Head of Commercial

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 234280**Salary**:

- £70,176 - £96,909- GCO Pension, GCO Terms. Up to 15% performance-related-pay available on accreditation.**Grade**:

- Grade 6- Associate Commercial Specialist**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- GCF - Cabinet Office**Type of role**:

- Commercial**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed Hours**Number of posts**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Glasgow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, YorkAbout the job

**Summary**:
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.

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 CO commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

**Job description**:
This post has two main priorities. Firstly, you will act as a senior commercial business partner for a number of business areas across the Cabinet Office, including Infrastructure Projects Authority and the Office of Government Property among others. These areas manage over 60 contracts and circa £100m spend.

Acting as a senior commercial advisor, you will take a hands-on approach to building strategic relationships across these business areas, enabling you and your team to shape and influence commercial and procurement strategies and deliver value for money in commercial activity for your customers. You will be responsible for ensuring that a high standard of commercial advice and guidance is provided at all times, identifying opportunities for improvement and acting accordingly. You will manage a small team of commercial staff members and you will also have delegated authority for the approval of procurement strategies and contract awards within your area of responsibility.

Secondly, you will have responsibility for leading and delivering the directorate transformation programme, working closely with the Commercial Director and other key stakeholders to deliver change to positively impact commercial outcomes and value for money delivered by the commercial team. You will ensure that the directorate delivers on its functional priorities, working with other leaders within the department to make change happen.

This is a hands-on role, and you will be expected to maintain a strong understanding of all commercial activity taking place within the business area and be able to lead a commercial team to deliver successful outcomes in a fast-paced environment. You will also need to be able to juggle priorities, switching from delivering in an operational capacity to working on transformational objectives as required.

We also have opportunities at the Commercial Lead level within this Department. If you are interviewed for this role at the Associate Commercial Specialist level but are not successful we may consider you for the Commercial Lead opportunities.

**Responsibilities**:

- Act as the senior point of contact and champion for good commercial practice across your area of responsibility and the wider department and government;
- Build strategic relationships within your business areas, fostering trust and transparency at a senior level in order to allow the team to provide the best level of commercial advice and guidance;
- Lead a small commercial team that is proactive and outward-facing to enable continual improvement, capability development and higher profile across the business unit;
- Provide hands-on targeted procurement or contract management support where required, for example where a contract or procurement activity is identified as being at risk;
- Enable the efficient and effective delivery of procurements, supporting the Business Unit and wider government departments to achieve excellent outcomes through commercial and intervening where appropriate to ensure best outcomes;
- Take overall responsibility for ensuring that any new government commercial policies are implemented appropriately across your area of responsibility;
- Ensure procurement and contract management activities are undertaken in line with prevailing Civil Service policies and all necessary regulatory requirements;
- Work with other key stakeholders to lead the directorate transformation programme, coordinating activities and leading on specific transformation deliv