About the job

Job summary

The Home Office works to keep our citizens safe and our country secure. As well as working to reduce crime, enforce the law and protect our borders, it also works to protect the most vulnerable and is at the cutting edge of public policy making - our work is among the most challenging and rewarding in Government. Our commercial teams have been at the forefront of the Department’s responses to the COVID 19 pandemic, the protection of our borders and society. 

The Home Office spends approximately £3bn each year with third party suppliers and this is managed by Commercial Directorate, a team of around 300 procurement and contract management professionals. The range of goods and services acquired is huge and includes services to complex programmes that are unique in Europe with multi-million-pound contracts.  

At the Home Office, you will have the chance to make a real and tangible positive impact to the country’s future structure, impacting the lives across the UK and work on a broad range of Missions from Borders and Migration, Public Safety and our Homeland security, the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, Digital Data & Technology.

What we do matters and the opportunity to turn policy into reality is at the forefront of the commercial work we do and seeing the difference it makes to our country is hugely rewarding.

We are part way through a programme of change which has seen us recruiting across all grades. Now we are seeking enthusiastic individuals at Commercial Lead level who can help support the delivery of Commercial’s objectives. Commercial Leads are leaders and managers who will help us to build Commercial’s reputation as a strategic partner, improving business outcomes and delivering value for money through the contracts we source.

Job description

An exciting opportunity exists for a proactive and highly-motivated estates/property sector professional to run the Estates Category team at the Home Office. Working closely with peers and the Deputy Director you will have an important role in setting the strategy and direction of the team.  You will also be part of the Government Commercial Function, a network of commercial peers across Government thriving on continuous improvement and best practice. 

This role is to lead the commercial team for the estates pillar which spans across the estate’s portfolio of the HO. Your work will include the conclusion of procurement activity to replace long term facilities management contracts, commercial support to the mobilisation of new contracts and comprehensive handover to a commercial contract management team. It will also include the development of sourcing strategies to enable large scale construction as well as both major and minor works projects to be delivered quickly and efficiently offering value for money across the wider estate’s portfolio. 

You will develop and maintain positive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders and encourage collaborative relationships as appropriate. Your professional expertise and judgement will be relied upon and valued by senior colleagues.

Locations

The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace. Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance. This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

Person specification

Required Experience:

• A proven track-record working at an influential level within the built environment (e.g. facilities management, construction or real estate). 
• Up to date working knowledge of the sector and its suppliers
• Substantial experience of managing teams, suppliers and stakeholders.

• Knowledge and experience of procuring, negotiating and implementing property contracts 
• Excellent communication, leadership and influencing skills.
• Strong data analysis skills.

Key responsibilities will include some or all the following

Strategy

• Developing and implementing a multi-year category strategy to set direction, targets and objectives
• Developing and implementing annual category strategies for the cross functional services within the portfolio 

Procurement

• Developing and implementing procurement strategies, defining and negotiating contract terms, and engaging the market for future FM services as well as potential construction and capital works projects.
• Reviewing and approving the team’s multiple strategies and contract documents for small and mid-range projects.
• Leading the team’s approach to market engagement, tender document preparation, tender period management, tender evaluation and price analysis, award recommendations and governance.
• Commercial management of mobilisation of new contracts and handover to commercial contract management teams.

Commercial Management

• Working alongside operational colleagues across different parts of the wider HO to support delivery of effective contract management for cross functional services including managing and executing variations as well as other contract mechanisms.
• Working alongside operational colleagues to support management of contractor performance as well as payment verification. 
• Analysing and resolving contractual issues - making effective decisions, risk mitigation and driving continuous improvement of processes.

Collaboration

• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with relevant internal stakeholders including the department’s senior leadership group.
• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with external stakeholders including Crown Commercial Services (CCS) to support development of effective routes to market.
• Building and maintaining effective working relationships at influential levels with the team’s key suppliers to enable reliable, resilient and efficient routes to market

Team Leadership & Management

• Providing leadership, management and guidance to a small team of commercial professionals
• Ensuring the team’s procurement activity, forecast and enabled savings and contract data are all recorded timely and accurately
• Creating a culture which maintains a rigorous approach to quality whilst enabling the team to enjoy their work and remain engaged throughout

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

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on 22nd July 2024 and will require a full day's attendance. 

If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team at commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates. 

Details of schemes available are attached in the advert.

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.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.