Head of Commercial

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Job Details

Description

Location

London, Glasgow, Bristol, with travel to various locations.

About 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.

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 (BAME) 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.

Job description

The Head Office Commercial team comprises of approx. 80 FTE spread across 4 main offices in the UK (Abbeywood, London, Glasgow and Imjin). The portfolio has a mix of on-going contract management, new procurements and setting category strategies across the in-direct spend areas.
The portfolio ranges from standard corporate services to complex, outsourced high value contracts within Defence Business Services (DBS). In 2020 the Head Office Top Level Budget areas became accountable for their own budgets and spending, working in partnership with Finance, Commercial and HR Business Partners.

Responsibilities

Commercial Capabilities


  • Develop a deep and broad understanding of the current and potential supply market across the portfolio – Indirect Categories, especially Professional and Consultancy Services;

  • Leading the Head Office Commercial Team through a programme of continual improvement to develop capability, manage talent and improve resource matching to role;

Stakeholder Management


  • Act as the MoD Head Office strategic commercial advisor providing excellent support and advice across the full breadth of Head Office activity which enables commercial consequences and opportunities to be understood and exploited;

  • Shaping and influencing commercial and procurement strategies across all areas of Head Office Spend;

Leadership


  • Lead the Head Office Commercial Leadership Team to enable continual improvement, capability development and higher profile across Head Office;

  • Direct line management of B1 commercial staff and associated teams (80 FTE);

Team Development


  • Continual development of commercial capability across the Commercial and Head Office Teams;

  • Support appropriate personal and professional development within the team utilising the Commercial Development Programme, Coaching and Mentoring Schemes and cross Government sharing of good practice.

Technical skills

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

  • Manages Complexity - Strong understanding of public procurement and dynamics between FLC/Head Office/Delivery Organisations. Skilled in managing and delivering a diverse commercial portfolio with multiple stakeholders.
  • Procurement Process – strong procurement skillset and can understand, apply and optimise proportionality in the commercial approaches across a diverse portfolio from complex tri service programmes to low risk, low value contracting.
  • Builds Relationships – Skilled and experienced in strong senior stakeholder management both within Defence and externally. Adept at influencing non-commercial stakeholders.
  • Coaching Manager – experience of leading and developing a team of commercial professionals with an eye on continual improvement and empowerment.
  • Strategy and Policy Development – deep understanding of procurement policy and strategy and experience of influencing both to take into account the needs of different areas.
  • Contract and Supplier Management – supplier and contract management experience including delivering efficiencies and continual improvement.

Benefits

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.

Things you need to know

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the explanation provided in the attached candidate pack.

Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the essential criteria for the role which are detailed in the attached Candidate Pack.

Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview

IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UKs
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
  • relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
  • certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : Sean Kelly

Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team :

Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact Helen Mallison (helen.mallison@cabinetoffice.gov.uk) in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission via the following web page: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/

Salary Range: £91800.00 - £131000.00

Job ID
56
Job Title
Head of Commercial
Start Date
01/21/2021
Application Deadline
March 31, 2021
Salary Range
no minimum salary specified - no maximum salary specified
Job Location
London Glasgow Bristol (plus travel),
Website
https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi?SID=b3duZXJ0eXBlPWZhaXImc2VhcmNoX3NsaWNlX2 

Contact Information

Name
Sean Kelly
Email
commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 
222540