About the job

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Job Description

Job Title:               Commercial Manager

Job Grade:             SEO

Reporting to:         Senior Commercial Manager

Job Location:        National

Contract Type:      Permanent

Business Area:      MOJ – Commercial & Contract Management Department

 Type of role:         Procurement, Contract Management

 Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time

 Number of Posts: 1

About the department 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. Responsible for courts, prisons and probation services, we work to ensure sentences are served and offenders are given rehabilitation opportunities to become law-abiding citizens.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has one of the largest and most complex spend profiles in central government. The Commercial and Contract Management Directorate (CCMD) is responsible for coordinating procurement and contract management across the MoJ, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

The MoJ spends £6.7bn a year and manages over 1000 active contracts, all of which are sourced and managed by CCMD. We are running some of the most groundbreaking programmes such as Prison Reform and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service Reform. The scope of our contracts ranges from building, maintenance and the operation of Prisons, Courts and Young Offender establishments through to food for prison dogs. The directorate also buys and manages contracts for feeding up to 80,000 prisoners, the secure escorting of prisoners from numerous establishments based around the country and translation services.

CCMD is organised into category teams, each with an interesting portfolio of contracts and diverse customers and suppliers to manage. We also have systems, programme management office, supplier relationship and risk management teams who work across all areas.

 Scope

Portfolio – Digital and Technology

The Digital & Technology category has a vacancy for a Commercial Manager to support Procurement and Contract Management.

This is an exciting time to join the team as a Commercial Manager, successful candidates will have the opportunity to make a real difference to society by providing professional commercial support to the MOJ and the wider Justice system. You will join an empowered, passionate, engaging and friendly team who work in partnership to deliver excellent commercial outcomes. Contribution to a strong team ethos as well as commitment to continuous improvement, collaboration and knowledge sharing is essential. Public sector procurement experience or knowledge is not essential, we are seeking individuals who have a passion for commercial and achieving value for money.

Key Responsibilities

The job holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

• End to end sourcing activity:

• requirements definition and validation,
• strategy development,
• market engagement
• producing ITTs (including specification, technical and financial evaluation and contract drafting),
• contract implementation and mobilisation.

• Commercial strategy development, using business acumen and market insight to derive commercial opportunities to drive delivery, continuous improvement, value for money and/or savings.
• Supporting the Senior Commercial Manager and leading on activities which support the development of category management procedures, tools and ways of working.
• Managing communication and/or escalation of issues from customers.
• Ensuring compliance with governance, legislative and policy requirements
• Managing the commercial pipeline, management of data systems and records.
• Possible line management of 1-2 staff.
• Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) at contract level.
• Contract management:
• supplier performance management,
• contract variation and change control,
• conflict and issue resolution,
• exit and transition.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:                

• Excellent people engagement skills across all levels of internal and external stakeholders.
• Relevant commercial & procurement management experience with a strong understanding of the end-to-end procurement process.
• A collaborative approach to drive decisions and deliver on timely outcomes.
• Ability to apply judgement to make quick and effective decisions.
• Customer and delivering focus to meet deadlines in a fast paced and ever-changing environment.
• Ability to manage multiple demands and conflicting priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly in delivering commercial advice to senior leaders.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office suite of products including Outlook, Word, Teams and Excel,
• Evidence of strong data analysis skills and presenting data in a clear and user-friendly way.
• Good understanding and practical knowledge of risk management and appropriate risk mitigation techniques when managing procurements.

Desirable Criteria:

• Awareness and understanding of public sector procurement principles and legislation.
• Experience in a Digital and Technology commercial role.
• Working knowledge of procurement systems, e.g. Oracle (ERP) and/or Jaggaer (Bravo).

Application stage (Sifting):

An initial sift will be performed against the following elements:

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing (250 words)
• Delivering at Pace (250 words)
• Making Effective Decisions (250 words)

Experience

• CV
• Statement of Suitability - 500-word limit
• Areas of experience that we'll assess, through the CV and Statement of Suitability, during the selection process may include:
  • Experience of creating and delivering sourcing and procurement exercises. and a solid understanding of procurement processes.
  • Evidence of having worked in a commercial environment in either a category, sourcing, or contract management role.
  • Evidence of excellent stakeholder management experience and supportive people management skills.

Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the CV, Statement of Suitability and Lead behaviour of Delivering at Pace.

If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to an interview and will be assessed on the selected success profile elements at the interview stage. Please carry a valid proof of Id that has your photo on it (passport, BRP, driving licence etc) at the interview.

Interview stage:

There is one interview stage for this vacancy and as part of the interview process you will be required to provide evidence on the following:

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Strengths may also be assessed at the interview.

Please also refer to the People Standards for the profession (Associate Commercial Lead) – Attributes for Government Commercial Professionals – Section A: Judgement and Leadership. [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/984460/__Government_Commercial_Function__GCF__People_Standards_for_the_Profession_Version_3.0_.pdf 

Please use STAR approach to structure your examples.

• Situation – Describe the situation you found yourself in and what happened.
• Task – The Hiring Manager will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation that you found yourself in.
• Action – What actions did you take and how did you do it. Make sure to use “I”, not “we” to explain how your actions lead to a result.
• Result – Use facts and statistics to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience.

Further information on the Success profile elements can be found on Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

New entrants are expected to join on the pay minimum. Higher starting salary and / or Recruitment & Retention Allowance (RRA) may be available for successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience. 

We will consider applications from non-qualified candidates, who are willing to develop and work towards a recognised qualification in order to meet the full requirements of the role.  

The specialist allowance may apply to qualified applicants with a commercial professional qualification, for example, CIPS, World CC etc. 

Further details can be provided during the recruitment process 

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.