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 forefront 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 the 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 partway 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.  
 
So, whatever your background, either public or private, if you are passionate about delivering first class outcomes then come and join our journey.

Job description

As a Commercial Deputy Director, you will be accountable for the successful delivery of a portfolio of contracts and procurements of approx. £1bn p.a. along with responsibility for supporting the delivery of Category Management across DDaT and the wider Commercial Directorate, supporting supplier management, contract management and a suite of Management Information reports to support the SCS2 in discharging their responsibilities. 

The role requires a strategic business mindset, coupled with senior level commercial expertise and strong networked relationships. The role covers various, major technology programmes that support the high-profile ministerial agenda of digitising UK Borders, replacing the immigration platforms to reflect the new immigration policies post EU Exit, and refreshing the critical technology infrastructure and systems across all entry points in the UK that help control legal entry of people and freight into the country. 

The role is as an orchestrator: the Deputy Director will lead the team to ensure they work with other functions and stakeholders (both within Commercial and across DDAT, as well wider government, e.g., Crown Commercial Services) to provide a seamless service to all service areas. 

You will lead, motivate, and develop a team of commercial specialists, giving clear direction and support, embedding a can-do attitude and a culture of agile resourcing gearing the workforce to areas of greatest commercial risk.

The role will act as a point of escalation to resolve critical business issues, supporting and advising key stakeholders across MBTP, Metis, HMPO and Borders IT  

A key emphasis will be placed on developing robust professional relationships with business leads, ensuring views are effectively listened to and needs are met through creative solutions, joint working, and constructive challenge where appropriate. 

The role will act as a point of escalation to resolve critical business issues, supporting and advising key stakeholders across MBTP, Metis, HMPO and Borders IT  

A key emphasis will be placed on developing robust professional relationships with business leads, ensuring views are effectively listened to and needs are met through creative solutions, joint working, and constructive challenge where appropriate. 

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

Key Responsibilities: 

• Responsible for the end-to-end commercial lifecycle management of over 300 contracts in line with government policy and best practice to deliver value money and wider commercial benefits – with particular emphasis on savings over the next 2 years.
  

• Lead, manage and develop a team of IT commercial specialists, with direct management of 4 Associate Commercial Specialists.
  

• Play an active role as a senior member of the IT commercial team, supporting the Commercial, and IT Commercial Directors in attainment of delivery goals.
  
• Support the delivery of Commercial and Digital Directorate strategic objectives and 2-year business plan which includes the rollout and leadership of Category Management, setting a robust example to the wider team.
• Supporting the delivery of Category Management.
• Act as a key interface into the DDAT Business Operations Management team (BOM) regarding the provision of MI, reporting and other ad hoc requests emerging from central teams. 
• Develop and manage the procurement pipeline and ensure resources, including funding, are available to deliver this alongside ongoing contract management activity. Manage overall demand and allocation of resource across teams with Workload Management to improve utilisation, focus on higher value work and achieve a balanced workload across Commercial.
• Contribute to the development of business strategy in the assigned business areas and ensure that commercial opportunities and threats are recognised and acted upon. Facilitate business areas putting in place adequate level of resourcing and governance to manage the commercial spend and risks. Be seen as a trusted advisor by the business leadership team and provide expert commercial advice.
• Assure the quality and consistency of the procurement and contract management undertaken by the team, and introduce corrective measures where standards are not maintained. Ensure the team follows the laid down Commercial policy, processes, and standards.
• Develop strong pan-Government relationships, support the Group Commercial Function in raising overall commercial capability, and build a wider network across consultancies, academia, and the private sector to identify, develop and implement best practice. 
• Ensure all business area commercial risks are identified and managed, with business management teams fully aware of critical risks and mitigating actions.

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.

Please note that any move across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018 may have implications on an employee’s ability to carry on claiming 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 21st August 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.