability to identify and develop talent to the benefit of the wider organisation.

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.

 childcare vouchers.

Job contact :

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

Recruitment team

• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk