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 CCT - CTT commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

The Complex Transactions Team (CTT) is proud of its achievement in having helped departments deliver £4.2bn of savings over the last 7 financial years (from 2015/16 to 2021/22). We are primarily involved in three types of projects. In each case, we can be engaged at all stages of the programme lifecycle:

• Procurements: setting the right strategic direction for new deals through to negotiation and getting to a signed deal with a new contractor.

• Negotiations: from contract reviews to support achievement of the best outcomes from negotiations, through to devising and implementing contract (re)negotiations for scope adjustments, service improvements and financial savings.

• Disputes: from providing advice on resolving commercial issues without resorting to formal dispute resolution procedures, through to implementing a strategy for mediation, arbitration and court proceedings.

• Providing expert commercial support to deliver some of the most high profile and complex commercial projects and initiatives for Government

• Supporting departments to structure their commercial requirements to deliver value for money on departmental programmes and projects – examples:

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  Input to creating an appropriate suite of commercial documentation; advising on routes to market (e.g. outsourcing, disaggregation, major commodities);
• Capable of supporting commercial teams through the procurement process.
• Shaping and leading commercial negotiations with both new and incumbent suppliers through to a pre-defined acceptable conclusion.
• Giving strategic advice and support to complex contracts at procurement, contract exit and contract reviews.
• Provision of support to resolve commercial and legal disputes between government departments and strategic suppliers.
• Delivering measurable and significant commercial results including cost savings and other indirect benefits.
• Identifying how government can address best practice commercial approaches such as transparency, pricing and termination arrangements, in more complex contracts.

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  Playing an active role in contributing to the expertise within the CTT and sharing best practice and experience whilst collaborating with peers

• Be amongst the most senior members of the Government Commercial Function and play a role in the broader commercial reform programme led by the Government Chief Commercial Officer

• You will play a key leadership and change management role in developing a strong commercial function for the Complex Transactions Team and across government.

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

• Manages Complexity - A proven ability to secure a deal, while maintaining emphatic customer and supplier relationships. Evidence of managing complex bids through negotiation, likely to have been gained from multiple large deals. (Lead Criterion)
• Builds Relationships - Ability to quickly gain credibility and a full comprehension of complex, detailed information. Your consultancy skills will need to evidence expertise offered through tenacious stakeholder engagement and clear communication.
• Political Insight - Evidence of effective collaboration at all levels of engagement in a complex environment through effective communication and personal impact including the ability to work proactively with incumbent teams.
• Strategy and Policy Development - Evidence of designing, shaping, agreeing and delivering innovative commercial strategies from a lead role in a complex organisation.
• Resilient - Demonstrated an adaptive and assured natural presence that inspired confidence when resolving intricate commercial problems and led to you successfully influencing positive outcomes for all.
• Contract and Supply Management - A clear track record of commercial category expertise including contract disaggregation, likely to have been gained from working with or in blue-chip organisations.

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.

Job contact :

Name :
Rachel Whyte
Email :
commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email :
commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk