About the job

Job summary

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is  an   Executive Agency of the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT)  responsible for delivering the government’s ambition to deliver improved digital infrastructure across fixed and mobile broadband to the hardest-to-reach areas of the UK. Our people are our most important asset. They drive our success and we thrive on their individual and collective talent, skills and experience.​

​Our work delivers benefits to people and communities across the UK. Through improving broadband and 4G connectivity in rural and hard to reach locations, we are future proofing the UK for its digital needs in years to come. We welcome applications from talented people of all backgrounds who will help us achieve our mission.​

​We are guided by our four core values: Delivering Excellence, Embracing Challenges, Respecting Differences and Working Together. (Please see next page) We are passionate about BDUK standing out as a brilliant place to work, where everyone develops in a rewarding role that makes a difference.​

We are responsible for delivering the government’s two biggest digital infrastructure programmes:​

Project Gigabit - a £5 billion programme to roll out gigabit-capable broadband to hard-to-reach communities across the UK; and​

The Shared Rural Network - a £1 billion deal with the UK’s Mobile Network Operators to extend 4G mobile coverage into rural and remote areas.​

Each programme involves working with a range of public sector stakeholders, commercial suppliers, and communities to ensure that people can access fast and reliable digital connectivity that can transform their lives.

An opportunity has arisen to join the BDUK Commercial Function as Head of Contracts, managing some of our gigabit infrastructure contracts. The BDUK Commercial Function has c60 staff supporting BDUK programmes. This role reports to the BDUK Commercial Director (SCS1) and has a team of 8 staff. They sit along side 2 other Heads of Contract Management managing other contracts under the same programme, a Head of Commercial Finance, Head of SRM and Head of Commercial (6 in total).

Job description

This role is critical to the programme, ensuring suppliers deliver the infrastructure to meet government targets for connectivity and ensuring value for money. 

You should apply if you are a strong collaborator, want to work with our suppliers and supply chain to achieve the best outcome for the programme and have good commercial and legal acumen. 

This role will lead the team who are the experts on their contracts and suppliers and ensure that BDUK discharges its obligations under the contract correctly and manages the supplier to do the same. 

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

• Responsibility for a portfolio of high value broadband infrastructure subsidy contracts
• Lead a geographically dispersed team of experienced contract managers
• Collaborate closely with area project managers and the Project Gigabit programme director
• Lead the application of contract management standards and processes for BDUK contracts
• Work collaboratively with a wide range of teams across BDUK, including procurement, commercial finance, supplier relationship management, strategy, and local relationships teams.
• Lead on the gathering and disseminating of contract management information and intelligence to the rest of the business 
• Lead work to mobilise suppliers out of procurements to contract signature and into live contract delivery
• Lead and make decisions on contractual relationships with suppliers, acting as a point of escalation for all commercial risks and issues
• Manage contracts in life including all authority obligations, change, financial distress, failure, exit etc.
• Lead negotiations with suppliers to resolve issues
• Champion continuous improvement within the contracts, suppliers and markets to make improvements to processes, contractual terms and conditions
• Deputise for the Commercial Director, as required
• Provide day to day leadership to the team including providing coaching and development opportunities, as required, and implement developmental strategies and continuous learning to ensure adequate capability

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 Monday 2nd September 2024 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 on 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. 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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.