About the job

Job summary

Do you want to use your commercial skills to help keep our citizens safe and our country secure? To work on contracts or procurement's that help to reduce crime, enforce the law and protect our borders, and to protect the most vulnerable in our society? If so, our roles in Home Office for you, our teams are at the cutting edge of public policy making and our work is among the most challenging and rewarding in Government. 

The Home Office spends approximately £3bn each year with third party suppliers and this is managed by Commercial Directorate, a team of more than 250 procurement and contract management professionals. The range of goods and services acquired is huge and can include life affecting services and systems including for example 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.

This role will manage a complex ‘Gold-Tier’ contract within the Customer portfolio area of the Commercial team, responsible for passports, citizenship, civil registration, visas and asylum support. 

We are seeking hard-working individuals to work at SEO level to support the delivery of Commercial’s objectives. This role could be of interest to individuals who have worked in a commercial environment and are looking to broaden their commercial skills in a central commercial function, those with strong transferable skills or to existing commercial staff who would enjoy taking on a new role. Successful candidates will receive a programme of development with the opportunity to study towards professional commercial qualifications.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office.  Applicants can discuss any specific questions with the Vacancy Holder

The role will require travel around the UK to various HO offices, meetings with partners and events.

Job description

Successful candidate will be required to lead on the following commercial contract management activities:  

• Provide commercial guidance to peers or senior colleagues that draws on relevant procurement legislation, policy, information, supply market knowledge, and commercial experience.
• Work with the Commercial Lead (G7) to develop strategic category or business focused plans to address key commercial challenges, including the production of financial analyses and projections.
• Ensuring that commercial risks are identified, understood, recorded and managed at all stages of contract management.
• Work with business colleagues and external suppliers to ensure that contracts are closely supervised, and all milestones are delivered as required, with funds released as appropriate. In line with the Cabinet Office Sourcing Playbook, ensure that all transparency requirements are complied with, including publication of top Key Performance Indicators.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the terms and conditions of the contract and maintain awareness of developments in procurement policy and commercial case law.
• Ensure that savings are identified, understood, recorded and handled at all stages of the procurement and contract management.
• Follow core commercial processes such as using eSourcing systems and following commercial governance procedures.
• Support procurement activities if needed, that conform to the Home Office policies and assurance processes and which comply fully with EU procurement law.
• Support complex and strategic procurement's if needed, that conform to the Home Office policies and assurance processes, and which comply fully with EU procurement law.
• Support production of procurement plans for goods and services, working collaboratively with Commercial colleagues and the relevant Home Office business unit. Provide options and opportunities from a commercial perspective looking at aspects such as developing requirements, options analysis for routes to market, risks, benefits and Social Value.
• Work with business partners and engage the market to refine requirements and procure critical goods and services which support Home Office priorities.
• Analyse the market and support market engagement activities to encourage suppliers to bid and to draw on the market’s expertise to inform the tender process. 

Person specification

We are looking for someone who can: 

• Work with Commercial Leads (G7) to develop strategic category or business focussed plans to address key commercial challenges, such are building commercial capability of contract managers or looking for alignments across the commercial portfolio that will deliver greater benefits or efficiencies.
• Work with business colleagues and external suppliers to closely supervise contracts, and all milestones delivered as the need arises, with funds released as appropriate.
• Provide commercial guidance to peers or senior colleagues that draws on relevant procurement legislation, policy, information, supply market knowledge, and commercial experience. Maintain awareness of developments in procurement policy and commercial case law.
• Identify commercial risks, ensuring understanding, recording, and managing through all stages of the procurement, and ongoing risks transfer seamlessly into contract management.
• Identify savings, ensuring understanding, recording, and managing through all stages of the procurement and contract management.
• Gather lessons learned from procurements, detailing to advise future projects and influence improvements in commercial processes, systems, and skills.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of working in a commercial environment, either through working in procurement, supplier management or contract management.
• Experience of building, maintaining and influencing customer and partner relationships within a commercial environment.
• Proven track record of leading or working within a team environment to deliver successful outcomes at pace and within a changing environment.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

 As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete: 

• A CV detailing job history/skills.
• A statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 1000 words).

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The statement of suitability should be aligned to demonstrate your skills and experience for the role and how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job description.

The sift will be held on the statement of suitability (personal statement). The CV is for information purpose and will not be scored.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will consist of behaviour-based questions. 

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place from  week commencing 11th March 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place from week commencing 1st April 2024.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

Interviews will be carried out via video. Candidates will be required to have access to:

• A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
• Good internet connection
• Microsoft Teams

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

Further Information

For meaningful checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years if the role requires CTC clearance, 5 years for SC clearance and 10 years for DV.  A lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Note For Candidates  

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. All applications are screened for plagiarism and copying and generating of examples/answers from internet sources including Artificial Intelligence. If any is detected the application may be withdrawn from the process. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving civil servants. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Visa sponsorship    

We are unable to sponsor any individuals via Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visas as we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License.   

Who are eligible to apply to roles advertised Internally and Across Government?

Internally advertised roles are open to existing Home Office staff only.

Across Government roles are open to all government departments and Accredited NDPBs.

Roles are restricted to existing:

• Permanent Civil Servants.
• Fixed term appointments who were appointed following fair and open competition.  Please speak to your HR department if you are unsure of how you were recruited.
• Employees of those NDPBs who have been Accredited by the Civil Service Commission (see NDPB Accreditation - Civil Service Commission (independent.gov.uk). Please check if you are a Civil Servant or Accredited NDPB Public Servant.  Public servants from Accredited NDPBs will be recruited as external hires rather than civil servant transfers. See section on NDPBs within the Candidate Information Notes.

Also see the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles for more information on Exceptions Recruitment - Civil Service Commission (independent.gov.uk)

Other worker types operating within the public sector (e.g. Agency workers, Contractors, police, military, NHS etc.) and those appointed under Exceptions 1-4 of the CS Commission’s Recruitment Principles (including Secondments, Seasonal Workers) are not eligible to apply. They can only apply to Externally advertised roles.

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

Every day, Home Office civil servants do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country and beyond. To do this effectively and fairly, the Home Office is committed to representing modern Britain in all its diversity, and creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.

We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We work to recruit and retain disabled staff and area Disability Confident Leader. We are proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the civil service. We are a Social Mobility Foundation top 75 employer.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

For further information please see the attached notes for candidates which must be read before making an application.

Existing Civil Servants should note that some of the Home Office terms and conditions of employment have changed. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the Terms and Conditions they will adopt should they be successful in application and should refer to the notes for candidates for further details.

Transfer Terms: Voluntary.

If you are invited to an interview you will be required to  bring a range of documentation for the purposes of establishing identity and to aid any pre-employment checks.

Please see the attached list of Home Office acceptable ID documents.

Any move to the Home Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

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

Security

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.