About the job

Job summary

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes, and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe – for today, and tomorrow.

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of around 27%, to help make work work for you.

Nationality, visas and vetting: For security reasons this role is open to sole UK nationals only. A ‘sole UK national’ refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country. We’re unable to offer visa sponsorship.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role you’ve been recruited for. If it isn’t obtained, or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining SC security clearance can be a lengthy process, and we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made if the necessary security clearance isn’t obtained within 12 months.

Job description

At Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), we're empowering our people to make positive change. We're looking for talented and passionate Commercial Managers to help lead the way to delivering the future of defence. Are you ready to make a difference?

You'll join a diverse team who support the successful delivery of defence procurement programmes with real world impact. These programmes range from peacekeeping to disaster relief to humanitarian aid projects – and we’re proud to help deliver them while ensuring compliance and best value.

You'll have the opportunity to lead and manage a range of commercial activities, including drafting contract terms & conditions, managing risk and evaluating risk opportunities, sourcing and managing the procurement of new suppliers and developing policies and schedules for regular procurements. Your role will also involve close collaboration with senior management and engagement with various stakeholders across multiple teams. 

We champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.

What you’ll be doing

• Negotiating terms and pricing, placing and management of contracts and negotiating contract amendments up to a maximum delegation of £10M in accordance with the Ministry of Defence policy
• Supporting the development of new procurement strategies through analysis of the markets for defence equipment and ‘learning from experience’ with other teams in DE&S and using DE&S acquisition tools to advertise defence procurements to future suppliers
• Supplier performance management in accordance with Contract Management Plans
• Due diligence of commercial activity within own area of responsibility in order to provide confidence in commercial outcomes
• Contributing to wider Commercial function and business improvement activities
• Communicating in a timely manner with a range of internal and external stakeholders
• Leading and managing a team of commercial officers and assistants

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Previous experience of sourcing, delivering, and managing contracts
• Experience in developing and implementing Procurement Strategies
• Experience of managing, leading and developing others
• Proficient IT skills including Microsoft Office or equivalent and ability to use IT systems and programmes

If not already held, successful candidates will be supported to undertake the required training below:

• Relevant level of study with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) if not already held. This will be funded by DE&S
• Practitioner-level accreditation panel to demonstrate Government Commercial Function (GCF) professional standard
• Leadership development and defence commercial professionalism courses to develop commercial skills and ensure on-going Continuing Professional Development

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Tender and Bid Process – Practitioner
• Contract Management – Practitioner
• Making Effective Decisions – CSBC 3
• Communicating and Influencing – CSBC 3

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,500, Ministry of Defence contributes £12,015 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

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. Pre-sift - We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.

2. Sift - Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills

Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.

3.Interview - If you're invited to interview, you'll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert.

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.