About the job

Job summary

Job Summary

Do you want to work for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and care for the Defence Estate? DIO enables Defence to live, work, train and deploy, all with sustainability in mind. From net carbon zero accommodations to runways for the F35 fighter jets; our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

Learn much more about DIO in our Candidate Information Guide attached. 

Job description

About our PFI team:

Would you like to join a hard-working team who support and deliver challenging Facilities Management (FM), Utilities and infrastructure refurbishment programmes to manage our existing PFI Portfolio and replace the current DIO PFIs as they expire!

The DIO Commercial PFI team manage 10 PFIs which expire between 2028 and 2042. As part of this role you will work on commercial aspects both the management of the contracts and the pre-sourcing and sourcing aspects of Replacement Programme. You will engage with Suppliers, markets, Internal and External customers and Project staff to develop effective Commercial solutions to effectively manage the existing contracts to a conclusion and follow the PFIs as they expire.

Joining our PFI team means working on-line and on-site in a Hybrid working pattern with a diverse, committed, and upbeat teams who all bring different skills and experience, crafting an environment of continuous learning. You will be working with military colleagues, civil servants and consultants of all grades and ranks.

Whether you want to develop existing Contract Management, Pre-Sourcing and Sourcing skills in more complex commercial environments or wish to supplement other Commercial skills by learning high profile Market Engagement and Sourcing, this will be a quality role to improve your Commercial development.

As DIO Commercial continues to grow, now is a phenomenal opportunity to get involved with innovate and exciting Utility, Infrastructure and FM projects from the outset.

Why join us:

This role will improve your Contract Management skills and gain a wider range of experience in contract pre-sourcing and sourcing skill areas working alongside dynamic and motivated programme delivery staff.

This role offers a fantastic opportunity to develop professionally, with the opportunity to complete MCIPS in addition to other development opportunities.

DIO’s mission is to Be proud; Be challenged; Be unique. To enable this DIO recognises that a diverse workforce is at the heart of different insights, ideas and innovation. A workforce diverse in background and life experience produces trusted public services and better decisions. We want our people to be curious and continuously strive for improvement, collaborative in an inclusive culture, ambitious and resilient and committed to Defence, empowered and able to challenge so you can play a key part in shaping the direction of our organisation.

To enable this DIO commits to offering its employees:

•The ability to acquire industry recognised qualifications supported by DIO
•Free membership for professional qualifications including CIPS
•Professional and Personal Development of skills
•Access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning, some free or paid by DIO
•Opportunity to join 6 networks covering Disability, Faith and Belief, Gender Equality, LGBTQI+, Race, Social Mobility and 3 networks dealing with employee wellbeing and support: Speak Safe Volunteers, Mental Health First Aiders and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisers
•Opportunity to drive and embed sustainable practices and solutions through delivering and managing sustainable procurement for Defence estates

Join the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and have a future that matters: Be proud; Be challenged; Be unique

Person specification

As an Associate Commercial Lead in the PFI team:

You will work as part of a team managing existing contracts and additionally provide Commercial support to the Replacement Programme Teams for Phase 1 and Phase 2 PFI Replacements, working alongside Project, technical and finance colleagues to develop Commercial Models and Strategies to deliver requirements beyond the PFI contract expiry dates.

This role will provide you with an opportunity to gain a wider range of experience in contract management from contract amendments, administration, performance management, customer engagement and exit planning whilst also becoming part of the associated DIO Contact Management Teams.

You will engage with markets, industry and specialist consultants in early market engagement, pre-sourcing and options analysis phases of pre-concept and concept project phases, moving to develop Commercial models and strategies that can deliver effective and value for money outcomes. Beyond Outline business case approval formal procurement will be undertaken before full business case approval is sought.

In support of ongoing Contract Management and the PFI replacement programme, you will source and contract for crucial programme support such as legal advice, specialist technical support and consultancy services.

Your role will involve crafting strong working relationships within your own team as well as other parts of the Commercial function across DIO and beyond across MOD.

As the Commercial Lead you will provide guidance to internal customers on matters including commercial strategies, procurement ethics and commercial obligations, in accordance with DIO, MOD and wider Government policies.

This role has a requirement to be present at the DIO and PFI locations for related meetings as required, but as part of a Hybrid Working Pattern.

Responsibilities:

•Conducting pre-Sourcing activity for complex PFI replacement projects of high value and high profile
•Market Engagement, Assessment and analysis and Reports
•Strategic Options Analysis
•Developing Commercial Strategies and Business Cases
•Contract Management activities including Performance analysis, managing complex payment mechanisms and effectively controlling contract change
•Sourcing External support such as technical and legal
•Managing contracts to Expiry

Essential Criteria:

•Experience of managing complex contract arrangements and experience of pre-sourcing and sourcing in a public sector setting
•You must become a qualified Commercial Officer to Practitioner Level within 18 months of joining the organisation. This means you will have to study to achieve CIPS Level 4, and sit a MOD accreditation panel
•Ability to undertake travel to UK establishments as well as some travel to PFI locations (in South of England) for attendance at meetings 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,080, Ministry of Defence contributes £11,631 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework and Commercial Skills and Competency Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile and the Commercial Skills and Competency Framework elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Please provide your evidence using the STAR Technique using the attached information on how to apply.

Situation: Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.
Where are you?
Who was there with you?
What had happened?

Task: The recruitment panel will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

What was the task that you had to complete and why?
What did you have to achieve?

Action:  What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information of what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I” rather than “we” to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Result: Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures easily understandable.

What results did the actions produce?
What did you achieve through your actions, and did you meet your goals?
Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.

When providing your evidence please ensure that you avoid acronyms and company specific jargon.

At application you will be assessed against the following:

Experience:

• CV - detailing Job History, Full Qualification details and Previous Skills and Experience
• Personal Statement - As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a Personal Statement of 500 words, the purpose for this, is for you to showcase your relevant skills and experience against the job requirements.
  The statement is your opportunity to give examples of how you fit the requirements of the role.
    
  When writing a personal statement, it is important that you:
  •Read the job specification so you are clear about the job requirements
  •Outline the skills and experience that you have that are relevant to the job and use examples to help demonstrate this
  •Keep to the word limit, if your statement is too brief it will not provide the required depth of detail and evidence to be assessed fully
  •Please do not use acronyms 

At interview you will be assessed against the following: 

Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together 

Technical: Commercial Skills and Competency Framework - Practitioner Level 

• Section 1 – Pre-Sourcing- 1 Supply Market Analysis- Understanding Pre-Sourcing Engagement
• Section 3 - Contract Management –1 Contract Management Principles – Understanding Contract Management

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing: 09/01/2023

Interviews are currently taking place either remotely or face to face and will be conducted week commencing: 18/01/2023

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

To assist with your application please find attached below:

1. DIO Candidate Information Guide
2. DIO Candidate Information Guide - Accessible Version
3. Commercial Skills and Competency Framework

For help and support with your application check out our Civil Service Careers Homepage and the How to apply section

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.