About the job

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 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 UK Health Security Agency commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

Job description

This position sits within the Commercial Strategy & Partnerships Team who have responsibility for the following: 

• Commercial Strategy
• Contract Management
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Strategic Partnerships
• Market Engagement
• Incident Response & Supply Chain Resilience
• Contractual Disputes 

The team is made up of experienced and early career professionals from a mix of private and public sector backgrounds. The team is based remotely at various locations across the UK and welcomes people of different experiences and backgrounds.

This role is 1 of 2 x G7 Commercial Lead Contract Management positions and sits within a team of 7 people focused on embedding good practice for Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Management. The role currently has no direct reports. 

Given that approx. 80% of UKHSA’s allocated budget is spent on 3rd party contracts, good contract management is mission critical. This role is required to showcase across commercial and business stakeholder groups what good looks like and how the end-to-end contract management lifecycle should be brought to life. It requires a subject matter expert with a proven track record and demonstrable capability who can support the journey from ‘in-development’ through good, better, best. 

Person specification

The successful candidate will be expected to work to deliver the plan to embed Contract Management in line with the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF) Good, Better, Best journey. 

Championing the UKHSA Commercial Guidance & Toolkit and its use across Commercial and non-commercial stakeholders to:

• Sell the importance of good contract management as a mission enabler;
• Coach commercial and non-commercial stakeholders on what good looks like;
• Support the elevation of capability across the Agency; and
• Embed good practice by driving:
  • the implementation of Contract Management assurance controls;
  • the implementation of a Contract Management performance scorecard;
  • the deployment of fit-for-purpose KPIs in support of string commercial outcomes; and
  • the use of the contract as a vehicle to drive the supplier relationship.

A key deliverable for the programme would be clarity on what success looks like and how it is measured / reported. How will UKHSA know that Contract Management is assuring and maximising value for the Organisation? How will we measure and report tangible value delivery? This will be something the central team will need to support and enable. Candidates who can provide examples of having embedded good practice elsewhere or a proven track record in delivering contract management excellence across the end-to-end lifecycle will be considered favourably.

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 20th February and will require a full day's attendance. Please contact commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk in advance if you are unable to attend this date.

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. Please note: Only candidates that achieve an A grade at ADC will be invited to interview for this role.

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. 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.