Assistant Head of Commercial

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 – DNO  commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO) Commercial. Our purpose: Deliver nuclear capability to deter the threat and protect our nation.

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 to the Royal Navy, Babcock, BAE, Atomic Weapons Establishment 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. 

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

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

As a member of DNO Commercial’s senior leadership team, you will have responsibility for: 

• 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 relationships with Other Government Departments and the rest of Ministry of Defence and its delivery partners.
• Establishing and setting up the processes to maintain a ‘live’ pipeline of procurement / commercial activity across the whole of Nuclear Enterprise, including MOD, Atomic Weapons Establishment and Submarine Delivery Agency.
•  Developing an expert Contract Management team within DNO to strengthen and improve delivery performance on key nuclear contracts. 
• Responsibility for ensuring DNO Commercial is aligned with and contributing to the priorities and policies of MoD Central Commercial and the Government Commercial Function. 
• Team leadership with the other SLT for circa. 30 commercial professionals.

Please be aware that interviews for these roles will be based in London (SW1A 2ER) and will be conducted face to face.  There is no option for online interviews.

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 Relationships – 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

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